Closed Circuit TV

Redditch Borough Council and Bromsgrove District Council have installed CCTV systems in some of its locations used by staff and members of the public, for the purposes of safety, protecting business interests and prevention and detection of crime, in accordance with Section 163 of the Criminal Justice & Public Order Act 1994 for Local Authorities and the Crime & Disorder Act 1998 for Police.

In all locations, signs are displayed notifying you that CCTV is in operation and providing details of who to contact for further information about the scheme. 

CCTV and associated systems will only be used for the following objectives, and for no other purposes:

• To help reduce the fear of crime;
• To help deter crime, detect crime and prevent crime;
• To deter and detect anti-social behaviour
• To assist in the apprehension and identification of offenders;
• To enhance community safety, boost the economy and encourage greater use of the town centre / shopping centre .
• To assist the Local Authority in its enforcement and regulatory functions.
• The recording of staff images which may be used as an audit mechanism to confirm policies and standards are complied with in practice in Terms of keeping employees safe, protecting business interests and upholding health and safety.
• For the maintenance of Public Order
• To provide information for traffic management
• Provide the police, other agencies and the Council with evidence to take criminal and civil action in the courts
• Providing high quality evidence which may assist in the detection of crime and the apprehension and prosecution of offenders
• Protecting property
• Providing assistance with issues relating to public safety and health
• Providing assistance and reassurance to the public in emergency situations

Most CCTV systems operated by Redditch Borough Council and Bromsgrove District Council record video images only. However, in limited high-risk locations, such as the main reception area, audio recording may also be enabled alongside video.

Audio recording is used solely for staff safety, incident investigation and evidential purposes, particularly in relation to verbal abuse, threats, anti-social behaviour and criminal activity. The use of audio recording is restricted to specific locations where a clear operational need has been identified and is not deployed across the wider CCTV estate.

Audio is not routinely monitored live and is only accessed by authorised officers where necessary following an incident. Where audio recording is in operation, clear signage will be displayed advising that both audio and video recording are taking place.

Redditch Borough and Bromsgrove District Councils CCTV is able to relay a live feed of only 2 selected cameras at any one time, to Police HQ Call Management Centre. They have no manual control over which camera, and no facility to record, download or reproduce images. Evidence production is only available on request and under agreed restrictions from the Monitoring Centre.

Images captured by CCTV will not be kept for longer than 31 days.  However on occasion there may be a need to keep images for longer, for example, where a crime is being investigated. 

The system will be operated in accordance with the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice issued by the Secretary of State in 2013.

You have the right to see CCTV images of yourself and be provided with a copy of the images. 

More information about your rights can be found here