Review into island's use of CCTV on the way

Monday 02 July 2018

Guernsey could be getting an increase in the number of public CCTV cameras around the island, as a review into the matter is being commissioned by Home Affairs.

The committee want to update their policy regarding the cameras in 2019, and this could result in more cameras being places around the island and also an assessment of the current cameras.

A tendering process has begun to appoint an external partner to work with the committee on the review.

This will take around 12 weeks, Home Affairs' Head of Operations, Chelsea Martel, said.

"[It] is expected to take around 12 weeks in total, and once the successful partner has been appointed we can work towards a timeframe for the review of systems and associated recommendations, with the aim of providing guidance, specifications and suggested operating procedures in 2019," she said.

"Most committees install CCTV for specific reasons, sometimes as a result of legislation or regulation, but also to deter criminal and antisocial behaviour and for security purposes.  Networked CCTV was initially operated as a joint enterprise between Police and Customs, with the airport later becoming a third party.  The network has since been extended to also include the harbours and prison service as stakeholder authorities."

Currently, CCTV covers most States operated sites such as the Airport, Harbour, and the Court Building, along with other hot sports like the centre of Town.

Those locations do not include privately owned cameras, which many business have installed to deter crime.

Ms Martel added that the actual number of cameras may change following the review, whether this be adding them to new locations or altering numbers of existing cameras.