'Talking' CCTV cameras go live across Hounslow

By Ian Mason
The Guardian
Dec. 17, 2009

CCTV cameras that have the potential to talk to passersby have gone live across Hounslow - but Big Brother will not be speaking just yet.

Instead, the cameras, which can be fitted with technology to recognise faces and give people a ticking off through speakers, will remain silent as they keep a watchful eye on about 200 hot spots in the borough.

The new community safety system launched on Monday, enabling Hounslow Council and the police to monitor thousands of people from a lone control room, in Isleworth. It is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Specially trained operators will have full control over the cameras and police will be able to take over if an incident occurs that they need to keep tabs on.

In the future the cameras could be installed with thermal imaging technology to help search for suspects and missing people and a gadget to match faces and number plates against the police database, as well as speakers.

However, a council spokesman stressed: “The option is there but it is not something we are looking at at the minute.”

The control room is one of the first steps in a scheme to roll out more CCTV across the borough.

Camera locations are set by agencies including the council, police, and fire service.

Council leader, Councillor Peter Thompson, said: “People consistently tell us they want more CCTV to make them feel safer on the borough’s streets.

“But we don’t just want to put in more cameras for the sake of it, they have to be put where they’re needed, and those that are already in place need to work better.

“People assume that just because there is a camera, the police can see what's going on, but that isn't the case at all. Different organisations have different cameras, and in the past these haven't been shared as well as they could.”

Councillor Paul Fisher, lead member for community safety at the council, said the council’s £1.8m investment will also allow camera sharing with Transport for London.

He added: “As the new system has a wireless element, it means it will be easier to deploy portable cameras to help tackle environmental crimes like fly-tipping and graffiti, which can have a massive negative impact on an area.”












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