Those controversial CCTV cameras are finally to go into action in Marlborough’s High Street

A final decision to buy a six-camera CCTV system for Marlborough’s busy High Street – the cost is within the £25,000 agreed budget – was made last night (Monday) by Marlborough Town Council.

Agreement to sign contracts with Alert Systems Ltd., of Trowbridge, was made in secret session and now all that remains to be decided is the positioning of the CCTV controls and cameras used in the system, which has the capacity to be extended further.

That would allow for extra deployable cameras to be used in “hot spot” areas where there have been outbreaks of theft and/or anti-social behaviour.

The selected CCTV system includes facial and car number-plate recognition to aid police detection, in particular any mobile gangs of shoplifters raiding local retail stores.

The controversial go ahead comes following the Town Council’s decision in January when a public consultation exercise for the introduction of static and deployable cameras resulted in 64 per cent voting in favour and 34 per cent against.

Those in favour suggested that the project was long overdue and should have been installed a decade ago, various initiatives resulting in a 20,000-word report by Councillor Nick Fogg, who admitted that CCTV was, at best, of limited validity, the more so as Marlborough was known as one of the safest towns in the county.

But Councillor Fogg believes the council has made the wrong decision.

“I think they have made a mistake, and there is nothing I can do about it,” he told Marlborough News Online today (Monday).  “As far as I can see all the cameras are to be in the High Street, which is virtually a crime-free zone.

“It is well-lit and busy and there is very little crime evident.  It is usually in the dark hinterland that is less populated where there is trouble.”

He said number-plate recognition was pointless because one of the problems with all CCTV systems was that there was nobody to monitor them constantly and no ability to pinpoint crimes as they were actually taking place.

“The CCTV images go back to Marlborough police station,” he added.  “But the police have got better things to do than scan thousands of feet of footage every day.”

The camera locations have now been agreed following input from the town council, the police and the Chamber of Commerce, town clerk Shelley Parker told Marlborough News Online.

But discussions have to take place with the owners of the properties and Wiltshire’s conservation officers before any cameras can be installed.

“We will then need to consult with those in the immediate vicinity of the cameras,” added Mrs Parker.  “It is difficult to put a date on when installation will start other than over the next few months.”

Alert Systems, based in Trowbridge, has been providing security solutions throughout the UK since 1986.

“We are immensely proud of the reputation we have gained within our industry and are recognised as a leading independent security specialist with over 5,000 installations all fully supported with nationwide service and maintenance,” the company says on its website.

“We currently employ 100 members of staff, a combination of sales, technical and administrative, a great number of whom have been with us for many years, some even since the conception of the company.

“It is an enviable record of staff retention which simply endorses the quality and commitment of the company.”

Sophisticated CCTV search system will enable suspects to be identified Shelley Parker, Marlborough’s town clerk, has now revealed new information about the CCTV system the Town Council has adopted, which has not been made public before. Qualifying our report above, she told Marlborough News Online: “Last night’s session was to decide on camera locations.  The decision to go ahead with CCTV was made before the consultation and not based on it.   “The consultation asked the public if they supported the decision to go ahead.” She added: “As far as I am aware, the CCTV images will not be going back to Marlborough Police station to officers to look through.  The technology (Avigilon) allows for an incident to be identified through sophisticated search mechanisms so no trawling through  lots of footage.   “In fact, it reduces the amount of time spent monitoring screens as currently is the case with some of the older technology in use.”