Oxford City Centre CCTV Scheme
The CCTV scheme began in 1999 and was developed by David White from Thames Valley police and Marcus Lapthorn, from Oxford City Council. Oxford City Centre now has 33 CCTV cameras. Twelve new cameras were installed in 2002, funded by the Home Office under the Crime Reduction Initiative. The CCTV system was also upgraded in 2002, and all information is now digitally recorded.
CCTV monitoring is operated through a secure room within St Aldate's Police Station. It is managed by Christopher Hart. Chris joined Thames Valley Police as a CCTV operator in 1999 when the scheme first started. He worked as an operator for four years before being promoted to CCTV supervisor.
The City Centre is now an alcohol-free zone and has been since the end of October 2002. The police have a right to stop drinkers and confiscate alcohol in the City Centre. Drinkers who refuse to hand over the alcohol can be arrested.
Oxford University has an extensive CCTV system. It has 60 cameras that are controlled from a 24-hour control room in the University's Science area. It covers a large part of Oxford, in the areas where the City Centre CCTV system has little or no coverage. The University CCTV system works in partnership with the City centre CCTV system and is linked by a camera and Radio Link. The University Crime Reduction manager sits on the CCTV Management group, the City Radio Link user's group and is a member of the Oxford Safer Communities Partnership.
Occurrence Data for Period 1 January 2003 - 1 January 2004
|
Incident Type
|
Amount
|
Source
|
Results
|
| |
|
Police Control |
CCTV |
Other Covered
|
Arrests due to CCTV |
Other Arrests |
Other Results |
Notes |
| Theft |
69 |
|
17 |
60 |
71 |
20 |
2 |
CCTV assists Operation Dipper, working with Radio Link and University |
| Robbery |
14 |
2 |
10 |
2 |
24 |
0 |
0 |
Good work by CCTV with descriptions: 3 arrests |
| Burglary |
4 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
1 |
Oxford Preservation Trust |
| Assault |
45 |
7 |
11 |
3 |
89 |
1 |
0 |
University CCTV assistance: 3 arrests |
| Disturbance, Public Order |
27 |
3 |
21 |
4 |
61 |
0 |
1 |
Football fans |
| Anti-Social Behaviour |
21 |
1 |
19 |
1 |
27 |
0 |
0 |
Male touching females |
| Suspicious Behaviour |
5 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
|
| Drunkenness |
14 |
1 |
8 |
5 |
14 |
2 |
0 |
|
| Drugs |
5 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
Drug dealer found and arrested |
| Missing Persons |
7 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Person found and reunited with family |
| Aggressive Begging |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
| Assist general policing seen |
25 |
3 |
21 |
1 |
27 |
6 |
1 |
Wanted on Warrants and other 'Wanted' by CCTV |
| Traffic Management, OTS |
5 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
Drunk in charge |
| Autocrime |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
| Damage, Graffiti |
7 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
Criminal damage to a police car |
| Alarms |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Activated alarm |
| Fraud, Bilking offences |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
Attempted theft of £48,000 of jewellery |
| Other Community safety issues |
3 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
Indecent exposure |
| Totals for above period |
255 |
25 |
125 |
85 |
354 |
29 |
5 |
|
| Totals for 01.01.02 - 01.01.03 |
22 |
19 |
133 |
50 |
287 |
18 |
3 |
|
| Difference |
35 |
6 |
-8 |
35 |
67 |
11 |
2 |
|
| Total arrests from 24.05.99 |
|
|
|
|
1511 |
|
|
|
OPTIMUM Security Consultancy has been associated with Oxford City Council's CCTV system since its introduction in 1998; they are one of the leading independent security consultancies in the UK, and they have been included in the Home Office list of approved consultants. OPTIMUM has no commercial interest in any equipment manufacturer, supplier or installer and is therefore able to exercise true impartiality in the best design and delivery of its services. Its aim is to make communities and environments safer by using intelligent and innovative security methods and technologies.
Quadrant Video Systems is proud to support the Oxford City Centre CCTV scheme on both installation of the systems and the ongoing maintenance. It is one of the largest CCTV installation companies in the UK entirely focused on the area of CCTV and Access Control, and is a member of the British Security Industry Association.
CCTV is a significant tool in the fight against crime in Oxford City Centre. The impact of CCTV can be seen in the numbers of crimes detected by the system, as well as the successes in identifying missing persons and other public safety issues. Only through working in partnership with retailers, the University and other statutory agencies can we maximize CCTV use and effectiveness.
Through OX1, the City Centre Management Company, the CCTV scheme is developing stronger formal links with business in the City Centre, helped by the recent launch of the City Centre CCTV consultation forum. The police and the Council want to encourage businesses to use these links, and thus to improve on crime prevention and community generally.
Page last reviewed 15 Apr 2008
Copyright © Oxford City Council 2008
Oxford City Council
