Bristol is no different from any other major city in the UK in that it has to put up with its fair share of challenges, from inner-city crime through to congestion on its roads. In both cases, however, there is one product that is helping the City Council's teams to stay one step ahead of the game, a product noted for its reliability and flexibility even in the most demanding environments: the MIC or ‘Metal Mickey' Series of cameras from Bosch.
Bristol City Council first started using MIC cameras in 2000, after the technology was recommended by a local installer, Select Electrics. Select had installed the fiber network infrastructure across the city and was the Council's principal contractor for the installation and maintenance of CCTV: “At the time, MIC cameras were seen as quite a radical design,” explains Select Electric's MD Ray Murphy, “and the Council needed to be convinced that it would give them the level of performance and reliability they needed.
“It is a testimony that there are now more than 250 MIC Series cameras deployed in Bristol, not only for security but also in a traffic management capacity.”
Images from the cameras are transmitted to the City Council's award-winning control room in the Council offices. The facility is both CCTV User Group Gold accredited as well as having a national accreditation for social alarm monitoring – one of the few councils in the UK to be so recognized.