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CCTV used for cash, not crime prevention
BIG Brother is watching Westminster Council after surveillance chiefs were accused of prizing parking revenue above the security of the Soho community.
The West End Extra can reveal that street cameras tackling crime in a drug-dealing hotspot in Soho have been moved to boost parking revenue.
A respected police source on Wednesday expressed his frustration that crime-ridden Boucher Street – an alleyway off Dean Street known to police as a magnet for crime – was no longer covered by the network.
Crucial footage that could have led to the arrest of a burglar who broke into a residential home in Boucher Street last month was unavailable to investigating officers because the camera had been moved three months ago.
It is believed that scores of special “wireless” CCTV cameras introduced in October have been “repositioned” to catch more driving cheats in busier roads in the West End – precisely where the drug dealers and muggers fear to loiter, police said.
The council initially denied the Boucher Street camera had been moved but eventually admitted its mistake.
A council spokesman said: “Although we have one of the most advanced CCTV schemes currently in operation in the country, unfortunately we do not have the resources to put CCTV cameras in every single street, or have the ability to catch every criminal or criminal act on tape.
“Like all public authorities we have to manage our public resources in the most effective way we can.”
When the council introduced its wireless scheme – allowing cameras to be moved about central London at the council’s discretion – Westminster deputy leader and cabinet member for finance Colin Barrow in October said it would “allow Westminster Council to deliver our goals for community safety by supporting a more flexible and adaptable CCTV network.”
The feeling in the Soho community is that the council is more interested in securing its parking revenue than protecting them from crime.
Katherine William-Powlett, chair of the charity Soho Green, in a recent letter to this paper that triggered much debate in the community wrote: “When CCTV first came in I was not too bothered because I thought that I am not a criminal and I have nothing to hide. I did not realise then that they would be used as a mindless alternative to traffic wardens.” |
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