CCTV plan after council theft
A new CCTV camera is set to be fitted at the rear of Shrewsbury's Guildhall after a delivery of computer equipment was stolen from the council.
The borough council's computers department has looked into buying a cage to protect its deliveries but officers say that nothing suitable has been found.
Members of the authority's audit committee have recommended that CCTV is installed. The department is now looking into the cost of fitting it.
Councillor Peter Adams, chairman of the audit committee, said: "Some time ago a delivery of IT equipment was put inside one of the delivery sites at the Guildhall and never seen again. Someone had obviously seen it as they went past, and that is it really."
He added: "The cameras would be to make sure we can see what is going on in the receipt area. It is one of those things they should have thought of earlier."
The council's assistant chief executive Andy Goldsmith said he did not know how much the camera would cost, but he would expect it to be around £200.
"It is clearly a weakness that we had and we need to address that."
The new camera will form part of the network of cameras in the Frankwell car park that are monitored by the customer service staff at the Guildhall.
Earlier this month it was revealed that experts could be drafted in to improve Shrewsbury's CCTV network and link up more cameras in a bid to cut crime.
Cameras sited in Frankwell car park could soon be linked to the main network of spy-cams and money from Shrewsbury & Atcham Borough Council's capital fund could be used to improve the network over the next 10 years.