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CCTV: IT'S TIME SURVEILLANCE STEPPED BACK
Expert urges council to rethink multi-million-pound cameras spending
A CCTV expert has warned Westminster Council to take a “step back” and review its surveillance policy.
Professor Martin Gill, who spent three years compiling a report on CCTV cameras for the Home Office, believes the benefits of the system in cutting crime has been “oversold” to councils.
He gave a speech to Westminster’s scrutiny committee on Tuesday in which he warned that CCTV did not act as a deterrent to crime and mostly produced poor quality images that are useless to police.
The meeting was told how “CCTV worked to reduce crime and disorder in some cases, it had failed to in some other cases and had actually made situations worse in particular areas.”
Westminster Council, which has more CCTV cameras than any other borough, has been criticised in the past for using cameras set up in crime hotspots to catch parking cheats.
It spends £5million each year on its 800 cameras – more than any borough – 600 of which are now solely used for parking cheats.
Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg, leader of the Labour Group, said: “My view about CCTV is that the council should use the 800-plus cameras in its control to tackle crime and the fear of crime rather than as another way of taxing people and raising more council revenue through parking fines.”
Police said that no cameras had been installed in Westminster specifically to combat crime and disorder since 2002.
The council’s CCTV cameras are monitored by 20 staff in an underground bunker beneath the Trocadero in Piccadilly Circus.
John Zamit, chairman of the South East Bayswater Residents Association, added: “I am a believer in CCTV as a deterrent against crime, but the council isn’t using it effectively. At the moment they are really only using it for parking charges to raise revenue. But I do believe this committee is strong. They asked all the right questions and want to see the evidence for crime prevention which is not easy to produce.”
Cllr Daniel Astaire, cabinet member for community protection, said: “There are notable examples of when CCTV has been hugely successful in tackling and deterring crime in Westminster, such as after the July 7 bombings when our CCTV footage was used to support police investigations. We welcome debate on this issue and we have created this task group because we want to ensure our use of CCTV, across all areas, is well thought out and can be fully justified.” |
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