Leicester is CCTV capital of UK with city's 2,000 cameras
Leicester has become Britain's CCTV capital with more than 2,000 cameras now monitoring the city, new research shows.
The city council has spent £3.7 million on new cameras over the past three years, and the number of surveillance cameras now stands at 2,083.
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Civil liberties group Big Brother Watch says there are 2,083 cameras monitoring Leicester
It means the authority has more cameras than any other council in the country, according to research by civil liberties group Big Brother Watch.
Just four other councils say they have more than 1,000 cameras in place – Fife, Wandsworth, Nottingham and Southampton.
Nick Pickles, the campaign group's director, said: "In too many cities across the country every corner has a camera, but only a few ever see a police officer.
"Despite millions of cameras, Britain's crime rate is not significantly lower than comparable countries that do not have such a vast surveillance state."
The figures were compiled by sending Freedom of Information requests to 428 local authorities across the country. But the city council said it disputed the accuracy of the research.
Assistant city mayor Sarah Russell said: "We were asked how many CCTV cameras we have, and we were very thorough when we compiled the figures.
"For example, we've included ones that we pay for on university campuses, but which are monitored by the university rather than the council.
"We don't believe all councils will have been as thorough as us at calculating their total.
"I think that many other local authorities will have similar numbers of cameras to us, and some probably have many more.
"Our cameras are used for many different functions. Some are used to make communities feel safer, while others are used to monitor traffic flow across the city."
Lee Johnson, 24, who lives in Leicester city centre, said: "When it's rowdy in town on a Saturday night I think CCTV is invaluable.
"As soon as trouble breaks out the cameras spot it and the police are usually there within seconds, even if an incident is happening in a quiet back street, out of sight of the police or public."
Mary Carter, 50, who lives in New Parks, said: "I'm not sure whether it stops crime from happening, but it's a good way of making sure the perpetrator is caught and prosecuted."
Emma Boon, campaign director at the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Some of these cameras have never helped to solve a crime or catch a criminal, so taxpayers might wonder why we are paying for them."
However, a spokesman for Leicestershire Constabulary said: "We have an extremely close working relationship with the CCTV control unit at the city council.
"There is no doubt that CCTV is an invaluable tool when it comes to identifying and prosecuting offenders."
11 Comments
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by lissabeth
Tuesday, February 21 2012, 10:41PM
“A silly addage to this issue is that,legaly,I cannot have cameras on my property ,without asking local residents of my intention to record what is occuring and asking their permission !!”
by Red_Ned
Tuesday, February 21 2012, 9:07PM
“Silly poll - the question is of course far more complicated than it suggests. CCTV does undoubtedly cut crime in some situations but not always.
Typically idiotic comment from the so-called Taxpayers Alliance - *some* of these cameras were never meant to 'solve a crime' as she well knows. Another cheap soundbite from a discredited organisation that lazy journalists can always be counted on to phone up to fill a bit of space.
Why didn't they contact the University of Leicester who have a department who have been researching this exact thing? Or would the answer be a little too complicated?”
by SvenWeTrust
Tuesday, February 21 2012, 8:52PM
“Like George says. Why have Cameras to help prevent Crime. When it gets clearly recorded, and they are caught "Red Handed"
And they get let off because there not used to Drinking.
Pointless!!!”
by Rachel_Leics
Tuesday, February 21 2012, 7:21PM
“2,000 cameras in Leicester but if you look at the CCTV is is such bad quality and you can not make anyone out! So why bother having so many if it doesn't work very well??? x”
by JayBe11
Tuesday, February 21 2012, 3:59PM
“Oh dear, I spy the introduction of a Daily Mail style poll.”
by Opinion8ed
Tuesday, February 21 2012, 3:28PM
“I doubt these cameras cut crime as I wouldn't imagine your average criminal/thug is particularly mindful of cameras, particularly not when they are bladdered. What they often do however is help to identify the culprits thus avoiding them making a not guilty plea and saving a great deal of expense in court fees etc..”
by clagnutt
Tuesday, February 21 2012, 1:35PM
“cctv can solve crime . sentencing is that bad people will take the chance right in front of cctv . stopping crime before it happens or stopping crime it as its happening is what the public want . never going to happen , police will solve crime ,they dont stop it anymore .”
by Markymark002
Tuesday, February 21 2012, 1:03PM
“Another article on this site today talks of the "scourge of flyposters". Sounds like the cameras haven't been a fat lot of good there then.”
by Jani88
Tuesday, February 21 2012, 11:05AM
“This is a lot of cameras but yet with all the small crime it does not seem to help make Leicester a safer city. This is like 'big brother' everywhere you travel you feel as though you are being watched, is this legal and right?”
by f007e
Tuesday, February 21 2012, 10:35AM
“Or, more logically, one might argue that the cameras make negligible difference for the £3,700,000 of our council tax that has been spent on them. Unless, Kohelet, you have reason to believe that the UK would be much more crime ridden than equivalent countries?”