CCTV team helping to keep Tameside safe

LATEST figures highlight how CCTV in Tameside is helping to keep the borough safe.

Tameside Council’s CCTV network has over 300 cameras monitoring town centres, parks, public spaces and council buildings.

Already this year, in January alone, the team have provided information to police that led to 20 arrests and located seven people who were vulnerable and/or missing from home.

During 2024 they provided information to the police that led to 52 arrests and helped to locate 27 people who were vulnerable. These figures represent only a fraction of the incidents where the council’s CCTV Operators assist Greater Manchester Police daily.

The service has undergone a recent internal audit, which demonstrated significant improvement -  the 2017 audit had 31 recommendations, while the 2024 audit had just seven, all of which have already been successfully implemented.

Weekly liaison between the CCTV Control Room and the Community Safety Team has been introduced to submit intelligence to police that would otherwise be lost. This includes information on drug activity, off-road bike locations, and individuals involved in serious organised crime.

Tameside Council Executive Member for Towns, Transport and Connectivity Cllr Stephen Homer said: “While these figures are just a small snapshot of the daily work our CCTV control room team assist with, they really help to showcase the significant impact they’re having  – working in close partnership with the police – in tackling crime and disorder and helping to keep our local communities safe.

“The recent audit of our CCTV operations also highlights the high standards of service delivery and management within the team and we’ll continue to be proactive in developing the service to ensure it continues to make a real difference to supporting our communities. Thank you to the officers involved for their dedicated work.”

GMP Tameside District Commander Chief Superintendent Chris Foster said: “The CCTV team are a key partner in our efforts to keep the community of Tameside safe. They are the unseen eyes who provide us with a retrospective look at incidents, identifying potential offenders when incidents are reported to us, but more importantly a proactive response to issues to which we can provide an immediate response before they escalate.

“I have personally witnessed the great communications between CCTV and our officers, and they often provide the oversight and direction when officers may be involved in a foot pursuit or similar. A recent example of great work by the CCTV team is reporting a theft of a charity box from a restaurant, which no one had even noticed, and they directed officers to the suspect who had left the scene and was walking through the town centre. This is one of the many incidents that are reported to us by the team, and I can’t thank them enough for their attention to detail and assistance in preventing and fighting crime within our district, making it a safer place to live.”

For further information see www.tameside.gov.uk/cctv