WHILE we know it’s there, many of us don’t tend to think too much about CCTV.

But in reality, closed circuit television – CCTV – acts as a silent guardian watching over many of our towns and cities, ready to intervene if necessary.

Information gathered by the 40 CCTV cameras across the county – there are 23 in Hereford, six in Ledbury, six in Leominster and five in Ross-on-Wye – offers a vital tool for police officers who can respond quickly to incidents as they happen.

And while it is well-known for helping with serious incidents, such as anti-social behaviour, assaults, theft, road traffic offences, drug related offences and suspicious behaviour, it’s not all about crime fighting.

"It’s also about providing a supportive role for people. Like when someone falls over in the street and a member of the public will go to assist them – we can support them in those situations and it’s valued," said Debbie Stringer, Herefordshire Council’s CCTV commissioning officer.

That role as a ‘silent guardian’ also means CCTV is a crucial tool in helping locate missing and vulnerable people – a regular occurrence – observing and reporting traffic problems, supporting and reporting ill or injured people and identifying potential hazards to the public such as dangerous pavements or street lights which are not working.

Originally installed back in the 90s by the county's district councils, CCTV was taken over by Herefordshire Council when it became a unitary authority in 1998.

"It was located at the police station back then," explained Mrs Stringer.

"But because that was the same place which took emergency calls it was used more reactively and wasn't completely sufficient.

"So, in 2000, West Mercia Police and Herefordshire Council thought about it and realised they weren’t complying with the conditions set down by the Home Office – which was used for the original purchase of the equipment."

After a search for a new site to house the control room, the CCTV hub as we now know it went live in June 2003.

Mrs Stringer now runs the service from the council's perspective, taking charge of monitoring, maintenance and any development-related queries as well as date protection issues from the public and police.

Funded at that stage by Herefordshire Council, West Mercia Police and Hereford City Council, contributions were soon requested from the town councils.

And funding, according to Mrs Stringer, will always be the biggest ongoing concern for CCTV.

"Last May, when the council discovered it was short of about £4m it decided to withdraw funding for CCTV by £50,000 last year and completely this year.

"They no longer pay for it but pay for the building and hosting costs. West Mercia Police also had to withdraw funding but we were fortunate to have a really good relationship with the Police and Crime Commissioner and in December we heard he would support us for three years which allowed us to go out to contract for procurement. We know now that we have got three years of contract in place which offers some security."

With significant cuts to the service, Mrs Stringer has had to work hard to ensure its efficiency is not threatened.

"It was about identifying what we wanted, what really mattered, what we thought could take the hit and how to manage that risk. For example we used to be double manned on a Friday and Saturday night and now we aren’t. We used to employ seven people but now it’s down to three."

Funding is now made up of £84,000 from the region’s police and crime commissioner, £74,335.06 from the town councils and a further £1,027 from Hereford Cathedral.

Maylord Orchards and the Old Market development have their own CCTV control room but work together to help tackle crime and other disorder across the city and county.

"We have got direct lines into the police call centre and we have got a little red light on their screen,” added Mrs Stringer.

“We are not as quick as a 999 call but we are much faster than a 101."