Ys t a f e l l o e d d â Go l y g f a | CCTVIma g e


North Wales Police Joint Communications Centre at St Asaph was opened in 2007


cost saving, there is continual enhancement in fine-tuning the system as new ideas arise. One possibility would be to provide replay facili- ties to the custody suite systems. This would allow officers the ability to view footage from a recorded incident without requiring a time- consuming trip to the CCTV control rooms, allowing for a faster and more informed resolution to any incident. For other forces thinking of a new command and control system, I strongly suggest you visit the North Wales system. Contact Richard Stacey, the ICT Programme manager, and also have a word with Mike Harrison-Jones of CCTV Services Ltd for more information.


Gwynedd County Our next visit, also arranged by Mike, was to the Gwynedd County


system – one of the systems which is linked to the North Wales Joint Control Centre. The manager of Gwynedd is Geraint Ellis, a long standing mem-


ber of the CCTV User Group. Fifteen years ago, the original system comprised 10 cameras in Caernarfon. The system was then extended to Bangor where 12 cameras were put in a housing estate and 62 in car parks. The Gwynedd system now has over 130 cameras covering the nearby


major centres, and proactively seeks revenue generation from the University, Bangor City Council, recycling sites and alarm movement sensors. While it’s not unusual to find CCTV control rooms which monitor


and control the traffic bollards in town centres, this is the first time I’ve seen a control room which also monitors and operates the ornamental fountains in the pedestrian area! Of the town centre cameras, 32 are full frame rate digital and 62


car park cameras are half frame digital recorded using Veracity-Instek Matrivideo recorders. Thanks to cooperation from the Council’s IT department, these


are connected to the County’s cloud-based network. This network is a Welsh Assembly Government-funded scheme that provides high- bandwidth connectivity not only to the local government sector but also to health authority and blue light services. The remainder of the cameras are still analogue, but the intention is


to migrate all their cameras to this network with four more recycling centres coming online. The final goal in the migration process is to do away with the Council’s ageing analogue matrix and make full use of the virtual matrix from Instek. Located within the multi-storey car park, the control room has 25 monitors employing eight full-time operators, which provides two operators per 12-hour shift and 24/7 cover. Such is the respect in which the system is held that Geraint has lost two staff to the police! Apart from the usual video wall, there is a small review suite. During Geraint’s tenure, the system has changed from what he describes as lag- ging behind to leading others, and he has many other ideas about how to further develop the system in the next few years. Critical to this is the extension of the network, not only to serve


the cameras but to assist in many side issues including mapping and performance indicators. I look forward to returning to see how it has subsequently developed as there are whispers of a centralised CCTV control room for North Wales. It was incredibly difficult to pull ourselves away from the beautiful


scenery of the Snowdonia Range but other commitments meant it was time to leave Mike to get on with his work and to head south.


Neath and Port Talbot The trip south was lovely through the Conwy valley to Betws-


Y-Coed, Rhayader and through the Brecon Beacons to Neath. Waiting to greet us at the Neath and Port Talbot system was John Chapman. Prior to 2007, the system only served Neath and the control


Wint e r 2013 18


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