Criminals in Salford are being warned that they will no longer be able to operate under cover of darkness.
Salford City Council has started replacing its CCTV cameras with the latest technology – and the transformation is astonishing.
The new cameras give clearer, brighter images that mean the council’s CCTV team can keep an ever more watchful eye on the streets.
Deputy City Mayor Councillor David Lancaster said: “The CCTV cameras play a vital role in our city. Our staff report incidents to police enabling them to respond quickly, gather evidence for prosecuting flytippers and have saved dozens of vulnerable missing people by alerting the authorities.
“We’re always checking that the cameras are up to date and we were astonished at the clarity of the new ‘darkfighter’ cameras.
They really do turn night into day and give us pin sharp images which will help immensely. Plus they are almost half the price of the previous cameras which is an additional bonus.
“Our staff work to the absolute letter of the law in monitoring the cameras and will continue to do so. They are all experienced and therefore react only to things that are out of the ordinary such as unusual body language, aggressive movements or suspicious behaviour.”
Salford City Council and its partners fund 130 CCTV cameras covering six neighbourhoods in the city which are monitored round the clock, every day of the year.
The control room at Salford Civic Centre is linked to police radios so staff are aware of incidents, missing people or people wanted for questioning and can easily pass intelligence to the police.
Information provided by the council’s CCTV team helped police arrest 200 people last year.
The cameras have also played a key role in providing evidence for Operation Pandora, Salford City Council’s crackdown on flytippers which has seen 33 offenders successfully prosecuted for 41 offences over the past two years.
