CCTV is giving value for money

CCTV coverage in Spalding is value for money, a local councillor has said ahead of plans to roll it out to more areas of South Holland.

Coun Gary Taylor (pictured) was asked about the £400,000 camera system by Coun Ingrid Sheard at a meeting of Spalding Town Forum last week.
He responded: “I do think it’s value for money.
“It leads to crime prevention and crime reduction. You can’t put a figure on crime prevention as the crime’s not taken place where there’s CCTV.
“There’s much evidence that the public, businesses and tourists do feel safe because of our cameras.
“We’re also ambitious to extend it across the district.
“I wouldn’t want to reduce it, but we do need to get value for money and utilise it as much as possible, including it covering more areas of town.
“It’s not also just for crime.
“It’s for missing people and to help deal with vulnerable members of the district.
“We could also have more confidence in it to improve the public’s confidence.”
Coun Taylor said that in the nine months since April 2023 it had led to a total of 40 arrests and been used in 94 incidents.
“The funds for this CCTV system were the result of a bid between the council, PCC, and the home office, so it’s another example of when we (the council) need to be alert to possible outside funding,” he continued.
The meeting heard volunteers are being sought to help man the CCTV office which is based in Boston, while a full time operator had just been recruited.