Westminster City Council is proposing to set up some 100 cameras in ‘priority’ areas in the centre of London. The council says this will be the first time it has run its own public realm CCTV cameras since 2017. Then the previous network was closed and one-off capital funding was given to the Metropolitan Police to acquire their own cameras.
Police-run cameras will continue to monitor what the council terms ‘hot spot areas’ in the West End (pictured) and Covent Garden, with high footfall and retail. Meanwhile these new, redeployable cameras are aimed at such issues as anti-social behaviour (ASB).
Funding is expected to be approved in the council’s March budget and the first cameras being installed in the early summer.
Councillor Adam Hug, Labour leader of Westminster City Council, said: “Anti-social behaviour and crime in our communities blights the lives of residents across Westminster and as a Council we want to do what we can to help tackle it. This proposed investment in a new local CCTV camera network will help keep an eye on ASB hotspots in local communities across the city, assist the police in identifying wrongdoers and provide the evidence to support work to design out crime. The safety of our residents is of utmost importance, and we want to play our part in helping keep our streets safer and to ensure that residents feel more secure in their own homes.”
