Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

To confirm the minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Task Group – CCTV Provision meeting held on 18 February 2014 (enclosed)

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Task Group – CCTV Provision held on 18 February 2014 be held as a correct record.

Members are reminded of their responsibility to declare any pecuniary interest in respect of matters contained in this agenda.

If you have a pecuniary interest you must withdraw from the meeting. Normally you should leave the room before the business starts to be discussed. You do, however, have the same right to speak as a member of the public and may remain in the room to enable you to exercise that right and then leave immediately. In either case you must not seek to improperly influence a decision on the matter.

There were no declarations of any interests.

Members will receive a presentation of Chorley’s CCTV system including an overview of current equipment, capacity and drawbacks.

The Group welcomed representatives from Baydale Control Systems Ltd who are the Councils current CCTV provider.

Current System

The original CCTV system is approximately 18 years old and is and an analogue based system. There are currently 50 public space cameras and a number of Council properties that have CCTV systems, including Astley Hall and Cotswold House. The cameras are a mixture of old shoebox style cameras, with separate cameras and lenses, and fully functional dome cameras. The cameras are displayed on any one of 24 sections of 4 large monitors through a unit called the matrix. This matrix also controls the cameras movement functions via operator keyboards.

This matrix has been obsolete for some 3-4 years and is now un-serviceable due to the extinction of some of the parts. The matrix also has limited telemetry protocols available (the language that tells the camera which way to move) and as a result, the Council are limited has to which cameras can be used as replacements. Repairs to any part of the system are lengthy and potentially, a breakdown of a major component could result in the system being down for a considerable length of time. The cameras are recorded on an early digital recording platform which captures an image 6 times every second. The recorders are approximately 6-7 years old and though still serviceable, due to time in service they are now prone to breakdown and have had a considerable amount of money spent on this financial year.

Upgrade options

Option 1:

As there are now no available options available to upgrade the current control system, Baydale Control Systems Ltd would recommend that a modern IP based control system be installed.

The digital recording system needs upgrading and a cost effective solution would be to replace the existing five units with an off the shelf digital recording unit which would allow 16 cameras to be recorded at a similar frame rate as current with storage for 31 days. This would reduce breakdowns and on-going maintenance costs.

With the matrix now being obsolete, replace camera types are now restrictive; The Company had replaced some recently but these have had to incorporate various convertors to allow transmission to the control room over wireless links and also to convert the limited telemetry protocols available. Each camera needs to be replaced with a modern analogue dome camera, these cameras have fewer parts then the current cameras and the Council would expect to see a massive reduction in routine maintenance costs per year. However these cameras require the use of many convertors and extensive control room cabling per camera.

Option 2:

With the continues development of IP based technology there are increasingly more cost effective means to transmit and handle the new camera images. The recording of these IP images can now be effectively and efficiently stored at 25 images a second, which is real time. This is something that the Police are keen to see.

The proposal would be to replace the existing obsolete  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.CTV.21