A control room monitoring more than 200 CCTV cameras in the Harrogate district has not been manned at times over the last year due to staff shortages.

The control room, run by Harrogate Borough Council, oversees cameras operating 24 hours a day in Harrogate, Ripon and Knaresborough.

Control room staff are able to respond to police reports and track suspicious activity. Police can buy the footage to use as evidence in pursuing crimes.

Julia Stack, community safety and CCTV manager at the council, was asked by Councillor Victoria Oldham at a meeting of the council’s overview and scrutiny commission this week whether the room needed to be staffed.

Ms Stack replied the priority was to “man that service for 24 hours a day”, adding:

“I will be honest,. We have had some challenging issues in terms of recruitment within the last 12 months so there have been times when we have been unable to have the staff there but the cameras will be recording.”

Ms Stack added the team was now “almost at full complement of staff”.

Cllr Oldham, a Conservative who represents Washburn, replied:

“I’m aware of two incidents last week when it wasn’t manned and one of them could have been very embarrassing.”

Julia Stack speaking at the meeting

Ms Stack said the service worked closely with police but added:

“There’s always the risk we may be dealing with one location and there may be something happening in another one. That is down unfortunately to consistent funding cuts to the service.”

The long-term future of the service when Harrogate Borough Council is abolished at the end of this month and North Yorkshire Council takes over is unclear.

Scarborough and Northallerton also have CCTV control rooms in the county and Ms Stack the service overall was inconsistent and would be reviewed.

Cllr Windass speaking at the meeting

Councillor Robert Windass, a Conservative who represents Boroughbridge, said Boroughbridge had been “kicked out” of Harrogate Borough Council’s CCTV monitoring system years ago.

Cllr Windass said Boroughbridge Town Council now provided CCTV and, unlike Harrogate Borough Council, did not charge the police for accessing it. He said:

“If the police request footage for any crimes there is absolutely no charge because we consider it a valuable service we should provide and support to the police.”

Cllr Mike Chambers, the Conservative Cabinet member for housing and safer communities, replied:

“I agree it is a service that is valuable to the police. But we have a control room that has staff. If we don’t levy charges as many other departments within this council do then how do we pay for the staff?”

CCTV overlooking Harrogate’s Royal Hall

‘Limited resources’

After the meeting, the Stray Ferret asked Harrogate Borough Council about the control room staff situation and what will happen to the service when the council is abolished in four weeks.

A council spokesperson said:

“Our CCTV control room is in Harrogate and has five operators and one CCTV and business crime operations officer, as well as a small pool of casual staff who work alongside full-time officers, who are responsible for surveillance of cameras covering Knaresborough, Harrogate, Ripon and council buildings.

“They also undertake reviews and produce evidence for the police and other third parties, operate a RadioLink service and support a business crime partnership.

“Like ourselves, North Yorkshire Police have limited resources and even if the control room report an incident to the police, there is no guarantee that they are always in a position to respond straight away. Therefore, we ensure cameras record 24-hours a day, 365 days a year so that our staff can aim to get the best evidence to assist with any incidents.

“Closures are kept to a minimum and shifts are extended with staff work overtime to ensure sufficient support for the CCTV control room.

“In recent months, we have seen a limited number of applicants to the roles available. And once appointed, each post is subject to police vetting which takes times to be thoroughly carried out, followed by a two-month training period.

“However, we can confirm that two new appointments have recently been made.

“From 1 April there will be no change to the service.”

Harrogate district voluntary organisations that come up with a striking photograph encapsulating what they do could receive a funding boost this year.

Two Ridings Community Foundation holds an annual High Sheriff’s Dragons’ Den event in which community groups pitch for funding in front of a panel and audience.

It usually awards individual grants of between £3,000 and £7,000 from a total funding pot of £30,000.

Birstwith artist Clare Granger has been nominated High Sheriff of North Yorkshire this year and she plans to take a creative approach to the event.

This week’s event at Allerton Castle

Speaking at an event at Allerton Castle this week to thank groups that took part in last year’s Dragons’ Den, Ms Granger said the idea of a more visual approach and an exhibition of entries appealed to her.

She said organisations would be assessed on the strength of their images and an explanation of how each one represented their work, rather than by making a standard spoken pitch.

Two Ridings Community Foundation has yet to reveal final details of this year’s event.

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As high sheriff Ms Granger, who has a studio at home, will represent law and order in the county on behalf of the king, assuming her nomination is ratified at York Crown Court in April.

About 100 representatives from voluntary organisations took part in this week’s event at Allerton Castle, which will host this year’s Dragons’ Den event and exhibit the photos.

It was organised by Jonathan Wright, a trustee of the charity that maintains Allerton Castle. Harrogate district Mayor Victoria Oldham and deputy mayor Robert Windass were among those attending.

(from left) Robert Windass, Jonathan Wright and Victoria Oldham