Dudley Council chiefs deny claims that 40 per cent of CCTV cameras are not working

The claim came during a discussion about the budget at Monday night's Dudley Council cabinet meeting where opposition councillors asked about monitors in the borough not working for five days over the Christmas period.

Councillor Steve Clark, opposition Conservative group spokesman for finance and legal services, also claimed that 40 per cent of the cameras in Dudley were not working.

The claim was brought up during a discussion on proposals to spend £1.680m to upgrade the systems and to relocate the CCTV control room from Sedgley Police Station to St James's Road, in Dudley town centre.

Councillor Clark said: "One of the areas where I believe we are not looking after the people of Dudley is the CCTV area. I believe the CCTV was out over the Christmas period for five full days throughout the borough.

"I also believe that the 40 per cent of the cameras throughout Dudley are still not working. So is that expenditure, justified here, is it going to take care of all those issues?”

Responding to his question at the meeting the council's cabinet member for finance Pete Lowe said the plans to upgrade and relocate the CCTV system would 'provide a far more efficient service going forward'.

The council has since released a statement denying the claims that 40 per cent of the cameras don't currently work – revealing that only eight out of 79 cameras they manage are currently not working.

Councillor Khurshid Ahmed, Dudley Council's cabinet member for regeneration, planning and economic investment, said: "Our network of CCTV cameras is one of a number of ways we keep our borough safe.

"As with any ageing camera system, there will be faults with some of the cameras from time to time, but we work hard to get them up and running again as quickly as possible.

"We are currently looking at ways to upgrade the cameras and the way they are monitored as part of our clear commitment to keep people safe, but that would be subject to appropriate funding. A replacement of the control rooms, a new digital system all controlled under one roof, has also been included in the budget proposals for next year, and is subject to approval from full council later this month.

"Despite speculation about the number of cameras out of action, out of the 79 cameras we manage, only eight are currently down, but we are working as quickly as possible to repair them.”

Cllr Ahmed added: “The budget proposals are about upgrading the cameras and software with a new modern, digital system as well as relocating the CCTV control room, currently in Sedgley, to Dudley, making it more efficient in monitoring the borough.”

A report to the council about the CCTV control room states: "The council is required to have a strategy in place that, working in conjunction with other agencies, does all it reasonably can to prevent crime and disorder within the borough. The provision of CCTV plays a major role in that strategy."