A new report reveals the Stratford CCTV team isn’t just watching screens – they are intervening over 300 times to stop trouble before it starts.
When most of us spot a CCTV camera perched on a lamppost in the town centre, we tend to think of it as a passive observer – a Big Brother device that simply records footage to be reviewed after a crime has happened.
However, a glowing new progress report presented to the Town Council this week has shattered that perception. The report, covering activity from August to November 2025, paints a picture not of passive recording, but of a highly active, rapid-response team acting as Stratford’s guardian angels.
According to the data, the Stratford-upon-Avon CCTV team created a staggering 1,468 operational logs in just three and a half months. But the most telling statistic isn’t the crimes they recorded – it’s the ones they prevented.
“Operators are not just passively watching, they are actively preventing escalation and gathering valuable intelligence,” the report reads.
More Than Just Crime Fighting
While the operators deal with the expected incidents – theft, shoplifting, and anti-social behaviour – the report highlights a softer, vital side to their work: welfare.
The team regularly intervenes in cases involving missing or vulnerable people. In a busy tourist town, being the eyes in the sky allows operators to guide police to a lost child or a confused elderly resident long before a patrol car could spot them from the road.
THE NUMBERS (AUG-NOV)
- Total Logs: 1,468
- Proactive Patrols: 328
- Caller-led Incidents: 946
Source: Town Council Progress Report, Nov 2025.
Proactive Patrols
The term “Proactive Patrol” appears 328 times in the recent dataset. These are instances where an operator, scanning the cameras, spots something that “doesn’t look right” – perhaps a heated argument outside a pub or suspicious activity near a bike rack – and initiates a response before a 999 call is even made.
This is particularly crucial for Stratford’s night-time economy. Through the town’s retail radio scheme, operators are in constant communication with door staff and shop managers, creating a safety net that covers the town centre.
A Vital Partnership
The report, submitted by Cllr Gill Cleeve, concludes that the service is “exceptional.” By handling road traffic incidents, fraud alerts, and public protests, the small team relieves significant pressure on local police forces, allowing officers to focus on physical response rather than monitoring.
Next time you walk through the town centre and spot a camera, give a little nod. There’s a human being on the other end, and chances are, they’re already looking out for you.
