Over the last four weeks we have been running an online survey looking at the spending plans of CCTV control rooms all over the UK.  Looks like we touched a nerve – we had a good response and the results make interesting reading.

7% of respondents are expecting their CCTV budgets to increase this year. However 34% are expecting CCTV budgets to decrease with 15% of respondents expecting cuts to be more than 30%.

A really interesting development is that 49% of respondents are looking at other sources of funding for their CCTV and security, whether that is from private sector or other sources.

In the current economic climate it’s no surprise that CCTV and Security budgets are being clawed back.  However – there has been a significant capital investment in CCTV infrastructure over the last decade – it simply doesn’t make sense to scrap it. Despite the strident objections of BBW and others – when the chips are down it’s always CCTV that provides core clues and evidence.

So what are the implications for CCTV operations? Will public space surveillance become a thing of the past in some places? Will they take on wider, more commercially anchored positions within the local authority? Will they become an annex of the overall I.T. function?

Certainly from our experience, control rooms  are looking at maintaining their legacy platforms – but they are also looking at a more integrated approach to systems and operations – extending their remit to contribute more demonstrably to the bottom line.

Hugh Barker, Managing Director, icomply said: –“Thanks to all who took the time to take part in our short survey. The results clearly indicate the current somewhat schizophrenic position of CCTV in the UK – under fire from BBW and their cohorts – constantly bombarded with new IP based technologies – and yet still the place to come to when you need crucial evidence during an investigation. One thing still puzzles me – the Police are one of the biggest customers of CCTV evidence, and yet to the best of my knowledge they don’t usually contribute to the costs of producing and archiving that evidence. Surely that has to change?……………….”

Questions

Question1

This Year are You Going to Increase your CCTV Budget?

• 92% of responses not increasing CCTV budget
• 7% of responses increasing CCTV budget

Question 2

If Yes, By What Percent is Your Budget Increasing?

• 5% increase by 5%
• 2% increase by 30% or more

Question 3

This Year are You Going to Decrease your CCTV Budget?

• 66% responses not going to decrease CCTV budget
• 34% responses going to decrease CCTV budget

Question 4

If Yes, By What Percent is Your Budget Decreasing?

• 5% decrease by 5%
• 5% decrease by 10%
• 5% decrease by 20%
• 5% decrease by 5%
• 15% decrease by 30% or more

Question 5

Are you looking for Funding from Private Sector or Other Sources?

• 51% are not looking for contributions
• 49% looking from funding from private sector or other sources

 Question 6

If Yes, By What Percent Contribution are you asking for?

• 7% looking at 10% contribution
• 37% looking at 15% contribution
• 10% looking at 20% contribution
• 10% looking at more than 30% contribution

Methodology

We circulated the survey on our website, twitter, email campaign and through the CCTV user group. The survey was set up using Wufoo online forms and embedded within our WordPress blog. We had 41 responses in all from throughout the UK