Local Authority CCTV partnership delivers efficiency gains for policing

A new digital partnership between police and local authority CCTV hubs is set to deliver measurable improvements in how digital evidence is accessed and used, while significantly enhancing the response to crime across North Yorkshire and York.

 

City of York Council and North Yorkshire Council will work collaboratively to provide CCTV evidence to North Yorkshire Police via the NICE Investigate digital evidence management platform.

 

This modern approach replaces traditional, time-consuming processes with secure, electronic sharing of footage, enabling faster and more efficient investigations.

 

Historically, officers were required to attend locations in person in order to collect CCTV evidence, often waiting for footage to be copied before returning to stations to process it. Through NICE Investigate, this process has been streamlined into a digital workflow, with footage requested and received remotely.

 

The partnership is designed to significantly reduce officer travel, eliminating the need for physical visits, reducing fuel costs, vehicle use, and time away from frontline duties. This reflects wider national experience, where digital evidence systems have significantly reduced journeys previously required to gather evidence.

 

The move to NICE Investigate has removed reliance on DVDs, USB sticks and other physical storage devices, which were historically used to transfer CCTV footage between organisations.

 

These methods were not only time-consuming but carried risks around delays and loss of evidence. Digital evidence management systems now allow footage to be securely uploaded and accessed within a unified case file, eliminating manual handling and improving evidential integrity.

 

The integration of local authority CCTV hubs into NICE Investigate demonstrates a strong model of cross-agency collaboration, with police, councils, and criminal justice partners working together on a single digital platform.

 

CCTV operators at City of York Council and North Yorkshire Council can now respond rapidly to police requests, uploading relevant footage directly into the system. This ensures investigators have timely access to critical evidence and supports a more coordinated approach to tackling crime.

 

By removing delays in evidence collection and sharing, the partnership is helping officers build cases more quickly and progress investigations more efficiently. Evidence that previously took days to obtain and share can now be accessed digitally in minutes, supporting earlier investigative opportunities and better outcomes. 

 

As the volume and importance of digital evidence continues to grow, the integration of local authority CCTV hubs into NICE Investigate provides a scalable and effective model for future policing.

 

Highlighting both the operational benefits and the importance of partnership working, Superintendent Andy Nunns said: “This partnership with City of York Council and North Yorkshire Council demonstrates what can be achieved when we fully embrace digital technology and collaborative working.

 

"By enabling CCTV hubs to share evidence directly through NICE Investigate, we are removing delay, reducing demand on frontline officers, and ensuring investigators have faster access to the material they need.

 

"I would also like to thank our local authority partners for embracing this change and working with us to deliver a more efficient, modern service. Ultimately, this allows us to respond more effectively to crime and better serve our communities.”

 

Jo Coles, Deputy Mayor for Policing, Fire and Crime, said: "Working in partnership is a key priority for the Mayor David Skaith and I in our Police and Crime plans. So it's great to see this positive step forward, using new technology to ensure the police have more time to spend on the frontline keeping people safe"

 

North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for corporate services, Cllr Heather Phillips, whose responsibilities include community safety, said: "We operate CCTV control rooms in Harrogate and Scarborough, working closely with police colleagues every day. The footage provided plays a vital role in keeping our communities safe and supporting investigations year after year.

 

“We are committed to making the best use of new technology to strengthen this partnership. NICE has made a real difference, helping us deliver a more effective CCTV service across a large and diverse area.”

 

Cllr Michael Pavlovic, Executive Member for Community Safety at City of York Council, said: "Working with North Yorkshire Police to help keep York the safest city in one of the safest counties, is such an important part of our work. Introducing digitally-shared CCTV footage represents a step change in how we support policing, by modernising and transforming what were more time-intensive processes.

 

"Protecting personal data and people's privacy is central to how we manage and use CCTV. We only share footage with the police or other authorised agencies when it is lawful, necessary and proportionate, such as to support investigations into crime and its prevention.

 

"By carefully enabling faster, more efficient access to vital evidence, supports the police and benefits our residents and communities."