CCTV van to focus on antisocial behaviour

Published on Tuesday 23 September 2008 10:06

THE fight against antisocial behaviour has taken to the roads with the introduction of a £20,000 CCTV van.

The van will provide a CCTV presence throughout East Lothian, with a roof-mounted camera capable of rotating 360 degrees to capture high-quality images to be used as evidence in court.

With no fixed route or times of operation, the van will instead use intelligence gathered from police or the community to determine its activities on a weekly basis. This flexible approach also means trouble-makers will not know when or where to expect it.

Cabinet member for community services Councillor Stuart Currie said: "The CCTV van will be a reassuring presence for those areas that are not covered by our fixed network and be much more responsive to identified hotspots.

"It will allow us to work pro-actively with the police to tackle antisocial behaviour wherever it is occurring."

The van can hold up to five people and will be staffed by police and members of East Lothian Council's antisocial behaviour team.

Superintendent Murdo MacIver, East Lothian Area Commander, also welcomed the introduction of the mobile unit.

The new van is part of a 267,000 programme to develop CCTV across East Lothian.

Over the next year, East Lothian Council will also expand its fixed CCTV network to include Port Seton and Dunbar.