Greater Manchester Police officer has helped save £2 million

Date published: 15/05/2006

A Greater Manchester Police officer has helped to save the force £2 million by suggesting changes to the way CCTV custody suite images are stored.

Sergeant Matthew Moore, based at Stretford police station, submitted an idea to the Force Suggestion Scheme to improve the process of storing CCTV images. This will result in an approximate £320,000 efficiency saving throughout the next year and lead to a total saving of around £2,000,000 over the next 6 years.

Images were previously recorded on a computer hard drive and retained for a period of six years, however, these hard drives were expensive to buy and maintenance costs were rising each month. It has been decided that images will now be recorded on CDs/DVDs and stored for a period of three months.  

All custody suites throughout the force are covered by CCTV and recorded on a 24-hour basis. The new 3 month retention time will still allow any complaints that may be made to be dealt with appropriately and the CCTV evidence in these circumstances will be retained for as long as necessary.

Assistant Chief Constable Rob Taylor said: "This is an excellent example of what the Force Suggestion Scheme can help to deliver. Our staff with the knowledge and commitment to their jobs can make such a difference by recognising how they and we can do things better."