Please Note - Doktor Jon is currently upgrading his site, so you may see some layout changes on various pages, whilst the work is in progress.
Hopefully, the complete re-design and improvements, should be completed by early 2010.

IMPORTANT: No material may be reproduced, copied or redistributed from this site, without the express written consent of doktorjon.co.uk
All the detailed information on this site is provided in good faith; and as such, Doktor Jon does not accept responsibility for any consequential loss, injury or disadvantage resulting from any individual or organisation acting on the details contained herein.

© doktorjon.co.uk 2004 - 2010

All along the watchtowers - It's been announced that the paramilitary Central Industrial Security Force, which is the specialist police unit charged with protecting the Taj Mahal in India, will now have access to an array of additional security measures, to help offset the risk of any terrorist attack. In addition to a network of watchtowers arranged around the world heritage site, a senior police commander has now confirmed that CCTV is in widescale operation around the monument. - Source - Reuters India 15th November 2009

Fewer police go walkabout - Melbourne Council in Australia, are the latest local authority to introduce a specialist CCTV van, to patrol their Central Business District. Victoria Police are planning to use recordings from the vehicle to help tackle problems with assaults and thefts, which are a particular issue at the weekends - Source - HeraldSun.com.au 15th November 2009

Tackling street crime in Africa - The Commissioner of Police for Ondo State, Nigeria has announced that street surveillance cameras have started to be installed in the state's capital Akure. It's reported that this is the first step towards installing CCTV in major towns throughout the region. - Source - 234Next.com 15th November 2009

Shop assistant gets the chop - A 55 year old shop worker was caught thieving money from the till, after her boss became suspicious at the drop in takings. The owner of the butchers shop in Greenock, Scotland, decided to install a covert CCTV camera, which provided clear views of the assistant stuffing bank notes into her pocket, some of which had been specially marked and used by the owners friends to make incriminating test purchases. - Source - Greenock Telegraph 14th November 2009

A vision of things to come - Police investigating a murder in Stamford, Lincolnshire, UK. are planning to transmit an image of their main suspect, to mobile phones (cellphones) in the town, using Bluetooth technology. The image was captured using a CCTV camera in a nearby shop, and it's thought that broadcasting the suspects picture to local residents, may significantly increase their chances of identifying the individual. - Source - BBC News 14th November 2009

Not exactly flushed with success - The head teacher of a school in Clane, County Kildare, Eire, has been pressured to remove CCTV cameras from the students toilets. Following a two day protest by both pupils and parents, the principal agreed to remove the cameras which although fitted to help tackle bullying, were actually cited as a breach of privacy. - Source - Independent.ie 14th November 2009

Tell me what you can see ... - News from Chandigarh in India, where the towns CCTV system, first proposed over five years ago, is still not operational despite the equipment having been installed, but left disconnected. Whilst officials from the Engineering Department are suggesting that the first 16 cameras could be working within weeks, the control room is unlikely to be usable for quite some time. As and when the scheme eventually comes online, it is proposed to increase the number of cameras to around 156, in order to cover key areas and parts of the highway network. - Source - Indian Express.com 12th November 2009

Clearly sensible, if you get my drift - The Mayor of Chicago has recently announced plans to make the city's snow clearing operations far more efficient, and CCTV has a vital role to play. Using their extensive network of security cameras, supported by high tech monitoring equipment on the snow clearing vehicles, supervisors can more effectively deploy their resources without requiring as much manpower on the streets. - Source - Chicago Sun Times 12th November 2009

A not so soft centre - Metro Manila in the Philippines has become the latest city to benefit from a 'state of the art' command and control centre. The National Capital Region Police have announced that their Regional Tactical Operation and Intelligence Center (RTOIC), which is currently accepting feeds from cameras located in Manila, Taguig and Paranaque, will eventually receive image streams from up to 2,000 cameras. - Source - Inquirer.net 11th November 2009

Trafficking in cameras - The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham has been given access to operate 25 CCTV cameras belonging to the capitals transit authority "Transport for London" (TfL). The street surveillance cameras are normally only used for traffic management purposes, but can now be accessed by the council, as part of their borough wide crime fighting camera network.. - Source - London Informer 11th November 2009

The people have spoken - In the wake of suggestions that the Town Centre CCTV scheme in Worcester UK may have to be scaled back due to cost cutting, the local MP Mike Foster has carried out a survey of local opinion. Whilst almost 4,000 people responded positively to the survey, 96% of the business that took part also confirmed their desire for the camera scheme to continue to be monitored at all times. - Source - Berrow's Worcester Journal 10th November 2009

They don't need to go there - A recent ruling in a US court, has understandably led to concerns about the amount of time that might in future be spent, on ensuring Forensic Video Analysts are readily available to personally present their findings during court proceedings. Now forensic scientists in Washington County, Arkansas are using video technology to help improve efficiency and save on costs. Rather than having to go to court on a regular basis, experts are now able to testify using a fibre optic based CCTV system, linking the state crime lab and the court itself. - Source - NWAnews.com 9th November 2009

At this rate, there won't be any cameras - The year old $ 14.8 million Public Space Surveillance system being used in Reading, Pennsylvania, is now under threat following a ruling by an examiner working for the states Labour Relations Board. Resulting from a complaint by the police union, the labour ruling upheld that civilian operators being paid $ 10 an hour, should be replaced by sworn police officers costing almost five times as much. Whilst the decision has gone to appeal, officials have warned that budget cuts are already pending, and if the decision is upheld the project may well have to be scrapped.. - Source - ReadingEagle.com 8th November 2009

Where do we go from here ...? - The UK government is carrying out a consultation exercise, to see if the highly controversial use of covert and targetted surveillance by Local Authorities, should be reviewed, and if necessary amended to take account of public concerns. Part of the changes proposed reflect the view that the general public should have more of a say when it comes to setting the direction for future use of surveillance technology - Source - BBC News 4th November 2009

But what if .... - A town council in South Wales, has decided to move forward with installing CCTV in their heritage centre, even though they have no significant crime problems. Llandovery council are proceeding with plans to acquire some CCTV after the Mayor was quoted as saying " .... Llandovery's a safe place, but if we don't have any cameras you can bet your life that some sort of incident will happen". - Source - South Wales Guardian 3rd November 2009

The previous months Global CCTV News archive >>>