Cowley Road CCTV trial results

The request was partially successful.

Marie Koenigsberger

Dear Oxford City Council,

Please supply the findings of the trial of CCTV equipment installed on the Cowley Road, Oxford, in January 2009 as part of a 2 year trial.

Yours faithfully,

Marie Koenigsberger

Oxford City Council

Good afternoon,

Thank you for your email below, regarding a Freedom of Information
request.

Your request was received on 28 February 2011 and you will receive a
response within 20 working days, as required under the Freedom of
Information Act.

Yours sincerely

Sent on behalf of Michael Newman (Corporate Secretariat Manager &
Freedom of Information Officer)
Oxford City Council, Town Hall, St Aldates, Oxford, OX1 1BX
[Oxford City Council request email]

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Oxford City Council

Good afternoon,

Further to the acknowledgement below, I can respond as follows:

The CCTV scheme in East Oxford was not a two year trial. The Portfolio
Holder for Safer Communities determined that there would be no trial
period and the future of individual cameras would be reviewed. There is
currently a review of the use of all public space cameras in the city to
determine whether some should be removed due to lack of use. The Cowley
Road cameras will be part of this exercise.

Yours sincerely

Sent on behalf of Michael Newman (Corporate Secretariat Manager &
Freedom of Information Officer)
Oxford City Council, Town Hall, St Aldates, Oxford, OX1 1BX
[Oxford City Council request email]

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Marie Koenigsberger

Dear Oxford City Council,

You will note that the following FOI Request (which was answered) asked for the methodology of the CCTV trial on the Cowley Road
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/me...

Clearly there was a trial.

If you are saying that the trial was abandoned, then please state at what point it was abandoned, who took the decision to abandon it and under what procedure, and why there was no public discussion.

Yours faithfully,

Marie Koenigsberger

Oxford City Council

Good morning,

Thank you for your email below. I will look into the matter and respond
to you in due course.

Yours sincerely

Sent on behalf of Michael Newman (Corporate Secretariat Manager &
Freedom of Information Officer)
Oxford City Council, Town Hall, St Aldates, Oxford, OX1 1BX
[Oxford City Council request email]

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Oxford City Council

Good afternoon,

Further to the email below, I can respond as follows:

The cameras are assets of Oxford City Council that are operated under a
partnership with Thames Valley Police. The decision was taken to treat
the Cowley Road cameras like the other public space cameras covered by the
agreement, in that when a camera is identified as no longer having a usual
purpose consideration will be made for its removal or relocation.

This stance was minuted at a Oxford Safer Communities Partnership meeting
on the 10th June 2009.

CCTV in East Oxford
Recommendation:
To review of the available CCTV data is undertaken in February 2009, with
the Cowley Road CCTV Scheme trial period formally ending in February 2010
when a report will be tabled at OSCP on the effectiveness of the scheme.

Not agreed
Agreed statement:
"Data relating to the CCTV scheme on Cowley Road will be reviewed annually
to determine the effectiveness of the cameras. If the review determines
that one or more cameras are not useful in their current location the
camera(s) will be moved to areas of greater need. The views of local
communities will be considered when undertaking the review.

Data to be used, where available, will include camera usage statistics,
levels of incidents monitored and use in custody or court."

SM, as Portfolio Holder for Safer Communities, will decide in partnership
with Thames Valley Police, whether cameras will remain in situ or moved to
other priority locations. SM reiterated that he believes that CCTV is an
important tool in policing East Oxford.

SM suggested CCTV has improved people's perception of feeling safer. CP
suggested the need to provide more information about when CCTV has
contributed to the successful prosecution of an offender. This could be
fed back to the community via NAG newsletters. Any further clarification
on this decision should be addressed to the Portfolio Holder for Safer
Communities, Oxford City Council.

A formal review is taking place currently to ascertain camera usage and
hence whether some cameras should be turned off or relocated.

I hope that is helpful.

Yours sincerely

Sent on behalf of Michael Newman (Corporate Secretariat Manager & Freedom
of Information Officer)
Oxford City Council, Town Hall, St Aldates, Oxford, OX1 1BX
[1][Oxford City Council request email]

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