| MAN Commercial Protection monitors Centro's extensive CCTV system of over 1000 cameras |
A nationwide security provider, which manages the CCTV system of Centro - the integrated transport authority for the West Midlands - has helped bring a number of offenders to justice.
Centro partners with MAN Commercial Protection, which provides the team to monitor its extensive CCTV system of over 1000 cameras. Control room operators have improved performance over the last 18 months. They have recently spotted and provided evidence to bring about the arrest of several offenders on convictions varying from assault to drug dealing.
Sergeant Adrian Brown from the Safer Travel team at West Midlands Police, says: “High definition CCTV footage often identifies offenders so clearly that they are recognisable beyond all reasonable doubt. We have made some significant arrests as a direct result of working in partnership with Centro’s CCTV room.”
“Bus travel is very safe these days and offences are few and far between. Your risk of being the victim of crime is just one in every 126,000 bus journeys you take – that’s the equivalent of 525 years of commuting for five days a week. We are working to make that even rarer,” says Mark Babington, Safer Travel manager from Centro.
“We have CCTV all around our network: at bus and rail stations, bus stops, park and ride sites - all supplemented by mobile CCTV – which is a tremendous asset for the police to detect and catch criminals as they move around. It’s all part of our policy to keep our buses safe and pleasant to travel on at all times,” says Michael Sayers, Centro’s CCTV lead.
Iain McCallister, founder of the 600-strong team at MAN Commercial Protection, adds: “It’s the vigilance of CCTV operators that provides, not only a powerful deterrent, but also the precious evidence the Police need to convict offenders. No matter how smart the facial recognition software, an operator needs to be permanently alert to take the appropriate steps to either bring about an arrest or ensure CCTV recordings are optimised.”
“That’s difficult throughout a long shift when nothing generally happens. Great CCTV operators have a sort of sixth sense. They recognise when something is not quite right which makes them look again and that’s often how we help catch criminals.”