‘Outdated’ on-street CCTV to be replaced
Systems will be changed across seven towns
SCOTTISH Borders Council will push ahead with the replacement of outdated onstreet CCTV systems in seven towns.
Members of the full council on Thursday heard that the systems “are approaching a point of disrepair and will in any event become obsolete as of 2025”, due to the switch-off of analogue telecoms and the move to IP-only by Openreach.
A report from council chief executive David Robertson recommended that the local authority accepted the proposal of its strategic IT provider, CGI, on a “best value solution for CCTV and associated connectivity infrastructure” with investment of £2.7m over a 16-year period.
The council runs some 65 public space CCTV cameras in the towns of Peebles, Duns, Hawick, Galashiels, Kelso, Eyemouth and Melrose.
Police Scotland also has two mobile cameras, and a separate project is under way to bring more mobile cameras into service, councillors were set to be told.
The report described the current council CCTV system, managed by the street lighting team within the council’s environments and infrastructure department, as “inadequate for modern policing”.
Mr Robertson said: “Investing in a replacement CCTV system for the Scottish Borders ensures that the infrastructure is in place to deter, detect and prosecute crime. The current CCTV system is inadequate for modern policing, and
the imminent obsolescence of the technology further reinforces the need for a modern system. Investment in replacement CCTV is a proactive safety measure which responds to the ask from our communities to improve safety and preservation of the public realm.”
Two other places, Selkirk and Newcastleton, have their own similarly small CCTV systems, not run by the council but accessible to police.
Meanwhile, Hawick Community Council has developed a proposal for a replacement CCTV system in the town and their proposal has been discussed with officers and local elected members to establish the principles of the proposal, and the likely costs.
Councillors backed the report following a lengthy discussion at the meeting on Thursday.