Scarborough CCTV: Borough council approves £366,000 surveillance camera network upgrade plan

Councillors heard that much of the current surveillance equipment is nearing the end of its service life with some analogue cameras in Scarborough town centre more than 20 years old, having received no substantial investment for a decade.

In recent years, evidence secured by CCTV operators has led to the conviction of five men for the murder of Solomon Robinson, the jailing of two men after a 55-year-old was killed in 2016 and a conviction for rape.

Cllr Carl Maw, cabinet member for stronger communities and housing, said: "There are understandable concerns from some people when we talk about surveillance and its infringement on civil liberties, or when CCTV technology gets into the wrong hands.

"Unfortunately, we do need to strike a balance with individual freedoms and stopping other people from violating other individuals' freedoms. So CCTV is an important necessity."

There are 244 cameras across Filey, Whitby and Scarborough which are monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Between September and November 2021, there were an average of 360 incidents per month and 60 arrests involving CCTV monitoring.

The cameras have also been used to secure prosecutions for fly-tipping and licensing breaches, prevent suicide attempts and disrupt a county lines drug dealing operation.

A total of £256,000 of funding will be allocated from the 'Better Lives' budget, with the remaining £110,000 from revenue budgets.

The money will pay for 28 analogue cameras to be replaced with digital to improve the way they work and the quality of the images they capture.

Facial recognition software is not currently used as part of the system, nor will it be part of the upgrade.

The technology that runs the 24/7 control room will also be brought up to date with new screens, recording equipment and camera control units.