More than a quarter of CCTV cameras in Glasgow do not work, new figures have revealed, with fears public safety could be at risk due to blackspots in coverage.

Glasgow City Council operates 439 cameras across the city, including mobile and fixed ones, which the council on its website describes as playing "a vital role in public safety".

However GMB Scotland, one of the biggest public sector unions, says cuts to maintenance budgets have left 114 of those cameras out of action.

The union warned that could lead to blackspots in coverage, and potentially put members of the public in danger.

 

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Council organiser John Slaven said: "The CCTV coverage across Glasgow has been crucial to keeping the city safe but is being dismantled by a thousand cuts. 

“Step by step, whether by design or neglect, this essential safeguard for people of Glasgow is being lost.

“Until recently, our members monitored these cameras 24-hours a day responding in real time to crimes and accidents.

“They had the ability to alert emergency services immediately and guide first responders as they arrived at the scene.

“Police, fire and ambulance crews would testify the invaluable support and insight of our members during the emergency response.”

It comes after councillors halved the monitoring of the cameras, with a 24-hour service reduced to 12 hours between 3pm and 3am.

The  number of staff was also cut from 18 to nine in an effort to save the council £350,000.

(Image: Newsquest) The union has written to council leader Susan Aitken expressing its concerns, highlighting recent disturbances related to far-right marches and football rivalries.

Mr Slaven said: “Our members have raised these concerns with management but received little reassurance.

“There seems to be neither the will nor the resource to maintain cameras and repair faults to restore the CCTV system making the city’s streets safer.”

“The round-the-clock coverage has now been slashed but, at least, there was still the ability to review the tapes and gather information and potential evidence.

“When one in four cameras are not even working even that is lost.

“The money being saved by slowly driving this service into the ground is nothing compared to its contribution to the city and the protection of its people.

“What price do councillors put on making our streets safer? Or a crime unsolved, or a life lost?”

The cuts to CCTV monitoring were phased in from September last year, as part of a £50m savings drive by Glasgow City Council.

Though the cameras still record for 24 hours a day, they are left in one position when they're not being monitored.

The monitoring service, based on London Road, was previously monitored staffed around the clock and acted as an alert system for live incidents including assaults and robberies.

A council spokeswoman said: “Regular maintenance and repairs are essential to ensure our CCTV network remains effective and responsive.

"Whilst this means a number of cameras may be temporarily offline at any given time, the service looks to prioritise coverage in the most critical areas.

"The number of cameras currently out of service will change on a day-to-day basis as these are repaired and restored to operations.”