A constabulary in the North East of England and Durham County Council are already seeing huge savings through the use of the SentrySIS CCTV Transfer software as part of its Police Productivity Suite.  

Before now, if the Police needed CCTV footage as part of an investigation, an officer would physically have to drive to the Durham County Council 24/7 CCTV monitored control room in County Durham to obtain the footage on a DVD.
 
Now SentrySIS has been set up across the police force area to allow the CCTV to be sent as a digital transfer which has so far saved 160 hours in travelling time, thousands of pounds in fuel costs and enabled officers to progress investigations quicker as they can generally receive the footage within the hour.
 
More than 260 clips have been downloaded since the start of the new process which began in October following a close partnership between SentrySIS, the Police and Durham County Council.
 
An Acting Inspector for the police using the system commented and said: “A common misconception is that the police own CCTV cameras. In fact, cameras are predominantly owned by local authorities and private businesses, meaning that the police have to request access to the footage which can take time. 
 
“Any technology that recovers intelligence from video footage is a priority for development in the police’s evidence-gathering capabilities. Such advanced technology will free up officers, allowing investigation teams to be more effective at solving crimes.
 
“Surveillance cameras are crucial to investigations. This footage has become a game-changer in our pursuit of justice for victims of crimes. The cameras can record and capture a crime as it unfolds and create valuable evidence for court trials.”
 
CCTV has many uses including tracking the movements of criminals, locating victims of crime, identifying potential suspects and witnesses, proving or disproving alibis and monitoring public order disturbances.
 
Head of transport and contract services at Durham County Council, Adrian White, said: “We know CCTV is vital for the police and we have worked closely with our colleagues at the constabulary and SentrySIS to help speed up the transfer process.
 
“We are always keen to use technology where it helps make efficiencies and so far the system is proving beneficial for all involved.”
 
Chris Nriapia, Marketing Director at SentrySIS commented and said "We are really pleased with the results so far that are saving the police significant amounts of money and police hours. We are keen to expand this software product, along with our wider Police Productivity Suite, to neighbouring police forces across the North of England."
 
For more information about the Police Productivity Suite, please contact SentrySIS.