![[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.
He also spoke of his consternation at the media reports of non-existent riots last week. Like the rest of us, he first heard the story on Friday mornings national radio. He said that he went straight to City Hall and tried to find out from the police what had happened, but to no avail. Contacts with fire officers and youth service workers who had been in the area at the time, along with ward councillor Sajawal Hussein, who had spent several hours in the area, soon made it clear that there had been no riot.
"There were 3 well-attended organised bonfires. The only real incident was a fire in a telephone box", he said, "and if this is the response to a vandalised phone box, then we're in big trouble".
He said a police press release, issued from somewhere outside Bradford in the early hours of Friday morning, had spoken of "petrol bombs and riot gear". But despite an hour and a half with police at 9 o'clock that morning, they still had not explained how exactly that press release had come to be issued. He has since written to the Chief Constable, but he added "We are still unhappy at the response so far from the Chief Constable, as are the districts 5 MP's. Either there was a really serious cock-up, or there is someone in the police with a racist or other agenda."
Councillor Greenwood, a former vice president of the trades council who sees himself as a committed socialist, spoke of his "mission" when he took control of City Hall:
"It seemed to me that the local authority had been good at coming up with good ideas, but what it wasn't good at was the provision of services which met the public need at a basic level." He said the recent government white paper had outlined the potential changes to local government, in particular the need to consult the public more. He said he was proud that he had been the member who pushed through the councils "Community Plan" in the face of some scepticism.
He spoke of the survey sent to every household in the district, and the 7000 responses received, as "The most significant process we have ever undertaken." The responses had highlighted 3 major areas of concern which he was determined to address: Crime and the fear of crime, the environment and education.
But, although the public should be consulted, he said that the council should not simply pander to popular opinion. He said that he was opposed to referenda in general, as the public needed to be given the facts before they could make an informed decision. He also opposed the idea of an elected mayor:
"We consider it a dangerous and potentially divisive idea," he said "Politics should not be about the cult of personality".
Speaking afterwards 1 in 12 member Matt Hannam said "Everything Ian Greenwood said in the rest of his speech flew in the face of his CCTV pronouncements. He said he wouldn't pander to popular opinion, but we're going to get CCTV because it's popular. He said that people needed information before being consulted, but he won't have an evaluation of CCTV. He spoke of 7000 responses to his survey, but didn't mention that 40% said they were strongly opposed to CCTV. It's unbelievable."
Trades Council President Ronnie Fieldhouse said "He may not have said what people wanted to hear, but at least he gives it to you straight."