Some of the key headlines are:

• Councils pool funds for CCTV staff – Leamington
• CCTV cameras help with nearly 1,000 arrests – South Tyneside
• Chepstow is in desperate need of new CCTV cameras, police chief warns
• Cumbrian Council Urged not to cut back on CCTV Service – Allerdale
• CCTV cameras to be updated in Nuneaton and Bedworth

The current frosty financial climate is forcing local government to peer gloomily at every budget proposal. Big Brother Watch campaigners will no doubt be cheered as funding for public space CCTV becomes harder and harder to find.

There seems to be a a variety of solutions – the most perverse being to to close CCTV schemes altogether. Other more enlightened local authorities have introduced revenue generating activities into the control room operations – for example alarm monitoring and key holding.

Cutting back is not the only solution – the right software platform can blend legacy equipment with new ip technologies and more extensive operational functionality – the control room can contribute to rather than be a drain on revenues.