New CCTV on West Midlands buses helps catch troublemakers already

CCTV cameras installed on buses in the West Midlands to help tackle crime and anti-social behaviour

New state-of-the-art CCTV units have been installed on some of the buses belonging to National Express West Midlands.

The new smart technology enables the Safer Travel police team to look at live CCTV images on buses with the equipment installed, allowing the team to view crime and anti-social behaviour as it happens, so they can act accordingly.

CCTV images/footage checked from some of the buses, has already produced positive results, with a 75% success rate revealed in being able to identify offenders.

New CCTV units on National Express West Midlands buses catch out troublemakers already © Copyright Stephen McKay and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

The new 4G Vemotion CCTV units were trialled successfully on the BBC’s Crimewatch Roadshow in 2016.

During the trials, a pickpocket on the top deck of a National Express West Midlands bus was caught live on camera, which led to a rapid response unit being deployed via the Safer Travel control room.

The thief was arrested without even knowing they’d been caught committing a crime.

Any incidents of crime, or anti-social behaviour on a National Express West Midlands bus can now be reported by passengers, by simply using the ‘See Something, Say Something’ service. Passengers can report a crime whilst on the bus by texting ‘bus’ to 83010, which then enables them to pass on details regarding the incident, such as date, time, location and the route number of the bus.

Such reports will help to build data, allowing police officers to tackle crime hotspots more easily.

“We use the information to look at hotspot routes, or areas that we can target with the new 4G Vemotion units,” said Inspector Rachel Crump, policing lead for the Safer Travel Partnership.

Incidents of crime on public transport in the West Midlands has fallen by 70% over the past eight years.

The number of recorded crimes on the buses from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016 was 2,755 – 6% down on the previous year when the figure stood at 2,930.

Data last released by Transport Focus found that 78% of passengers felt safe travelling on National Express buses in the West Midlands, up 6% since 2012.

To find out more about our CCTV installation, repairs and maintenance services here in the Midlands, please visit our homepage – www.midlands-cctv.co.uk, or call NOW to speak with one of our expert CCTV installers regarding your home or business CCTV security needs – 024 7695 0180.

Alternatively, please fill in the form below for a free no-obligation CCTV installation quote. One of our fully qualified CCTV installers will reply within the hour.