Thurrock Council is a unitary authority in Essex, responsible for a varied area that includes Lakeside Shopping Centre, more than 18 miles of Thames riverfront and a large area of green belt land.
Although Thurrock is not considered a high-crime area, the Council is committed to reducing antisocial behaviour and improving safety for local communities.
The challenge: upgrading an ageing CCTV recording system
Thurrock Council was one of the first councils in the UK to use IP technology across its CCTV network. The system included 220 cameras across 28 locations, with footage transmitted through the Council’s IP network and recorded for 30 days using local edge devices.
However, because the cameras were motion-activated, storage could fill quickly in high-traffic areas. In some cases, important footage was overwritten before it could be reviewed. With increasing demand for CCTV evidence from the police and other local authorities, CCTV Manager Gary Weatherley knew the Council needed a more reliable recording system.
The existing system was also becoming difficult to maintain. The manufacturer had stopped supporting it, replacement parts were expensive, and there was a growing risk that failure of critical components could affect major parts of the CCTV network.
With a limited budget and no capital expenditure allocation available, the Council asked ClearView Communications for advice on how to modernise the system in a practical and cost-effective way.
The solution: modern IP CCTV network technology
ClearView already supported the original system, so the team understood the technical challenges, operational pressures and budget constraints involved.
Working with technology partner IndigoVision, ClearView developed a phased upgrade programme using modern IP CCTV technology. The new system retained the Council’s 220 existing cameras, helping to reduce cost, while linking them to a new central storage system.
Images were transmitted back to the control room using a mix of technologies, including copper cable, fibre, wireless IP, broadband and mobile connectivity. Live and recorded footage could then be viewed across the IP network, giving operators a more flexible and reliable way to manage CCTV across the borough.
As part of the upgrade, ClearView also modernised the CCTV control room, installing new 42-inch plasma screens to improve visibility and make footage easier for operators and police officers to review.
The upgraded system was designed to be straightforward for Council staff and other non-technical users to operate. It delivered higher-quality images, improved resolution and frame rates, and made it much faster to locate footage by time, movement and location.
The system was also scalable, allowing additional cameras to be added in future without the same limitations as the previous recording setup.
The benefits of the new CCTV system
Thurrock Council was pleased with the outcome of the project. The new system delivered a more efficient, cost-effective and future-ready CCTV recording platform, while allowing the Council to retain its existing camera estate.
The upgrade was completed within two years, rather than the three years originally planned, and was funded through the operating budget rather than requiring capital expenditure.
One of the most significant improvements was the speed of evidence retrieval. Police officers could now view important CCTV footage within minutes rather than days. With the police requesting between 500 and 1,000 pieces of CCTV footage each week, this created a substantial time saving.
Footage could also be copied directly onto DVD for evidential use. Because the CCTV control room operates 24/7, police officers could visit at any time to view or collect footage. When required, they could also use the control room to monitor specific areas during targeted operations.
The system provided a full audit trail of operator actions and supported an evidence-based process for producing duplicate DVDs, each printed with a title and unique reference number. This made the evidence process more robust and acceptable within the Criminal Justice System.
The upgraded system also improved the Council’s ability to support other authorities, including Trading Standards. Following the project, the CCTV network helped detect several crimes, including theft and antisocial behaviour, leading to arrests.
Testimonial
“ClearView was very supportive throughout the design and installation process. As a result, the upgrade of the Council’s CCTV network has seen a significant improvement in ease of operation, and the quality of CCTV evidence produced.”
Gary Weatherley, CCTV Manager, Thurrock Council
If your organisation needs to upgrade an ageing CCTV network, improve footage retrieval or modernise a control room, ClearView can help design a practical solution around your existing infrastructure. Learn more about our CCTV Installation services in Thurrock.
