East Yorkshire council installs CCTV towers using AI to fight fly-tipping
The towers will be working around the clock in order to catch fly-tippers
A number of CCTV towers with artificial intelligence built-in have been installed in East Yorkshire hoping to catch fly-tipping in the act.
East Riding of Yorkshire Council will include the towers in sites in areas including Cotting, Boynton, Hessle and Rawcliffe.
Currently, the council receives an average of 2,500 different reports of fly-tipping each year - and while those responsible are found and prosecuted, the rubbish is removed at the expense of the council itself.
Those who are caught fly-tipping could be fined up to £1,000 on the spot, or they could be taken to court - where the judgment could result in an unlimited fine or jail.
During the course of the installation, mechanics found a large spot for fly-tipping, which is now being investigated by the council.
All five of the towers will work around the clock for the next twelve months, with any footage of offences being captured being investigated and used as evidence.
Following the trial, the council will evaluate how well the cameras were able to pick up on fly-tipping and will then decide whether to make them more permanent.
Speaking on the installations, Councillor Lyn Healing from East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: "Fly-tipping is a blight and a nuisance, particularly in some rural parts of the East Riding.
“Our team investigates reports of fly-tipping we receive and they have had some success in the past with our own mobile CCTV cameras, but we haven’t had the resources to fully tackle this problem.
“Therefore, the council has purposely invested in these CCTV camera towers to step up our action against those who commit these crimes.
“These new cameras and their AI technology have been tried and tested by other councils and we want them to replicate the impressive results they’ve already produced elsewhere, here in the East Riding.
“To be clear, we will prosecute any fly-tippers caught by these cameras when we can and try to stamp out the dumping of rubbish in these areas.”