Tory CCTV Car(s) Cost

Tory CCTV Car in press again as issues of legality and profitability hit the white vulture cars

Looks like a few interesting Freedom of Information requests this month...

Please confirm the total of all drivers and operatives used for the Medway CCTV car, from the first day they were used, and up to 20 September 2011?

There have been a total of 45 members of staff involved with the operating, driving and reviewing of CCTV since it’s implementation.

Please supply the details of how much this has cost in wages over the same period above.

The cost of staff wages over the same period is estimated to be £340,000

Please supply all the fuel costs, repairs, servicing and costs of uniforms, also any other costs involving the CCTV cars, for the same period.

The associated costs involving the CCTV cars for the same period is £357,335.

Given the cars have probably made about £1.7-2.0m in revenue since they started we can actually calculate that profitability on these vehicles is miniscule when compared with other revenue streams and overall spend by the Council.

Labour were clear on the CCTV cars. A full review on these vehicles is required immediately; they should not be cash cows...

Put it into perspective - the overspend on the bus station over its original estimate comes out higher than all the revenue made by the car(s) since they launched.

Update - 7th November 2011

It now appears that the legality of the car is also in question as the Medway News exclusive reveals that the cars may have been acting illegally so potentially seing thousands of fines written off. I have asked a question of senior officers for a full brief on this issue - as yet, nothing...

Labour has consistently warned and pushed for a full review on this CCTV car and it was part of our manifesto in May 2011.