Clippings (Jan-Feb 1998)Clippings (Jan-Feb 1998)Letters to Editor (T&A 2/1/98)
SIR - Last summer the Council sent out questionnaires to every household in the district. One question asked where they should site their new CCTV cameras. Forty per cent of respondents told them exactly where they should put their cameras. A case of consult then ignore?
B. Stimpson, Stephenson Street, Bfd 7
CCTV: Questions that need answering
Letters to Editor (T&A 5/1/98)
SIR - You conclude your editorial "Obvious benefits of CCTV" (December 22) with the words "It (CCTV) has already proved its worth in the fight against crime." But how do you know?
For a year now we have been seeking the answers to two questions:
Promoting spy cameras in public places is one of the T&A's many "campaigns" - you even have a financial stake in them. If you are privy to information that is denied to the rest of us, perhaps you could let us know.
A. Taylor, 1 in 12 Club, Albion Street, Bradford 1.
T&A EDITOR'S NOTE.. "We are not aware of any hidden agenda on the matter of CCTV systems. Nor do we have any ulterior motive in supporting them.
"We share the stated view of traders and many members of the public in the areas in which they have been introduced: that they reduce crime and, equally important, reduce the level of worry about crime.
KDIS note: The words "- you even have a financial stake in them " were included in the original letter, but cut out by the T&A when it reproduced the letter, for some reason.
Letters to Editor (T&A 2/1/98)
SIR - I note that Councillor Jack Womersley claims that consultation meetings about the Council's Community plan "were attended by thousands of people who were in support of CCTV" (T&A, December 22).
But the five area conferences, which were staged at enormous public expense, attracted fewer than 200 members of the public in total.
Surely some mistake.
Tony Grogan, Aireview Crescent, Shipley.
Councillor Womersley said: "Getting the views of the public on community safety is not a mistake. Nowhere in the excellent report by Olwen Vasey and the even better editorial of December 22 do the five area conferences get a mention. The report talks of the district-wide consultation over the community plan, not just the conferences.
"CCTV is supported district-wide by the community.
"The residents of Queensbury are calling for their own police station because of the current increase in thefear of crime. Residents have asked previously for CCTV for the High Street and parks in Queensbury.
"Surely the whole community cannot be out of touch with reality and the reduction in fear of crime benefits that CCTV gives. Further consultations on CCTV will be taking place in the spring. Anyone with concerns over CCTV should write to their councillors or MPs. "
Demand for Closed Circuit TV triggers fear of crime
.(Guardian 9/1/98)
Big brother is watching 24 hours a day in more than 450 British towns as Councils bow to demands from the public for closed circuit television (CCTV) systems to keep crime at bay.
The rise in the number of schemes - from 74 three years ago - is partly because towns
"without protection" feel they will become targets of criminals if they do not have their own scheme.
There was some evidence from the police that this was the case and so in the last three years £120 million has been invested in systems by the Home Office and local authorities, Mark Goodwin from the University of Wales told the geographers' conference. Some CCTV systems cost £250,000 a year to run.
The systems were normally put into shop centres to protect shops.
There was evidence that this type of crime reduced when cameras were installed, but it was less certain how much of it shifted crime elsewhere.
However, along the M4 corridor there was evidence from the police that crime moved from towns with CCTV to towns without. This had led to towns as far west as Cardigan with a population of 4,000 getting six cameras and Aberystwyth, with 11,186 people eight. As a result Newcastle Emlyn, in between, with only 1,500 population, and hardly any crime, felt forced to get its own system.
One surprising result of the research is that the installation of cameras increased fear of crime in side streets where there was no coverage. There was some evidence that this was a legitimate fear as far as attacks on side street shops were concerned but this was not what people were worried about.
The crimes people most feared, robbery or mugging, were not the offences that CCTV was installed to prevent. However, the result of the fears induced by not having cameras were demands for existing schemes to be extended to residential areas. Bournmouth, hardly known as a hot-bed of crime, now had 400 cameras because of public demand for protection from muggings which was largely imaginary.
Small towns also tended to have much larger schemes. For example Kings Lynn, which was a pioneer, started with a few cameras, but now had 77 because of public demand. Newcastle by contrast only had 16.
The cost of running the schemes and keeping towns under constant watch was becoming a problem. Breckland in South Norfolk had just invested £1million in a system for five towns run from a central point in Thetford.
Professor Goodwin said research was still continuing to establish exactly how much crime was displaced by CCTV.
By Heather Bishop (T&A 6/2/98)
Crime-busting closed-circuit television cameras will be up and running in Shipley by April.
Work on the long-awaited CCTV system will begin in the town centre on Monday after a two-and-a-half year campaign. And organisers say despite past delays, the cameras will be ready for the big switch-on in two months.
Five high-definition colour cameras will be installed around the town including two in Market Square, one in Wellcroft, Westgate and Fox's Corner. They will all be monitored from a central office in Keighley.
Shipley town centre manager Bob Parker said: "We're delighted that work will start on laying the cables for the system on Monday. There will hardly be any disruption for shoppers or motorists and the cables in Market Square were put down when it was being pedestrianised. Work will then take place upgrading the control room at Keighley. We're looking at having an official switch on sometime in April."
The £140,000 project has been funded with donations from businesses, Bradford Council and Metro and the town also secured £58,000 of government money.
Shipley Police claimed that crime levels would fall dramatically in the town if the closed circuit cameras were introduced. And they hope that it will be as successful as the cameras in Bingley where they say that vandalism and burglary have fallen by half.
But a Bradford group claimed that the cameras would just divert crime in the town. The 1 in 12 club said the Shipley scheme would be an invasion of privacy and residents hadn't been fully consulted about the proposals.
Inspector Nigel Cawthorne said: "It's been a long wait and the sooner we get the cameras up, the better.
"I'm sure the mere presence of the CCTV will prevent people from committing offences and I know it's something the majority of residents want. We will be working with the Council from the first day it goes on and reacting to things."
Letters to the Editor (T&A 13/2/98)
SIR - If I was to claim that the CCTV cameras about to be installed in Shipley town centre were to be used for political surveillance, you might very well accuse me of being paranoid. But what am I supposed to think when the bid for cameras submitted by Bradford Council and West Yorkshire Police makes this intention clear?
Under the ominous heading "Problems" it states: "The town is also attracting Bingley bypass protesters who are camped two miles from the centre. The police view is that this situation can only worsen as this protest becomes the Newbury of the North".
Why should I be targeted for "monitoring" just because I'm standing up for the environment? Is this not "Big Brother" in action? I have raised this issue with the relevant councillors, but have never received a satisfactory reply. So it seems there's no accountability either.
Oliver Robinson, Ryeloaf Camp, Bingley
By Paul McCann, Media Correspondent (Independent 23/2/98)
THE GOVERNMENT plans to ban television programmes and video makers from using footage from security cameras as entertainment.
Home Office Minister Alun Michael said the Government is worried the public will turn against the proliferation of close-circuit cameras in public places if they think they are used for intrusive TV programmes rather than catching criminals.
Several television shows have evolved from the increased use of private security videos and emergency services videos. More intrusive still are cheap-to-produce videos that use compilations of voyeuristic footage of car crashes and street disorders. The ban will be included in a new Bill to regulate the private security industries which the Home Office is planning.
There are already restrictions on closed-circuit cameras which are funded by the Home Office. Mr Michael said he intended extending these regulations to cover all CCTV video pictures. This will include emergency service closed-circuit videos as well as private footage.
He said yesterday: "I think in general the public are quite happy with the idea of CCTV being used so the police can act quickly." "If people get the impression that it is not being used to help the police and is being abused it could undermine public confidence."
Last year an Essex man failed to get the High Court to rule that Brentwood Council had acted unlawfully by supplying film of him attempting suicide to Anglia TV and the BBC's Crime Beat programme.
However, both the Independent Television Commission and the Broadcasting Standards Commission agreed that through human error, the privacy of the man had been infringed.
By Olwen Vasey (T&A 27/2/98)
Bradford's biggest ever crime busting scheme is poised to swing into action next month ready for radical changes in the law which will involve the Council for the first time in law and order. And the first step towards implementing the Home Secretary's plan to make Bradford and Britain a better place will be a full scale audit of the district's problems which will pick out problems and hot spots.
The responsibility for law and order in the district will lie with Bradford Council and the police in 14 month's time and the Council has appointed its first community safety policy officer, Sharmila Ghandi, who will be the key player in its response. Sharmila and Chief Inspector Joan Simpson, West Yorkshire Police Community Officer, will work together on a major plan which will involve all the Council directorates, agencies - including the probation service - and many organisations. A steering group headed by the Council and police will be set up to coordinate action - and if they don't deliver the service, Jack Straw can step in.
Sharmila has come to Bradford after working as community officer for Newbury District Council in Berkshire. She said the Home Secretary would probably look for authorities to pilot the new orders which would be included in the Bill and Bradford was likely to apply. The orders will help people to be better parents and to deal with problems.
"In the next couple of weeks a professional and hopefully local person from outside should be appointed to carry out the audit." The first guidelines for implementing the schemes are also likely to be published next month.
The Crime and Disorder Bill currently going through Westminster is likely to get Royal assent in July - then it will be full steam ahead for authorities to comply with the law in April next year.
Sharmila said the performance of the authorities would have to be measured by the Audit Commission and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary. "The Home Secretary can request at any time to see the plans and hypothetically you could be put on the spot." She said every section of the Council would be involved, including schools, which may intervene with youngsters who fall foul of the law, and Social Services, which may introduce diversion schemes for youngsters.
"We will be looking at a strategic approach which has never been done,'' she said. "It isn't just about locks and bolts but we will be looking at the social side. There is a big difference in the figures for recorded crime and reality. It can be four or five times higher. There are people in Bradford who have a real fear of crime."
By Ashley Broadley (T&A 27/2/98)
Police officers are now able to view scenes of crime - from the comfort of their office. Top-of-the-range technology is being used for the first time in West Yorkshire for police briefings at Bradford Central.
Officers coming on duty will be given the most up-to-date information and digital photographs from crime scenes. It is hoped the new briefing system will then help the police catch criminals. The system, which also involves closed-circuit television and video footage being projected onto a big screen, has been devised by staff in Bradford Central's Intelligence Unit working with the Community Safety Unit.
A digital camera has been sponsored by Bradford City Centre Beat - which unites police and businesses in the fight against crime. Members include Sunwin House, the Kirkgate Centre, and Marks & Spencer. The digital camera allows photographs taken at scenes of crimes to be instantly viewed by officers at briefings.
Intelligence officers Michael Glover and Nigel Lee visit the scenes of crime each day to glean information and take digital photographs of the scene. Additional intelligence and pictures of stolen property can also be put into the presentation to give officers coming on duty an immediate image to work with. Around one hundred officers are briefed each day during four main sessions.
Crime manager Detective Chief Inspector John Hawley said: "If an officer has a visual image of the crime - pictures of stolen property, suspects wanted for questioning or an unusual break-in - then they know what to look for. Photos will be taken within hours of the crime, so it is more likely that any stolen property will still be in circulation and patterns of crime may emerge for officers to investigate."
DCI Hawley said a photograph of a house which had been burgled, or the way a burglar has got in, gives officers a much better understanding of the crime and a visual prompt if they see a similar scene in the future.
"It is said a picture is worth a thousand words and this certainly seems to be holding true," he said.
Trial runs have already received positive feedback from the police and victims of crime.
Back to Clippings List
Return to Home Page