Assure has been developed by The Protea Concept Ltd, based in South Wales, with funding from the Home Office. It was officially launched at a one day conference in Cardiff organised by the Home Office and the National Assembly for Wales, and is expected to be rolled out from October onwards.
The programme was intended to create a recognised accreditation scheme for anyone involved in CCTV, including the police, local authorities, retail, industrial and security sectors. Initially targeted at Wales, it is recognised by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service via the NSI Silver Award Scheme and may be used UK-wide.
The programme has been designed to ensure that there is a safe and clear quality-assured “audit trail” for CCTV evidence between the time an offender is filmed and his or her appearance in court.
Assure is spread over 11 different modules, leading to a Vocational Recognised Qualification.
Three CCTV monitoring stations, Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly and Conwy, have already been assessed under the programme.
