The CCTV camera network in Dudley looks set for a boost with plans to invest almost £1million extra into the system.

Dudley Council is looking to add an extra £320,000 a year for the next three years to make the network more effective. It follows a £1.7million overhaul of the cameras over the past year to replace ageing, outdated cameras with new, state of the art units.

If approved by the council in the budget setting next year, the latest investment will streamline the deployable cameras system to target hotspots across the borough. It will also increase specialist staff to monitor and maintain the new system.

The council’s cabinet will look at this and a raft of other budget proposals at a meeting on December 15. Councillor Laura Taylor-Childs, cabinet member responsible for CCTV, said:

"The CCTV system overhaul has been one of our most successful projects in recent years and is having a massive impact on not only making people feel safe but firing a warning shot to would-be criminals.

"The extra investment will help strengthen the process of how we use deployable cameras element allowing us to target problem areas and hopefully yield results when we can catch and prosecute people who dump rubbish, cause damage and commit any other crimes.

"There is also money for extra staff which will allow us to improve monitoring. This investment is a clear signal of intention that we will grow this network as much as we can to make Dudley as safe as we possibly can.”

New cameras have been placed in town centres and key locations across the borough. There are now more than 450 images being beamed into a dedicated control room 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

On top of that, the council has been able to launch its You’ve Been Shamed initiative where footage of fly-tippers can be shared with the public to help catch them. The public will be consulted on all the budget proposals later this year.