Ever wondered what the men and women monitoring the various CCTV cameras around the county get to see? You'd be surprised, is Big Brother watching us? Or, as the controllers like to think, is it more like a caring older sister?

CCTV plays an important role in detecting crime and assisting with incidents by providing police officers on the streets with vital up to the minute information, while gathering images which can be used as evidence against offenders.

I visisted the CCTV control room in Hereford which houses monitors for the forty cameras across the region. There are 23 cameras in Hereford, six in Ross, six in Leominster and five in Ledbury. The images are transmitted through computers to the monitors in the control room which are connected by radio to Hereford retailers, pubs and clubs, and retailers and pubs in Ledbury, Leominster and Ross. It is also connected with Herefordshire Council Civil Enforcement Officers (car parking attendants) and Community Protection Team (environmental crime enforcers). There are also direct telephone links to Force Control Room in Worcester.

Herefordshire council is responsible for the CCTV network across the county which co-ordinates with external bodies such as West Mercia police, who collect master copies and back up copies for evidence, with all other footage being kept for 31 days.

The CCTV Control Room also supports a pub and retail radio scheme, which allows retail and licensed premises in the city and market towns to link together to quickly report any crime and community safety issues, such as alcohol related disorder and theft.

While there, I watched the night shift as they started their task watching nightlife across the county and it was fascinating. The extent to which the public can be observed is very impressive. The cameras are all situated in prime postitions, have a long range and are very manoeuverable, the images are so clear they once picked up a young woman checking her lipstick in the wing mirror of a police car, while her boyfriend was being arrested. However, law-abiding citizens are largely invisible as the staff know who and what they are looking for.

Sometimes though, identification of offenders can be extremely difficult, like at Christmas when there are a number of Santas on the loose, or the time Bugs Bunny and Winnie the Pooh started laying into each other.

Although the people observing the images help the police get to where they're needed and the recorded images can help identify offenders, it can be distressing for the controllers to watch victims of violent crime or accidents lying injured and in need of attention.

It was an extremely interesting experience and one that has made me realise what a valuable resource the CCTV network in Herefordshire is for making us all feel a little bit safer out and about.

Ginny Brain