Witney CCTV cameras never sleep (From Witney Gazette)
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Witney CCTV cameras never sleep
3:12pm Friday 7th April 2006 in Witney By Andrew Alexander
Chris Hart, CCTV control room manager, checks the log
SHOPKEEPERS were invited into the CCTV control room in Witney to see how the system works.
Police say the town's 24 cameras, and two additional mobile cameras, which are used on estates around the town, accounted for 878 arrests between January 2002 and December last year.
Local businesses contribute towards the network's £40,000 annual running costs, and were invited to see the control room at Witney police station on one of two open days last month.
Dennis Evernden, police area commander for West Oxfordshire, said: "The system has assisted in investigations, prosecuting offenders, as well as dealing with welfare-related incidents, like children who are lost and elderly people who have fallen over."
The network, launched in 2002, with a £314,000 Home Office grant, is paid for by West Oxfordshire District Council, Thames Valley Police, Witney Town Council, the Woolgate Centre, and town-centre businesses.
It is monitored 24 hours a day.
