Security video redaction: a game-changer for town centre councils
Jonathan Newman, Town Centre Manager, Greater Yarmouth
“We found it easy to understand (as a novice) and completed the redaction in a couple of hours.”
Feeling the pressure of a CCTV DSAR deadline?
So was Jonathan. Here is his story of how Secure Redact’s efficient and precise platform came to the rescue in the face of a tight deadline.
Background and challenge
Supported by Great Yarmouth Borough Council, Norfolk Police and Norfolk County Council, the GYTCP is a not-for-profit organisation whose main aim is to create and maintain a clean, safe, friendly town centre. Jonathan Newman, the Town Centre Manager, and his Information Management Technology (IMT) team manage the CCTV system of Great Yarmouth - "Community Safety (Great Yarmouth) Ltd."
This system has 64 cameras which are monitored 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Jonathan faced a 30-day deadline request: redact all faces in some CCTV footage except the subject. Their previous video editing tools had proven incredibly time-consuming and complex. They did not want to risk not responding within the tight timeframe.
The automated solution to managing sensitive video data
“Secure Redact was quick, simple and not an unreasonable cost at all.”
Jonathan found Secure Redact after a quick online search; for him, the software-as-a-service (SaaS) tool was affordable and user-friendly.
“I can’t believe how easy it was to use - we dealt with the request well before the 30-day deadline.”
What would have taken days, was done in only a few hours.
As first-time users of Secure Redact, they were greatly surprised at the app’s simple, automated editing functions to achieve their required results quickly. With some reference to the online help materials, they rapidly anonymised all personal data, except for the individual in question - with plenty of time to reach the deadline.
The value of the Secure Redact platform
The platform streamlined the council’s redaction process so they could guarantee the highest standards of data protection.
Jonathan and his team were pleasantly surprised by how quickly they could adapt to the platform and efficiently tackle DSARs. No longer burdened with previous tools, they could realign their focus to broader town centre initiatives.