Hampshire police have taken to the streets in the county's first mobile CCTV vehicle. crime reporter SARAH COLE takes an inside look at the hi-tech van being piloted in a bid to cut crime...

WHAT is white, can swivel 360 degrees and comes with its own miniature windscreen wiper? It may look like a leftover prop from a sci-fi movie but this little fella has a serious job to do.

The state-of-the art roof camera is the mainstay of Hampshire police's new mobile CCTV unit, currently being piloted in Southampton.

Do not be fooled by its size.

Although smaller than a football and seemingly dwarfed by the blue lights on the van roof, the camera has an extremely powerful zoom lens capable of picking up the tiniest speck from several feet away.

And this baby has full "tilt and turn" capabilities - meaning the van can be parked in one direction while the camera focuses in on potential illegal goings-on in the other.

Proceedings are relayed to police officers inside the van via a black box-type appliance attached to the dashboard.

People or events filmed via the hi-tech camera are captured in glorious technicolour and, if appropriate, recorded on video.

A smaller camera is also installed in the front of the Vauxhall Vivaro van to ensure there are no blind spots which its bigger brother cannot reach.

Talking of Big Brother, do not panic that the van will be taping you as you walk the dog, hang out your washing or pick your nose at the bus stop.

Police have to abide by stringent Humans Rights guidelines whenever they use the equipment - meaning recordings can be made only when officers suspect a criminal offence is being committed.

Typically, this could be during an anti-drugs operation or when a punch-up is in progress outside a city nightclub.

Police hope the high-profile van, which is fully liveried with the Hampshire Constabulary badge and distinctive force markings, will act as a deterrent.

The unit will be used to target crime and drugs hotspots in a bid to reduce all sorts of offences ranging from robbery and street violence to car crime, anti-social behaviour and juvenile nuisance.

Camera footage will be used to gather evidence for prosecution and intelligence, helping officers to identify people involved in criminal activity.

At present, only a handful of police officers across Southampton have been trained to use the unit - but more operators will soon be fully conversant with the new system.

PC Tim Ockenden, a community beat officer based at Shirley police station, one of the first trained operators, said: "It is all very well having static CCTV cameras but these ones are manoeuvrable and can be used to focus in on a particular incident or individual.

"Plus there are not CCTV cameras on every street in Southampton, so the van allows us to cover just about any area."

Colleague PC Nigel Evans, also a beat bobby based at Shirley, added: "If we suspect an offence such as juvenile nuisance is being committed, we can switch the cameras on just prior to arrival.

"We are then able to park some distance away and record exactly what is happening. That way we are able to identify the youths involved and have a clear record of what has taken place."

Both officers said the system was relatively easy to use after training, and produced top quality CCTV footage and stills.

Although CCTV vehicles have been used in Hampshire previously, the van being piloted in Southampton is the first full-time mobile unit of its kind - and one of the best equipped anywhere in Britain.

Funding for the specialist vehicle has come from Southampton City Council's community safety team with money from the Communities Against Drugs fund.

The van, which cost more than £30,000 to equip, comes complete with a suite of top-of-the-range video recording equipment.

Each officer using the system must identify their name and collar number at the start of each recording via a microphone fitted inside the van, and details of every incident taped must be entered into a log book kept on board the vehicle.

Police also have to make a note justifying why the recording is being made.

Project manager Insp Neil Scott, based at Southampton Central police station, said: "We are very much focusing on criminality.

"The van has been made overt deliberately as we want to make criminals aware that we are looking at them.

"The whole idea is about making people feel they are in a safe environment."

Although kept at Southampton Central police station, the CCTV van will be used by officers across the city, from Millbrook and Shirley in the west to Thornhill and Sholing in the east.

It has already been deployed with success at this year's Power in the Park concert on Southampton Common.

Officers have also used the van during operations to crack down on anti-social behaviour on housing estates, as well as in the city centre on hectic Friday and Saturday evenings.

Police said the hi-tech new unit would be kept busy on routine patrol and at special events throughout the year.

And if the pilot scheme succeeds in reducing crime across Southampton, police hope similar mobile CCTV units will eventually be introduced in other parts of the county.