Westminster Borough Police tackles street criminals with inaugural mobile CCTV unit

The Metropolitan Police Service’s crackdown on crime has stepped up a gear with the Covent Garden launch of Westminster Borough’s first mobile surveillance vehicle. Brian Sims was on hand to review the technology and speak to the main parties involved.

In partnership with security guarding provider First Security, Sony and Covent Garden (London), police chiefs in Westminster have converted and equipped a Mercedes van with state-of-the-art CCTV cameras, recording equipment and LCD screens that will boost the effectiveness of streetscape monitoring and help cut crime.

Costing close on £150,000, this is the first mobile CCTV unit owned and operated by the police in Westminster that can be deployed to cover critical and serious incidents on a 24-7 basis. The ability to deploy the vehicle at a moment’s notice will allow officers to gain vital footage of incidents as they occur, and to quickly identify either those people believed to be directly involved or who happen to have been in the vicinity at the time.

While deployed for major incidents, the Mercedes van can also be employed as a makeshift Command Centre, with senior officers using it as a base from which they co-ordinate police activity at the scene.

An additional visible deterrent

Of course, the vehicle may also be parked and locked in a given area without any manned presence on scene, in turn providing an additional visible deterrent to would-be criminals and further reassurance for members of the law-abiding public.

In conversation with SMT Online’s Editor Brian Sims (and with Covent Garden’s main Piazza and Market Building providing the backdrop), Simon Bray – Borough Commander with the City of Westminster Police – explained: “The van is a real asset for us. It will make a very visible difference to policing in the West End, helping to tackle crime and disorder in the area. Westminster is still one of the safest places to visit in the Capital. We fully expect this initiative to increase the degree of safety for everyone who visits, lives and works in the Borough.”

Bray is an exemplar policeman. Members of the ‘press pack’ – BBC London and Press Association-affiliated journalists included – were buzzing around and about him for quite some time this morning, but he maintained a cool, professional outlook and demeanour at all times. Indeed, he was delighted to be talking to SMT Online (as several of his colleagues, it seems, have signed up to our daily news feeds from www.info4security.com).

Closer look at the equipment

First Security paid for the Mercedes van, and for its unique number plate – P999 SEE – while Covent Garden (London) funded the conversion costs of making the vehicle operational. It was left to Sony to supply the all-important monitoring and recording kit.

Simon Nash – the well-known and extremely knowledgeable senior European marketing manager for video security at Sony Professional Solutions (Europe) – attended this morning’s launch. As always, Nash was keen to discuss with me the reasons for Sony’s involvement, and the nature of the equipment specified.

“The Sony Professional solution is designed to record, review and manage all activity around the van,” explained Nash over a coffee at Russell Chambers. “Two different cameras – the SNC-DM160 mega pixel mini dome and the SNC-RX570P/outdoor PTZ – allow the CCTV operators to monitor activity and zoom-in on specific areas of interest.”

Sony’s Bravia screens are used for viewing relayed images, while RealShot Manager completes the whole process by actively managing all captured content.

The vehicle offers 360-degree coverage through the sophisticated cameras supplied, with the synchronised recording equipment providing crucial assistance when it comes to investigations and future prosecutions. Images can be recorded for anything up to 12 hours at a time, and may be retrieved instantly from a dedicated hard drive.

Nash is clearly proud of what Sony has done here. “From initial tracking right through to the review and management of data, this combination of technology will enable Westminster Police to run a complete video surveillance process from the mobile unit. I’m fully confident this will provide a major boost for policing in the Westminster area.”

Guarding and policing join forces

Representing First Security at the launch were Mike Crump – the company’s managing director – and John Purnell, who joined in early April in the capacity of non-executive director. Crump – who told me that the guarding market has been “a challenge” over the past 18 months or so – was gushing in his praise for the police.

“This launch is just another representative example of the excellent relationships now beginning to develop between ourselves in the guarding community, the Met, the British Transport Police and the City of London Police,” explained Crump. “We’ve hosted plenty of luncheons for our clients of late at which the City of London Police has provided excellent briefings. If our experience is anything to go by, the barriers that used to exist between the police and guarding contractors are beginning to come down.”

For his part, Purnell – the former head of security and loss prevention for Tesco, and still a major player in The Worshipful Company of Security Professionals – was keen to tell me what he thinks of his new role.

“I’m really impressed with Interserve, Brian. There’s so many ideas coming out of the management team, and a genuine focus on the customer. It’s all about a total, all-encompassing solution for the end user rather than just a guarding service delivery. I’m convinced there’s lots more to come, too.”

Purnell is “delighted” to be part-and-parcel of the Interserve Group. “The plc is a massive facilities management operation, and that affords great scale and opportunities for the guarding operations driven by First.”

First Security, of course, is one of the Capital’s foremost guarding companies. Established back in 1987, the Security Industry Authority Approved Contractor employs close on 2,000 staff, and has garnered an enviable reputation for delivering a quality service to the client while always bidding to drive up standards.