City Must Have Policy On CCTV

With the growth of Public Space CCTV across the City and the UK, Councillor Gavin Webb was horrified to find that Stoke-on-Trent doesn't have a policy to manage the proliferation of surveillance.

Gavin doesn't share the unfettered enthusiasm for Public Space CCTV that is shown by a great number of people, including many City Council politicians and bureaucrats.

In his view, the money that is being spent on CCTV should instead be used to recruit additional "Community-Based" police officer that are known and trusted by members of that community.

Instead, Government gimmicks are leading us down the route of faceless and unaccountable surveillance, and ineffective window dressing in the form of Police Community Support Officers.

Gavin says: "Effective crime prevention and detection comes about through the open and transparent interaction between people, with those people - residents, business owners and police - all being empowered to take control of community policing.

"Some bloke sitting behind a monitor in Regent Road will not be as effective in dealing with the day-to-day anti-social behaviour in our neighbourhoods as a community-based police officer would."

Upon finding out that the City didn't actually have a policy to manage the City's CCTV camera network - despite its continued expansion - Gavin immediately requested that Council bureaucrats get started on writing one up.

He wants such a policy to force the council to review each and every one of its surveillance cameras frequently with a view to reducing the total number in the City overall.

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