Cutting back in the 'Garden' - A shake up of Public Space camera operations in parts of Kent, UK, has seen the Sevenoaks CCTV Manager take over operation of the Tunbridge Wells Control Room; whilst Sevenoaks District Council has already made £ 40k ($60k, €45k) worth of cost savings by dispensing with two of their eight CCTV Operators. - Source - This is Kent 18th June 2010

When ex marks the spot - Researchers in Niklasdorf, Austria, got more than they bargained for when reviewing recordings from a camera set up to study the local wildlife. An unknown male individual was captured on video carefully searching through the undergrowth, where just a few weeks earlier forestry workers had discovered a stash of almost €60,000 in cash. - Source - Austrian Times.at 21st June 2010

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The appliance benefits from an alliance - Senior fire officers in Edinburgh have just completed a six month trial, giving phone operators access to the city's extensive camera surveillance network, in an effort to help cut down on hoax emergency calls. The new facility has also permitted despatchers to evaluate emergency situations before crews arrive, and on numerous occassions have been able to co-ordinate a police response where personel safety may have become an obvious issue. The trial has proven so successful, that it's now become a permanent facility in the Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service Control Room. - Source - News.Scotsman.com 22nd June 2010

Not exactly one step ahead - When a freshman maths student decided to go on a shooting spree in the Northern Virginia Community College last year, first responders were left at a serious disadvantage. Despite the gunmans rifle having jammed after the initial shots were fired, a report investigating the incident management has highlighted serious failings in the campus video surveillance system, with 36 of their 45 cameras out of action, when they were needed most. - Source - Washington Post 22nd June 2010

Anything good on the telly? - It's 3.30am in the middle of the night, and Jeffery Young is sitting staring in disbelief at the TV monitor in his Orlando home. Having woken from a deep sleep, he was shocked to see on his security cameras, two men breaking in to his bar situated in Largo almost 100 miles away. After phoning the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office to report the burglary in progress, he sat back and watched as a gun toting deputy chased down the suspects, who have since been charged with burglary, criminal mischief and resisting arrest. - Source - Tampabay.com 25th June 2010

Going, going, almost gone - Under proposals from City Hall, the city of Stockton in California is planning to pull the plug on their entire 76 camera video surveillance system, in a desperate attempt to help plug a $23 million budget deficit. At present the cameras are monitored by part time staff, who have previously retired from the local police department; if the cutbacks do go ahead, 31 staff will be made redundent. - Source - Recordnet.com 25th June 2010

You aint seen nothing yet - Following in the wake of a high profile murder earlier this year, Dubai Police have announced their intention to spend the equivalent of over $ 135m installing additional security cameras right across the emirate. With a current network of 25,000 cameras in operation, CCTV has already proven it's value having been instrumental in investigating the death of a senior Hamas official, back in february this year. - Source - The National 26th June 2010

Taking security to new heights - Scientists at Reading University in the UK, are currently conducting an anti terrorism research project funded by the European Union. Advanced electronic and video analytic systems are being developed to help identify terrorists on aircraft, simply through aspects of their 'suspicious' behaviour. - Source - Telegraph.co.uk 27th June 2010

Changes are a comin' - Swedens Minister for Justice Beatrice Ask, has put forward proposals to make it easier for municipalities to obtain permission to install CCTV in 'hot spot' areas, and to allow shopkeepers to notify after cameras are installed, rather than seek consent before. For normally privacy conscious Swedes, the moves are a significant shift, which opposition parties have been quick to condemn. - Source - Stockholm News 28th June 2010

One thing leads to another - A pilot project operating CCTV cameras in Nairobi, Kenya, has been seriously affected after vital monitoring equipment was burgled from the control room located at the National Archives. A spokesman for the city has described how the cameras had previously helped to significantly reduce crime, which has now increased sharply since the system has been disabled. - Source - Capital News 28th June 2010

Petards and hoist, spring to mind - A 48 year old garage workshop owner has been convicted of drug dealing, after having been caught out by his own CCTV cameras. The man and a 27 year old accomplice were sentenced to a total of over 16 years in prison, after police raided the North Lanarkshire garage, and recovered a substantial quantity of illegal drugs, a shotgun and a crossbow. Investigating officers discovered a number of the drug deals had actually been recorded on the premises security camera system. - Source - BBC News 28th June 2010

Delays cost a bomb - A couple returning to the UK from their travels in France managed to trigger a major security alert, after they attempted to board a Eurostar train in Paris carrying a live artillery shell. The antique munition which they picked up as a bargain in a sunday morning flea market, was spotted by security officers on CCTV, sparking a full scale alert which suspended services and required bomb disposal experts to deal with the situation. - Source - Mail Online 29th June 2010

On the road again ... - Tower Hamlets Council in East London is the latest UK local authority to take delivery of a street surveillance vehicle. The £ 50k ($75k, €60k) high tech vehicle is equipped with four colour cameras, one of which is a remote control mast mounted unit, that can be operated by either an on-board enforcement officer, or from the councils CCTV Control Room . - Source - East London Advertiser 24 30th June 2010

When the camera is above it all - A 34 year old woman making her way home from a friends house in the Bishopsworth area of Bristol, was dragged off the footpath and raped directly beneath a roadside street surveillance camera. The attack which took place just after midnight went undetected, as the high angle of the camera prevented the operators from spotting the incident, or recording any images of the suspect below. - Source - This is Bristol 30th June 2010

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