November 1998More spy-cameras on the way, says Council leader (Nov 20, 1988)
Council grant awards - more losers (Nov 12, 1998)
Clegg retrial opens (10 Nov 1998)
Police blamed for non-riots (Nov 6, 1998)
TUC calls for public access to spy cameras (Nov 4, 1998)
November 20
![[Council leader Ian Greenwood]](greenwd.jpg)
The council is to go ahead with upgrading the city's CCTV system, council leader Ian Greenwood told Bradford Trades Council last night.
And there will be no evaluation of the existing systems, as requested by delegates.
"There will be no evaluation" he said, "We are committed to CCTV; there will be money spent on it; it is popular with working people ".
"It is immensely popular. People in Little Horton keep asking for it. It makes people feel safer." He said that he was convinced CCTV reduced crime, but the main thing was that it made people feel safer. He said that the only real opponents were the 1 in 12 Club.
But several delegates challenged this, including the Trades Council president Ronnie Fieldhouse and the secretary Mike Quiggin. They said CCTV was not a solution to crime in poor areas and expressed concern at the kind of surveillance society this approach would create.
Other delegates expressed their dismay at these pronouncements, particularly as the councils promised "comprehensive CCTV review" has not yet even started.
Councillor Greenwood was giving the annual Council leaders address to Bradford TUC.
Full report, including "Non-riots" - cock-up or racist agenda?
November 12, 1998
Bradford Council revealed details of its £6 million voluntary sector grant awards for next year. Most of the money went to automatic renewals of 69 previously funded groups, with £1.2 million available for new applicants.
This is the second year of the Councils controversial new "points" system. Applicants were deemed successful if they scored over 65 points, but many groups who passed this hurdle still found themselves amongst the losers.
New applications from Relate and CHAS topped 100 points, but were classified "No recommended grant due to insufficient resources".
Bierley Community Centre lost funding when its application was handed in late.
Councillor Ralph Berry, chair of the Community Development Cttee, said that 18 new groups had been funded. "Our aim is to widen the availability of the grants budget so that we can support the voluntary sector's best and most innovative ideas", he said.
A contingency of £200,000 has been put aside for appeals, which are due in before December 4th
10 November 1998
The murder retrial of Bradford paratrooper Lee Clegg opened yesterday in Belfast. Clegg, who was convicted of murdering Karen Reilly in 1993, served less than 4 years before being released and reinstated in the army. The court of Appeal quashed his conviction 9 months ago and ordered the retrial.
Background: They shoot joyriders don't they
November 6, 1998
![[Manningham - burnt out garage]](riot.jpg)
The nation awoke this morning to media reports of Bonfire night rioting in Bradford's Manningham area. Local radio station "The Pulse" led its morning news bulletin with Mick Starkey of the West Yorkshire Police claiming that he "feared history repeating itself" - a reference to the 1995 Manningham riots.
A police press release issued late last night claimed "after a search a number of petrol bombs were recovered".
Clearly a case of rampage and riot! Or was it?
In fact it soon became clear that the "petrol bombs" were empty milk bottles and the "rioters" were a few local youths protesting at the police over-reaction.
Did a fire in a disused back street garage and another in a phone box really require teams of tooled-up riot police sealing off several streets and a police helicopter circling overhead, or are the Bradford police loosing it?
Certainly on Wednesday, "mischief night", someone on the police incident desk told one caller "It's going ballistic out there. Quite honestly we can't cope."
This follows recent complaints that the local police are ignoring 999 calls. And a number of submissions to the Bradford hearing of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry last week paint a disturbing picture of police complacency and incompetence.
There are real fears that unless the local police get a grip things are only going to get worse.
See also Stephen Lawrence Inquiry report
Update 18 Nov: Chief Inspector Des Broster Of Toller Lane Police station said that 30 officers in riot gear had been deployed after 2 members of the public reported petrol bombs, but no evidence of petrol bombs had been found. He also said investigations had concluded that the fires in the disused garage and shop were not suspicious and had probably been caused by a stray firework. He said that only about half a dozen youths were at the core of the main troubles, the rest were residents attending an organised bonfire.
See also Council leader Ian Greenwood's account
November 4, 1998
![[Bradford CCTV control room]](control.jpg)
Bradford TUC is calling on the council to open its spy camera network to the public in a startling new document.
The Bradford TUC document says that the only effective answer to the question "Who watches the watchers?" must be "the public themselves" and includes proposals for:
Mike Quiggin, secretary of Bradford TUC said:
"We believe these imaginative proposals will go along way to ensuring proper accountability and safeguards, should the council decide to proceed further with these surveillance systems.
"We think these measures will go some way to help stop some of the many well-documented abuses of these systems, such as the routine discriminatory targeting exposed last year by Dr Clive Norris of Hull University, and the shocking case in South Wales when a council CCTV operator used the cameras to target young girls for obscene phone calls."
The document has been sent in support of the council's "comprehensive CCTV review" currently underway. Mr Quiggin added:
"Whilst fundamental questions continue to be asked within Bradford's Trade Union movement about the effectiveness of CCTV as a means of dealing with crime, we wish to pursue constructively with Bradford Council how best to monitor their use and safeguard public interests. If the council were to adopt these proposals, they would put Bradford in the lead for tackling positively the controversial issues of public privacy that these technologies raise."
Update: 5 Nov 1998: Councillor John Ruding, chair of the Councils Community Safety sub-committee, was quick to dismiss the TUC proposals. He told the T&A that his committee would not want public viewing or the location of the centre known in case operators were targeted. He also revealed the council plan to spend half a million pounds upgrading the Bradford system, despite the fact that the Council's "comprehensive review" has yet to start!
See T&A article and editorial.
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