Talking CCTV shames litter louts

CCTV that tells litter louts to bin their rubbish has been pioneered by a council in the North of England, which is claiming "100 per cent success" for the project.

Seven CCTV cameras in Middlesbrough have been wired up with speakers in an effort to combat anti-social behaviour in trouble hotspots around the town centre.

The speakers, which have been in place since the end of July, allow CCTV operators to intervene when they spot a litter bug or a group of loitering youths behaving suspiciously, by voicing one of several standard phrases - or saying something a little more personal.

Middlesbrough Council's physical security manager, Jack Bonnar, explained that the speakers can warn people that there is a problem with something they are doing - and that "there's a camera there and we are watching".

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The seven cameras - with another to be added soon - gained speakers as part of an upgrade to an existing help-point system. Bonnar explained: "Instead of going to the expense of a new audio system to go throughout the town, we upgraded the help-point system to the tune of something like £23,000. Now that means the help-point system can be installed in car parks in the middle of town, it can be used for CCTV, it can be used for a number of things."

Once the help-point upgrade was complete, the CCTV speakers were installed within two weeks, said Bonnar: "It literally was a case of putting the speakers to the cameras and running the fibre line back."

And the council has been more than a little surprised at how the people of Middlesbrough have welcomed the advent of cameras that talk. Bonnar said: "The general public have not only accepted them they are participating themselves," explaining how when people hear the cameras speak they intervene to make litter bugs pick up their rubbish.

There is clearly an "embarrassment factor" for the offender, said Bonnar.

Stock phrases used by the CCTV operatives to chastise offenders include: 'warning your activities are being monitored by CCTV - disperse' and 'police are being called', said Bonnar.

He added: "But the rest of it is things like 'the lady in the white blouse you're being witnessed to drop litter - kindly pick it up and put it in the bin to your left or right' and then 'thank you!' - because we are polite."

The council was inspired to add audio to its CCTV to tackle littering in the town centre but the speakers have proved such a success that plans to extend their scope are afoot.

Bonnar explained: "On the bottom end of the scale we use it for littering offences, for which it's proven to be absolutely a 100 per cent success. The [town's] cleanliness has improved dramatically since the speakers have been installed.

"As we move up the scale a bit on public order offences - like drunkenness or fighting - we're proving the speakers are again coming into their own, and we're recording about 65 to 70 per cent success rate for those kind of offences."

Bonnar said: "We initially thought it would be the shock factor and possibly the embarrassment... and then it would get to a plateau or start to wane. We haven't found that yet."

The council is also looking into the possibility of using the talking CCTV as an aid to the emergency services - for example to clear an area quickly, or for directing the public when roads have been closed. It is also planning to double the number of sound-enabled cameras by the end of March next year, from eight to 16.

The first seven cameras were chosen because of their proximity to bars and night clubs, areas where litter or public order offences are committed. The next eight are going to be further afield he added.

A recent survey found that attitudes to CCTV in the UK are largely positive - with 88 per cent of Brits supporting the use of CCTV cameras to tackle street crime.

CCTV that can hear is already up and running in the Netherlands, where cameras have been equipped with microphones that listen out for aggressive tones suggesting a fight is about to break out.