Edinburgh Council set to invest in state-of-the-art security and surveillance technology for new CCTV Control Centre

Edinburgh Council are set to invest £2.6 million in a new CCTV Control Centre, which will use the latest surveillance technology to improve security in the city.

This investment is part of Edinburgh Council’s aim to create a Smart City Operation Facility, which will provide “a holistic view of the city”.

The council plans to “revolutionise security and surveillance” with the new Control Centre, which will employ high-definition CCTV cameras and expanded security coverage.

The new facility will also utilise artificial intelligence, which will predict new and existing threats and alert authorities.

The council anticipates that the project will improve efficiency and allow it to quickly identify and address issues in the capital.

The City of Edinburgh Council Depute Leader Cammy Day said: “Edinburgh has big ambitions in becoming a world-leading Smart City – a digitally inclusive, data-rich and sustainable city with services that are easily accessible by all of our residents no matter where they are in the city, or what their circumstances are.

"We’re looking to deliver a more digitally-enabled proactive service to help make everyone’s lives in our Scottish Capital better and so we can continue our work towards ending poverty, meeting our net zero targets and improving wellbeing for all”.

The council has partnered with technology solutions company North on the project, which is expected to complete in September this year.

Edinburgh Council will be installing high-definition CCTV cameras across the city.

North have promised to work with Edinburgh communities and local organisations. They plan to provide apprenticeship opportunities, work experience placements, and volunteer schemes, to help them support the delivery of their contract.

Mr Day said: “With this Smart City partnership with North we’re looking to make transformative differences to the way we manage our city - gathering real-time intelligence to improve safety on our streets, manage services more effectively and better serve the wellbeing of our residents.

“Through North, alongside our other partners, we believe we’ve found a strong partnership that will deliver on our world-leading vision, changing the way we provide our services to all, while improving our communities”.

Scott McEwan, Chief Commercial Officer at North, said: “The implementation of IoT technology within our security offering has the power to truly transform the lives of citizens, revolutionising the ways in which we work and ensuring that the environments we live and work in are safe and healthy.

“CCTV is not only vital for crime detection, but also for preventing offences from happening and through the implementation of these transformative systems, the City of Edinburgh Council will have the ability to access data which will bring together essential and critical services to create safer communities and allow better informed decisions to be made that improve services across Edinburgh.

“We are thrilled to be working with the City of Edinburgh Council to help them achieve their Smart City objectives with intelligent data-driven solutions”.

Edinburgh Council also announced future plans to install other smart technologies, such as air quality sensors, smart parking applications, and flood sensors to detect water levels.

Edinburgh is one of seven Scottish cities currently working towards becoming a world leading Smart City.