How Tower Hamlets Council keeps community safe

CCTV is controversial. While some communities see it as a way for the “Big Brother” authorities to observe what all citizens are doing, others see it as a way to ensure that good people are safe and bad people are apprehended.

Town Hall was an innovator in the use of CCTV. There were great advances in the 1990s, with many cameras installed around the borough and a state of the art control room. There were regular articles in local papers about how officers in the control room could track individuals who or cars which had done something harmful could be tracked by camera until the police were able to apprehend them and justice could take its course. This helped in serious cases – such as hit-and-runs and assaults – as well as cases which were less serious but still important to the victims.

It was never clear what happened to that CCTV innovation during the Labour decade at the start of this century. Certainly when Cllr Lutfur Rahman became Mayor in 2010, there was talk about the system having been run down during that time. Mayor Lutfur Rahman had to invest funds in new, more up to date cameras and in upgrading the control room.

Now we see the advantages of that investment. The Council has reported that a motorbike recently sped away from police who wanted to talk to the driver. CCTV was able to track the bike until police could connect with it and stop it. The stop was in Hackney Road, where the driver was arrested – on suspicion of failing to stop, dangerous driving and assault on an emergency worker. It is hard to see how the suspect could have been apprehended with the assistance of live CCTV.

It is important that these arrests are made so that criminal behaviour can be stopped before it becomes a habit. If someone who is arrested is found to have financial problems or drug problems, the Council has programmes to help them get back on their feet. This approach helps protect potential future victims too. CCTV is a useful tool which helps that approach, and it is supported by in-person initiatives too.

Those who see CCTV as a way of curtailing their civil liberties have to recognise it also protects the civil liberties of the vast majority of members of the community who want to go about their business peacefully, lawfully, and not in fear.

●Read more about it:
Council says drink & drug related ASB down 5%
Mayor Lutfur Rahman leads fight against drugs