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A drug user is caught on hidden camera injecting himself |
Flowercam’ plan to root out drug trouble on estates
‘Big brother’-style cameras in flowerpots
SECRET cameras are being hidden in flowerpots to catch troublemakers red-handed.
Camden’s housing officials plan to use the tiny ‘Flowercams’ to cut trouble on council estates.
Discreet, motion-sensitive cameras are also being hidden in light-fittings, pipe and fake electricity boxes.
Although the names of estates where the cameras will be wired up are being kept under-wraps, officials revealed on Monday they are heading for estates with the worst records for youth disorder and drug trouble and are designed to collect evidence against regular offenders.
The move follows a top secret pilot scheme on an estate in Bayham Street, Camden Town, where hidden cameras snapped a drug addict injecting himself in a public stairwell. The man was later banned from estates by terms of an anti-social behaviour order. Other evidence collected has shown how teenagers smash up parts of tower blocks in fits of vandalism
Camden’s technology boss Mark Handyside said: “We can put the cameras in all sorts of places like flowerpots and light fittings. People do not realise they are there.
“We had one in a pipe and a painter painted over the camera without realising what it was.”
The New Journal reported in November how a homeowner filmed a burglar in his Camden Town flat with his own CCTV system.
The council’s system will be more sophisticated and will capture images remotely even if the cameras are found and stolen or damaged, officials said.
Tenants, patch managers and caretakers will not be told if their estates will have the secret cameras because officials are concerned gossiping could ruin the project.
But the council insists the cameras will not be means of spying on tenants because most of them will be set-up in nooks and crannies where residents don’t spend much time.
Mr Handyside added: “We can move the cameras around and put them on different estates – so if there is trouble on a particular estate we can fit the cameras there.”
Housing chief Councillor Julian Fulbrook said: “In the past CCTV has been grainy and not very good but the quality of the images has much improved. It provides undeniable evidence. Prices have come down and it has become an inexpensive measure.”
In a £250,000 spend, 14 estates including Taplow tower in Adelaide Road and the Peckwater Estate in Kentish Town are to be rigged up with overt CCTV cameras in a new ‘Digital Concierge’ service.
The new wi-fi technology will allow the council to view the images over the internet and, in theory, could be checked from Australia. The cameras can also be swivelled remotely.
Cllr Fulbrook said: “Technology is moving fast and is opening up new possibilities for us to help Camden residents.
“These simple cameras are a proven deterrent that can help identify troublemakers.
“They are also extremely reassuring to residents, who know that at the end of the camera there is someone who can alert the police or get assistance if something terrible happens.” |
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