The Chief Constable of the Cheshire Constabulary has raised concerns about a proposal by Warrington Borough Council to close the town’s manned security camera control room in Warrington, Cheshire. The council wants to shut down the room to save money to help manage its debt. If the plan goes ahead, security cameras will no longer be watched live and will instead stay in fixed positions to be checked only after a crime has happened.
Chief Constable Mark Roberts warned that this change would lead to more crime and fewer arrests across the community. In 2025, staff in the control room identified 6,000 incidents and helped the police make 600 arrests for serious crimes. The police force believes these numbers would drop significantly if the room is left unstaffed and the cameras are not monitored in real-time.
The Chief Constable claimed the council did not discuss the plan with the police before announcing it on February 17, 2026. He argued that under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, local safety is a shared duty between the council and the police. While the council has suggested that safety is mainly a police responsibility, the Chief Constable says this claim is factually incorrect under the law.
Local businesses have started a petition to keep the room open, with support from the Warrington BID and the Golden Square Shopping Centre. Residents and business owners worry that stopping live camera monitoring will make the town centre less safe for visitors and shoppers.
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