Senior councillors stunned by revelation CCTV cameras were not watched during night

Up to May this year, no one was monitoring the city's CCTV cameras after 9pm on weekdays and after 1am at weekends.

Although the cameras were still working, having no one there to operate them meant that when police intervention was needed, no one was there to raise the alarm.

The problem went on from September 2006 to May 2007, because of City of York Council's difficulties recruiting someone to fill a vacancy for the position of a night operator.

That position has now been filled, and the network is staffed 24 hours a day. But the revelations have shocked councillors.

Coun David Scott, the leader of the council's Labour group, said: "The safety of people in York was being put at risk.

"The last thing we want is for people to be worried about their safety in York when it is a comparatively safe city.

"The newly-elected council asked for this review to see where we are and where we need to plan for the future.

"We must ensure that lessons are learned and the proper procedures are put in place."

Coun Ian Gillies, leader of the Conservative group, said he was "astounded" to find out that the CCTV cameras were not being monitored.

Coun Gillies said: "It is ridiculous. What is the point of having cameras running 24-hours-a-day if nobody is monitoring them?

"Cutting down on crime and tackling antisocial behaviour is a priority for us, and we should show that we are committed.

"What we have now got to do is ensure that this does not happen again."

A City of York Council spokeswoman said: "Due to unforeseen circumstances the council was unable to maintain a full compliment of staff for a period of nine months. During this time we operated the night CCTV on a limited basis - covering most weekends, which are the busiest time for crime in the city.

"The 60 cameras we have were still filming, and this coverage has been used as evidence to assist with criminal convictions.

"The daytime CCTV was not affected.

"We worked with the police to ensure they were fully aware of the limitations of the CCTV coverage so that they could act appropriately.

"It is only on rare occasions that we cannot provide a full service, and in seven years we have only had this one period when we have not been able to provide our normal service."

Big expansion of cameras to cover city's hotspots'

CCTV in York has gone digital - and more development work is being considered to improve the system.

York city councillors ordered a review to ascertain the condition of the system and to recommend any future improvements.

The review comes after The Press exclusively revealed two years ago that a third of York's CCTV cameras were out of order.

Some improvements have already been made to the system, which is a network of 60 cameras through the city.

A council spokesman said: "The system, parts of which are now over 15 years old, has been developed using traditional analogue technology.

"A matrix, which is a large video at the core of the control equipment, has recently been replaced, and includes a move to fully digital recording.

"It is now capable of accommodating 128 cameras.

"The upgraded matrix means it can now store images at much higher quality, allows images to be shared and removes the reliance on magnetic tape storage which is highly fallible."

Under the council's current development proposals, there are plans to locate two cameras at the Front Street shopping area in Acomb, and eight sites have been identified as antisocial behaviour hotspots.

Seven of these hotspots, which are in areas including Bell Farm Avenue, Bramham Road, Salisbury Terrace and Burton Stone Lane shops, will be chosen for new camera sites.

And the council also has plans for further development of the CCTV system in the future. A spokesman said: "Working with the crime analyst of Safer York Partnership, gaps in the main CCTV network have been identified.

"It is estimated that 16 new units should be required to close these gaps.

"Crime statistics have been analysed concerning all 16 sites, and the potential new units ranked in order relative to the amount of CCTV detectable crime within their area of coverage.

"The council had embarked upon a programme to build a wireless mesh network around the city centre, and a pilot for that was approved in January 2006.

"Experience with the pilot brought into question the financial viability of the project, and a similar but alternative system is being considered."

Councillors have been asked to consider the review of CCTV provision, but have not to make any decisions regarding its future provision.

* Extending CCTV was included in the cross-party policy prospectus, drawn up after the May 3 election left the council hung.

The prospectus, outlining what areas would be tackled by the council in its first 12 months, included a commitment to "recommend a policy strategy on the development of appropriate and responsive CCTV coverage".

Under the heading of "safe city", it also pledged a review report on how the council could help provide more local police access points; improve patrols in vulnerable areas; and provide a better response to local concerns such as speeding.