New AI cameras installed to combat 'Birmingham's war against fly-tippers'

Fly-tippers leaving a trail of mess in Birmingham
Credit: BPM Media

New artificial intelligence cameras have been installed across Birmingham in a bid to combat 'the city's war against fly-tippers'.

The cameras are the first of their kind to be used locally, and can help speed up the process of catching offenders.

A grant total of £45,000 has been spent on new CCTV in Aston, Erdington and Edgbaston to help tackle the crime.

According to Birmingham City Council, the cameras will:

  • detect when rubbish is being dumped

  • automatically alert council officers to the incident

  • help the council gather evidence instantly, replacing the old way of manually sorting through hours of recorded footage after fly-tipping occurs

  • send an alert letting officers know what time stamp to look at the footage, to collect proof of the crime being committed

Cllr Majid Mahmood, cabinet member for environment, said:

“We are showing we are on the side of people who care for and value their neighbourhoods – and that we are willing to try out new technology to deliver a cleaner and greener Birmingham.

“There is absolutely no excuse to dump waste on our streets. It’s disgusting and means we have to spend money that could be better used in other ways to meet the priorities of citizens.

“This CCTV should help us monitor hotspot areas in a more efficient way and bring to justice those who are responsible.

"Unfortunately, we have to regularly issue fixed penalty notices to offenders across the city and where appropriate we will take cases through the courts – with hefty fines or prison the uncomfortable prospects for those who are guilty.”