A technician working on one of the CCTV cameras in Enniskilen
THE NEW CCTV system in Enniskillen is paying its way, with footage viewed by police 149 times last year and over half of clips usable as evidence.
The Enniskillen town centre CCTV annual report was released by the Fermanagh and Omagh District Council recently and the Herald can reveal that the prevention, detection of offences and the prosecution of criminals has been improved with new state-of-the art-cameras.
During the 2014-2015 financial year, Fermanagh PCSP Officers secured £36,000 funding from the Assets Recovery Community Scheme (ARCS) to replace the original seven PTZ camera’s which were purchased in 2008 through the NIO Scheme to seven new HD 360 Predator Camera’s which run via the high speed fibre broadband network and contain more data and act faster than the analogue cameras. The new most up to date technology will, in the long term, reduce the
maintenance costs and the high quality (HD) imagery will aid in the prevention and detection of offences and the prosecution of criminals.
Enniskillen currently has an eight camera CCTV System with eight audio horns and eight emergency help points situated within the town centre. Enniskillen is the only area outside of Belfast to have emergency help points.
The difference in the quality of the new cameras has already been noted this year, with a higher percentage of footage usable now for evidence. The number of incidents observed by monitoring room staff is down on the previous year from 909 to 884, an average of 2.4 per day.
In the last financial year there were 149 viewing requests made by police, resulting in 76 evidential discs being prepared. In comparison to 2013/14 125 requests were made and 59 evidential discs prepared.
The total cost of the scheme for 2014/15 was £38,003, but local councillor Patricia Rogers insists the money has been well spent. She told the Herald the general consensus among councillors at the regeneration and community committtee, where the figures were discussed, was a positive one.
“They make people feel safer, especially when socialising at night and for day time shoppers.”
The councillor said the system had helped create “positive vibes” in Enniskillen making it one of the safest towns in the North. She added:
“When my children were socialising in town I was glad to know there was something like that in town. It was a back-up if there was any anti-social behaviour and gave you peace of mind.”
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