�200 million later, Police admit CCTV does not work

[Gromit]

"Surveillance cameras do little, if anything, to prevent late night alcohol-fuelled crime and violence on Britain's high streets, the country's most senior police officer in the field has admitted.

He also admitted the public had been "misled" into believing that installing camera systems would have a big impact on anti-social behaviour.

Around �200 million has been spent on erecting more than four million CCTV cameras across the country over the past 10 years."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jse ssionid=S53NPRUVXD2XZQFIQMGCFFWAVCBQUIV0?xml=/ news/2008/01/17/ncctv117.xml

Doh!

[pug100]

From the Telegraph article

Deputy Chief Constable Gerrard said
"It is very effective in places like car parks, where offenders are going out to break into cars, and are thinking rationally. In terms of town centres, where a lot of the behaviour is violent behaviour, often fuelled by alcohol, people aren't thinking rationally. They get angry, the CCTV is the last thing they are thinking about.
"Even the presence of police officers doesn't deter the disorder on the street, so cameras are unlikely to deter them."

Really obvious to me, but the authorities needed to spend �200 million before they realised this....

[Lonnie]

From my perspective, CCTV may deter some crime, but on the whole, they are really only good for identifying criminals after the crime, and regardless of the cameras, these people never think they are going to be caught, and on the rare occasion they are, all they get is a slap on the wrist.

So in General, he's right, they don't work.

[China Doll]

But CCTV has done wonders for youtube in the form of copulating couples caught in the act! Not to mention the art of mooning or getting your tits out for the camera which appears to be something of a trend after several shandies for some.

That said... I know that when they dumped a load of CCTV in Peckham it did have an effect. It pushed the crime more towards Camberwell and Dulwich. So I guess it was sort of deterrent... ish.

[123everton]

No amount of laws or CCTV will take away the right of people to behave appallingly.
In my job having CCTV on the vehicle does calm situations when it really starts to go off it also like Lonnie says helps convict them after the crime.
The prime suspect in the Ipswich murders had part of his alibi destroyed by number plate recognition, if it helps to establish his guilt then the system works.
Only yesterday evening a lad on my bus got attacked with a knife (not the first time I've come across knives, but the first time one's been used) the bus had CCTV and there was also some in the area, it reassured me when I heard that as if it did go off big time (he was'nt injured) there was a chance of solid independent evidence being produced. The Police arrived quickly, but that's entirely another thread.

[jno]

yes, saying it doesn't work is only half the story if he means it doesn't prevent crime. In a land where every baby's dream is to be on Big Brother, why would an appearance on CCTV be a deterrent? But as an aid to conviction after an offence, it might be more useful... though I wonder how often that actually happens?

[Twenty20]

Seeing some of the grainy images from a lot of cctv cameras it would be very hard to convict anyone on the basis of them.

More police on the ground, actually walking round town centres etc at night, would deter a lot of the mindless violence. Stopping the crime happening in the first place must be better and more cost effective than trying to find out who did what to whom afterwards?

[rojash]

I love that bit about an aid to conviction after the offence. "Yes m'lud, the offender was definitely identified as a smeared grey blob, exactly like the one in the dock"

[123everton]

Well you should see the quality of the images on our cameras especially the new hi-def ones, shop keepers would'nt do without them if they did they'd more than likely be inundated.
Twenty 20 is right more Police (more motivated Police) is a must to reduce crime but in the meantime...