CCTV
Crime Reduction Programme CCTV Initiative
Under the Crime Reduction Programme CCTV Initiative, £153 million of capital funding was available to crime and disorder reduction partnerships in England and Wales for the period up to March 2002 for new and extended public area CCTV schemes. (Another £17 million was available for Scotland and Northern Ireland). The CCTV initiative is managed jointly by the Home Office, the former Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions and the National Assembly for Wales.
Round 1
The first round of the CCTV Initiative was launched in May 1999. The main priorities were to deal with crime and disorder problems in housing areas and to improve the security of public car parks, but funding was also available for CCTV schemes in town and city centres, including improvements and extensions to existing schemes, and other potential crime 'hot-spots' such as community, commercial and transport facilities.
Around 750 outline bids were received in the first round of the initiative, 376 of which were shortlisted for further consideration. Following assessment of the final bids, 35 awards amounting to £3.9 million were announced in November 1999, and a further 184 awards amounting to almost £35 million were announced in January 2000. 135 schemes to a value of £24 million were deferred for further consideration, and are being approved as enquiries are completed. A list of approved bids is available here
Round 2
The second round of the CCTV initiative was announced on 31 March 2000.
Car parks and high-crime housing areas remained a priority, but there was an additional emphasis on schemes to help reduce the fear of crime in rural areas, small shopping centres and near transport links. There was also a greater emphasis on partnership arrangements to involve local business and communities in the setting up and operation of CCTV schemes.
Applications for funding had to be made through local crime and disorder reduction partnerships, although other organisations such as Housing Associations could be party to the bids. The application prospectus and invitation letter for the second round of the initiative are available on this website. Details of approved Round Two schemes are available here.
Responsibilities
Crime and disorder reduction partnerships play a key role in helping to decide how CCTV can be used most effectively. As part of the application process, bidders were required to set realistic and achievable crime reduction targets that demonstrate the impact of CCTV as part of a wider crime reduction strategy.
The projects will be scientifically evaluated to help determine the contexts in which public area CCTV is most effective.
To ensure that CCTV is operated fairly and lawfully, approved schemes must operate under detailed codes of practice, including safeguards to protect individual rights to privacy according to the principles of the Data Protection and Human Rights Acts 1998.
Last update: 14 February 2005