A Day in the Life of a CCTV Operator
Below you will find an account of a shift by Hackney CCTV Operators. This shift starts at 15:00.
15:17 – a break-in thwarted
At 15:17 an operator spots a female acting suspiciously outside a property. We use the cameras to gather potential evidence and to monitor the situation. The female is seen to enter the premises via a window. We notify the Police, who attend the scene and arrest the female.
15:55 – drugs seized
At 15:55 we are alerted of an incident via the Police radio. A male has been stopped by the Police. We focus the cameras on the incident, where the male is searched and found to be in possession of crack cocaine. On further inspection he is also found to have skipped bail. He is arrested at the scene.
17:00 – muggers caught
At 17:00 we hear a call via the Police radio that a female has been robbed. We are given a description of the suspects, which we use to search the vicinity with the cameras.
Two males are spotted on camera. We direct the Police to the location of the males and they are arrested at the scene.
19:00 – vandals stopped in their tracks
At 19:00 an operator spots an unruly group of males, who appear to be vandalising and attempting to break into a parked car.
The Police are alerted and attend the scene. The group of males then disperse; we use several cameras within the area to help Police to identify the males involved. Two arrests are made.
20:40 – card fraud prevented
At 20:40 we receive information from the Police about stolen credit cards being used in the Stamford Hill area.
During standard monitoring an operator notices a male at an ATM using several different credit cards and withdrawing large amounts of cash. The Police are alerted and search the male’s vehicle, where more cash is found. He is arrested at the scene.
The end of the day
Throughout the day, many incidents have been recorded which will bring a number of Police Officers into the control room to collect evidence gathered from the CCTV cameras.
We will write statements and reproduce the recorded images for the Police; they will then will be used as evidence.
Find out more about our CCTV services
- Read about CCTV in Hackney
- Read frequently asked questions about CCTV
- View CCTV statistics
- Find out more about releasing CCTV evidence
To contact the CCTV team, please use the details at the top-right corner of this page.
Page updated: 14 Dec 2009