General Discussion

Posting this as I thinks it adds something useful to the debate on Dawlish CCTV,

Don

From today's Herald Express.

TOTNES is being urged not to pour thousands of pounds into spy cameras it does not need.
The town's own police boss Insp Paul Morgan told town councillors: "The crime figures do not justify that reaction now."
Over the last few months the town had been faced with high-profile crimes like the mugging of a pensioner in broad daylight in Totnes town centre, the knife-point mugging of two girl language students and a violent attack on a cyclist by a gang of youths.
But despite these incidents, the amount of public disorder in Totnes has actually fallen by a massive 33 per cent over the last six months, Insp Morgan revealed.
"Totnes is a safe town," he told the councillors.

Morgan's comment, which he stressed was a personal viewpoint, comes as neighbouring Kingsbridge Town Council is looking at spending thousands on setting up CCTV across the whole town centre and monitoring it 24 hours a day.
Kingsbridge councillors have just agreed to conduct a one-week trial involving the Torbay monitoring centre which covers the whole of Torquay town centre.
The trial will use two existing cameras which cover Kingsbridge's town square along with the town library, the Age Concern complex and the town council's own Quay House HQ to sort out what sort of times the monitoring should go on for.
But the council wants to eventually install cameras covering the whole of Fore Street, Embankment Road and The Quay car park area.
It is estimated that the cost of installing cameras is around £2,000 a time while the cost of 24-hour monitoring is between £2,000 and £3,000 a year per camera.
Between April last year and March this year there were 619 crimes in Totnes town — down almost six per cent on the previous 12 months.
Violent crime in Totnes stood at 148 which is almost the same as the previous 12 months.
In Kingsbridge the total amount of crime over that time was 352 which was down 16 per cent on the previous year. Violent crime stood at just 78 which was down by almost 18 per cent.
Insp Morgan said that if Totnes did decide to opt for cameras, the police would assist the council in whatever way was possible.
But he warned Totnes town councillors: "Systems cost a hell of a lot of money to maintain. In a time of reducing crime, is it something that you want to invest a lot of money in?"

Why did Dawlish spend £80.000 + for six cameras that dont work properly, I have been told by a Cllr that rectifications to the problems have been put on the back burner, in other words they will do nothing and not even accept responsibility for their mistakes, and the overspend of our money.

I should have added Teignmouth expect to spend £35,000 for 12 cameras, ours cost as said before £80,000 + for 6

User4549,
I see that the Dawlish Council website says that information about the system is available for inspection at the council offices, by appointment.
http://www.dawlish.gov.uk/oldsite/acrobat/Freedom_of_Information_March_2007.pdf.

Have you looked at any of this stuff and, if so, does it add anything useful?

Don

Why do Dawlish Town Council never include such information openly on their website? Are they that behind the times with technology?

Or perhaps doing all they can to hide their malfeasance from as many residents as possible?

Dullish,
I do find it interesting that some documentation is only available at the offices. However, it could be more to do with the sheer bulk than a desire to hide.

If I was trying to hide my own wrongdoings, I would make sure that nothing detrimental to me was never written down at all.

I am from Teignmouth and have no interest either in attacking or in defending Dawlish Council. However, I would observe that the Dawlish Council website contains far more about access to information under FOI and appears to be generally more transparent than Teignmouth Town Council (But that is in another country and, besides....)
Don

sorry
should be "ever written down at all"

Yes I have visited and its in the Town Clerks office, you need to email and set a visiting timed then sign the book on arrival, it is supposed to be very secure, the entrance door is bullet proof etc, but the other door is just a regular door, bit of a joke really. Do you remember Prowse on the dom joly show saying she didnt know there was a control room and she was sitting right by it, does that mean she had never been into the town clerks office

Some of us have been trying to warn others of the dangers of accepting things at face value.
Others have been trying to rubbish the warnings, for reasons best known to themselves.

I would like to inform Don, That once upon a time, agenda's of the meetings held for Dawlish Town Council, where placed on the web site in their entirety and once upon a time members of the public could address THE council about whatever they like and would expect some sort of answer to the points raised. They could not do that, because some of the questions put, would show that they were paddling out of their depth to answer.
Now we do not get the Agenda's in their entirety on the web site, but you can get them if you make a request, or go to the Library, (If you have time of course). You are not even allowed any more to address the council, unless it is about an item on the agenda and even then you are stop-watched even if there is only one at the meeting to ask a question.
If you wish to talk about anything which is not on the agenda, you have to give notice of your question. That smack's full square with a staged managed meeting and I have attended many of those over the years. Whether it was a Union meeting, the Annual General Meeting of the National Farmers Union or many other high profile meetings.
Corruption is rife in this country and much of it starts at the doors of LG.
Parish council's, so we are told, are the closest to the community, yet when you ask awkward questions in an endeavour to uncover the wrong doings by certain people, You are given the cold shoulder and you then find the parish council is the furtherest from the community.
If they are so upfront, why isn't there more transparency, why isn't there a proper minute taker and why isn't there a recording system installed, so that checks and balances can be made if there is a queery.
Look at the minutes of any Meeting of Dawlish Town Council, You will rarely if ever no who voted for against or abstained on the topic of the day. Now why is that? How can anyone asses whether or not the councillor that is there to represent you, is doing so?
I could go on.