Integration and Upgrade of Central London CCTV

The MPS wish to procure CCTV support for five years together with the upgrade of its existing analogue circuits and cameras to digital technology. The contract will be a ‘Direct Award’ to BT PLC at a cost of £5.4m over the contract period (this includes contingency of £0.5m).

The timing of the CCTV support contract offers the MPS the opportunity to augment its CCTV infrastructure with operationally important cameras from Westminster City Council (WCC). The MPS wishes to accept the offer of 64 analogue CCTV cameras currently owned by WCC. The transfer and maintenance of the WCC cameras will be funded from a grant of up to £1.7m from WCC.

The DMPC is asked to

• Award a five year direct award contract for CCTV support and upgrade to BT PLC for the period 1st April 2017 to 31st March 2022 for a total cost of £5.4m (this includes contingency of £0.5m)
• Accept the offer of full and absolute ownership of the existing analogue WCC CCTV cameras that have been identified as being important to future operations of the MPS within Westminster.
• Note the timing of the CCTV support contract renewal provides an opportunity for the MPS to augment its CCTV capability with cameras that have been identified as being operationally important within the Westminster area.
• Accept the offer of a grant of up to £1.7m from WCC and to set up an earmarked reserve for the grant funding to be drawn down as costs are incurred.
• Approve the contingency sum of £0.5m, over the full term of the contract to allow for the upgrade of additional cameras and their support should the need arise during the term of the contract.
• Provide approval for the MPS to enter into negotiations with WCC to allow any potential underspend of the WCC grant to be allocated to the pan-London CCTV Strategy project.

1. Introduction and background

1.1. The MPS has rented specialist CCTV lines from BT since 1979. BT is now the only supplier of analogue CCTV services. The new contract will provide the opportunity to upgrade the cameras, as well as provide continuity of service, which is essential for operationally important services.

1.2. In July 2016, WCC decided to decommission their current CCTV network. A threat assessment of Westminster has highlighted the operational importance of a number of cameras. Thus identifying Westminster CCTV as a ‘special case’, which the MPS should consider to acquire.

1.3. The timing of the renewal of the CCTV support contract offers a route by which the MPS could migrate the WCC cameras into its estate. Following discussions with WCC it was agreed to transfer ownership of the operationally important existing analogue CCTV estate from WCC to MOPAC; upgrade the analogue cameras and network to digital with the existing MPS estate; and absorb them into the MPS estate, including increasing the capacity of the MPS data centre. WCC has agreed to provide grant funding of up to £1.7m to assist with this transfer.

2. Issues for consideration

2.1. The existing contract is due to expire on 31st March 2017 and cannot be extended further. In view, of the specialist nature of these CCTV services, the support and upgrades can only be procured from BT. BT is the only supplier capable of supporting the current analogue CCTV circuits. Also, BT owns the Intellectual Property Rights to the existing circuits and exchanges.

2.2. These are discussed further in the Part 2.

3. Financial Comments

3.1. The contract costs of £5.4m will be funded from existing resources for the MPS and from the £1.7m grant from WCC. The MPS’s annual contract costs for line rental and camera maintenance will be £748k. The current annual contract cost for CCTV line rental is £1m.The MPS has achieved an annual saving of £252k on the current annual contract cost.

The WCC grant will be used as follows:

3.2. The contract contingency of £500k will consist of £400k from MPS resources and £100k from the WCC grant.

3.3. There will be a potential underspend of £152k from the WCC grant. It is proposed this underspend should be allocated to the pan-London CCTV Strategy project costs. The MPS will make this request to WCC.

3.4. There will be no capital costs arising from this contract.

4. Legal Comments

4.1. The MOPAC has the power to enter into contracts and other agreements and acquire property that is calculated to facilitate the exercise of their functions under Section 7, Schedule 3 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011and has the power to accept gifts of property in connection with the discharge of any their functions under Section 93 of the Police Act 1996. These powers enable MOPAC to enter into an agreement with WCC to accept full and absolute ownership of their CCTV cameras.



4.2. WCC has the power to make grants for police purposes to the MOPAC pursuant to Section of the Police Act 1996. This enables WCC to provide funding to the MOPAC necessary to upgrade and maintain the CCTV cameras transferred.

4.3. There will be a written agreement between WCC and the MOPAC for the transfer of the CCTV cameras and the grant.

5. Equality Comments

5.1. There are no new equality or diversity implications arising from this report regarding the upgrade of existing CCTV cameras and networks as opposed to the installation of any new cameras.

5.2. The MPS is undertaking a full review of all of its CCTV, including Privacy Impact Assessments.