Work With Offenders - The Choices
CCTV Operator
CCTV operators may not appear to have the most exciting job in the front line work community, but they actually hold many important powers and carry out a wide range of key responsibilities. They provide close monitoring of VDU screens in control rooms, transmitted from strategically placed CCTV cameras in public council buildings and car parks with the aim of catching illegal activity or suspicious behaviour in action. They report findings to police and security teams and tend to either work alone or as part of a small team.
CCTV operators usually supervise around fifteen screens at any one time, monitoring a number of different locations and are able to operate the movement of the cameras from the control rooms where and when they deem appropriate. They are also responsible for following members of staff at specific times of the working day, for example when car park attendants perform their daily cash collection from ticket machines and cleaners working on their own during the night. If for, instance an alarm goes off in any of the buildings being monitored, the operators are responsible for monitoring all members of staff as well as customers and any other persons present in the building. Additionally, they hold the sole responsibility for the tapes made during the day and must ensure that they are kept in a safe and easily reference-able place should the police need them. They also keep written logs of incidents for police reports.
The position holder should have strong visual observation skills and impressive verbal communication skills. They should have the ability to work effectively as part of a small team or without any supervision at all and during emergency situations when they can see a crime being committed.
Qualifications: There are no pre-entry qualifications necessary to this role, but a reasonable standard of education (i.e. to GCSE standard or beyond) would be beneficial.
Experience: Work in a security related position such as the armed services, police or store detection or in a position that requires use of radio communication equipment would be preferable, though not essential. Training is provided.
Skills: Verbal communication skills, strong observation and analysis skills, team working skills, problem solving skills, written and IT skills.
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