We Are St Helens Borough Council
Located in the heart of the Northwest close to Liverpool, Manchester and Lancashire, St Helens is a transformational Council which is passionate and ambitious for the communities we support. We provide a wide range of local authority services to the residents, businesses, schools, and visitors to the borough. We can only do this because of our highly valued, highly skilled workforce.
Working together, our workplace vision and values guide our organisation, and the contribution of our workforce is key to our culture journey. Employees with us receive a wide range of benefits including well-being in work, financial benefits, ways of working and learning and development support.
Making A Difference as a CCTV Operator in the Place Services Directorate.
Many councils use closed circuit television (CCTV) surveillance cameras to monitor the safety of staff and members of the public using council-run car parks, working in or visiting council buildings and other public open spaces. CCTV Operators in central control rooms monitor screens linked to strategically placed cameras and look out for any illegal, suspicious or anti-social activities.
Work Environment
CCTV operators work seated in front of banks of VDU screens. They are usually expected to work in a shift system over 24 hours. A typical pattern might be to work two morning shifts, two afternoons and two nights, followed by two days off. They may work in small teams or alone and are in frequent telephone and radio contact with colleagues, security staff and police. Part time posts are available in some councils.
Daily Activities
CCTV operators may be responsible for up to 15 screens, receiving live pictures that come in automatically from over 100 surveillance cameras. They monitor the screens constantly. They are also able to operate cameras themselves from the control room. They decide which areas to concentrate on at particular times. For instance, when they know that car park attendants are due to collect the cash from ticket machines, they monitor them. If council employees need to enter their offices out of normal hours, CCTV operators watch them as they move through the building. At night they regularly scan cleaners working in empty buildings. If alarms go off and caretakers need to enter buildings to check the reason, they monitor them.
If CCTV operators see anyone behaving suspiciously they continue monitoring and if they see an act of theft or vandalism being committed they contact security staff or the police instantly. In the course of monitoring council buildings CCTV operators might see some suspicious or anti-social behaviour elsewhere in the town. If so, they notify the police. Some CCTV operators also act as lone worker security staff. If, for example, social workers need to make an emergency night visit to a client, they inform the operator, give the address they are due to visit and phone in at agreed regular intervals. If more than 30 minutes pass without a phone call, the CCTV operator will try to ring them on their mobile phone - and if there is no reply, contact the police.
CCTV operators are responsible for their own videotapes. They must make sure that they never record over a tape and they keep the tapes from each shift for a designated period in case the police require them. NB not applicable to digital recording systems. Digital recordings can be selected on demand and burned to a CD. They keep a written log of all incidents they see on the screen and may have to pass this to the police.
Skills & Interests
CCTV operators need:
excellent eyesight;
strong powers of concentration;
to be able to react quickly and calmly in an emergency;
good communication skills;
to be discreet - confidentiality is very important, they must never discuss what they see on their monitors with outsiders;
to be able to work without supervision.
Entry Requirements
There are no standard entry requirements. Some councils ask for previous experience in a security environment, such as police, armed services or store detective work. Experience of using radio communication equipment is desirable. Some CCTV operators have worked as car park attendants. Applicants must normally undergo an enhanced police check. Councils provide all necessary training. CCTV operators may attend courses run by the Security Ind
Interested to Find Out More?
You can review our full job description details, and person specification information here.
For an informal discussion contact Paul Molynuex, Team Manager Depot, Security, CCTV Services on 01744 67882 or PaulMolynuex@sthelens.gov.uk
Please note we reserve the right to close the advert early should we receive a sufficient number of applications and encourage you to apply early, to avoid disappointment.
This post is subject to Disclosure.
Equality & Diversity
St Helens Council respects and values the individuality that every employee brings. We encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds, who share our values, our commitment to inclusion, and who will help us on our journey to transform our organisation. Further information about Equality & Diversity at St Helens Council can be found here https://www.sthelens.gov.uk/equality
St Helens Council is a Disability Confident Employer. Disability Confident Employers lead the way in helping to take action that changes attitudes, behaviours, and cultures for the better.
NOLAN Principles of Conduct in Public Life.
All Council employees are required to abide by the ethical standards embodied by the 7 Nolan
Principles: Selflessness, Integrity, Objectivity, Accountability, Openness, Honesty, and Leadership
