Agenda item

To consider the results of the six month trial to inform a final recommendation to the Executive Committee on the way forward. 

108.1        Attention was drawn to the report of the Environmental Health Manager, circulated at Pages No. 36-39, which provided an update on the outcome of a six month trial of the use of mobile surveillance equipment undertaken by the Environmental Health department with regard to fly-tipping investigations.  Members were asked to recommend to the Executive Committee that the Council adopt the use of mobile surveillance equipment as a long-term measure to support fly-tipping investigations and enforcement.

108.2        The Environmental Health Manager advised that Members would recall that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee had approved the trial in October 2021.  He explained that the Committee’s preferred choice had involved the use of concealed cameras at the target site with the presence of cameras advertised by signage; however, this had not been possible as the data privacy impact assessment had identified that use of covert cameras would have involved the data being stored on a memory card located in the camera itself which presented a risk to the Council in terms of data loss and potential personal data breach should the cameras be stolen or vandalised.  The trial had subsequently commenced using two overt rapid deployment cameras with signage; these cameras connected wirelessly to the 4G/5G network and images were stored securely in the cloud rather than being stored on the camera itself.  The trial had started in August 2022 and the cameras had been installed at two hotspot locations for approximately six weeks per location.  The number of reported fly-tips at each location before and after the cameras were installed was set out at Paragraph 3.2 of the report and showed that 11 fly-tips had been reported at the first location in the previous 12 months but only one since camera installation with three being reported at the second location in the previous 12 months and none since camera installation.  It was noted that the fly-tip at location one had taken place within the first few days of the cameras being installed with the camera capturing good footage of the incident.  Officers felt that the combination of signage warning people of the presence of cameras and the cameras themselves had proven to be very effective.  The signage itself was inexpensive and could be erected in various locations across the borough and Officers were now skilled at setting up the cameras and capable of deploying them at short notice without the need for assistance from an external engineer.  In terms of financial resources, the Council owned the cameras and associated hardware outright and the subscription to the cloud software cost £55 per month and could be stopped at any time.  The Environmental Health Manager confirmed that the necessary RIPA non-direct surveillance audit had been carried out and the appropriate consultation undertaken in terms of the privacy impact assessment and GDPR compliance.

108.3         A Member noted that the legal implications section of the report stated that a dedicated internal policy be implemented by the Council dealing with the legal and procedural matters around the permanent use of mobile surveillance equipment in these circumstances and he asked if that policy was now in place.  The Environmental Health Manager indicated that the policy had not yet been drafted but he would do this as soon as possible.  The Member went on to question how Tewkesbury Borough Council compared to other local authorities in the area in terms of the number of fly-tips and whether the use of cameras within the borough was pushing fly-tipping to other places.  In response, the Environmental Health Manager indicated that, whilst there was always a risk of displacement, he was not aware of any significant reports of fly-tips from the other local authorities.  The Member continued to raise concern that the 13 fly-tips which had potentially been avoided within Tewkesbury Borough had still happened somewhere and the Chair indicated that, unfortunately, that was outside of the Council’s control.

108.4         Another Member felt the results of the trial were positive and, in view of the comments at Paragraph 3.4 of the report regarding the signage being an effective deterrent, he asked if it would be possible to use signage alone without cameras.  The Environmental Health Manager indicated that Officers would like to use as much signage as possible and the advice received to date was that this was possible so discussions were taking place with One Legal regarding the appropriate wording.  The Member suggested it would be beneficial to move the signage so that perpetrators did not become complacent.  He felt it may also be helpful to erect signage encouraging people to submit dashcam footage if they captured anyone fly-tipping and the Environmental Health Manager undertook to seek advice on this from One Legal.  In response to a Member query regarding cost savings arising from the potential reduction of 13 fly-tips as a result of using the cameras, the Environmental Health Manager indicated that he would obtain this information and update Members following the meeting.  The Member went on to ask whether consideration had been given to using imitation cameras along with signage as in her experienced this could be quite successful.  The Environmental Health Manager recognised that dummy cameras were used by some people so that option could be viable; however, there was also potential to submit a growth bid for the purchase of additional cameras going forward. 

108.5         A Member indicated that he was aware the Household Recycling Centres (HRCs) would shortly stop accepting tyres and he asked if that was likely to result in increased fly-tipping.  The Environmental Health Manager acknowledged that was a possibility.  The Waste Contracts Manager explained that the HRCs were run by Gloucestershire County Council and the reason for the change was that it was felt most people who were getting rid of tyres would be replacing them and so would be disposing of them via a garage or similar so the tyres being disposed at the HRCs were generally by taxi companies and other businesses which should not be taking them there.  He provided assurance that Officers were aware of the potential for increased fly-tipping as a result of the change and would be monitoring the situation.  The Corporate Services Manager indicated that the Communications team could run a campaign on social media or via the Borough News to ensure the wider message was appropriately conveyed to residents.

108.6         A Member asked whether there were any areas of the borough were it would be difficult to place cameras due to connectivity, given its rural nature, and the Environmental Health Manager confirmed there had been no issue with the network provider so far and it was not anticipated to be a problem.  The Member felt it would be good to send a message that the Council was watching fly-tippers and he asked if there were any plans for a “wanted board” or something similar when someone had been caught in the act.  The Environmental Health Manager confirmed the original plan was to obtain sufficient quality evidence to secure a custodial sentence which was something that had been achieved by other local authorities.  The incident that had been captured at location one was still being investigated but he provided assurance that Officers did their best to ensure those committing fly-tipping offences were prosecuted and any successful prosecutions would be publicised.

108.7         A Member welcomed the proposal to adopt the use of the cameras as a long-term measure and suggested it would also be appropriate to recommend to the Executive Committee that consideration be given to increasing the number in use.  It was subsequently

RESOLVED          That it be RECOMMENDED TO THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE that:

i)      the Council adopts the use of mobile surveillance equipment as a long-term measure to support fly-tipping investigations and enforcement; and,

ii)     consideration be given to increasing the number of cameras in use.