CCTV: Crunch time looming

BIG BROTHER could soon be looking down on Uckfield s troublemakers after money set aside for the provision of CCTV cameras in the town was secured.

Uckfield Town Council this week met to consider the council s budget for 2002/2003.

Members on the policy and resources committee had been under pressure to make spending cuts, after initial estimates had put Uckfield s share of the council tax bill 21 per cent up on last year s total.

However, at Monday s meeting councillors agreed not to slash the 10,000 earmarked for town security after hearing how council staff members had been among those threatened by youngsters who hang around the civic centre after dark.

Councillors also agreed to look into the possibility of sharing the cost of any installation with neighbours Tesco.

Financial officer Pauline Burchett told members how she narrowly avoided serious injury last year when a yob threw a brick through a window at the civic centre. She said: 'I really think it s about time to help and protect staff.

Cllr Martha Whittle agreed, saying: 'I detest CCTV but it comes to a point where we have to make staff feel safe in the building. We may end up spending far, far more than this in repairs to physical damage, plus increases in insurance premiums and insurance excesses. I think we need to bite the bullet.

Cllr Kathy Fordham said: 'We need to keep something in the budget for this. Can we not do something joint with Tesco? They have had staff attacked when coming out of their side door, which is near to our front door.

Chairman Cllr Michael Hakiel added that incidents of 'breakages and other trouble in the area of the civic centre dropped 'dramatically when dummy cameras were put up in 2000.

Town clerk Ashley Serpis said the council had been working closely with the police and Tesco in trying to tackle anti-social behaviour in the town centre. He said: 'The police are aware that there is a specific problem in this specific area.

'We are trying to address specific problems of youths congregating in the area, together with the problem of alcohol. This is something that the police do feel should be considered.

Maintenance

However, he added: 'What do we do after we have resolved the problem? This is something that we may not need in a couple of years.

Members were given two separate quotes for CCTV systems. One, a high resolution monochrome camera which stores images on tape, cost 5,390, while another, a high capacity colour digital camera which stores images on to hard disk, cost 10,220.

Yearly maintenance for the cameras, respectively, is 284 and 195. The cameras could be used by staff to monitor activity outside the civic centre, as well as for providing evidence of criminal or anti-social behaviour.

A police spokesman said: 'We would welcome Uckfield Town Council installing their own CCTV cameras, and particularly in this location. This is an initiative we would look to utilise in other areas of the town.