Lib Dems Call for Rethink of Crime Reduction Methods

11.23.43am GMT Fri 18th Jan 2008

Your local Liberal Democrats believe that the 'surveillance society' we are living in because of the Labour government has not been effective in fighting crime in Walthamstow.

Local Liberal Democrats have called for Britain's 'Surveillance Society' to be curtailed.

The campaign comes after figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats under the Freedom of Information Act suggested that police are no more likely to catch offenders in areas with hundreds of CCTV cameras than in those boroughs with less surveillance technology.

Waltham Forest, one of the 5 boroughs in London with under 100 CCTV cameras, secured a 'clearup' rate in line with the national average of 20%. Nearby Tower Hamlets, meanwhile, returned similar figures despite having nearly ten times as many cameras on their streets.

London's 10,000 CCTV cameras are estimated to have cost the taxpayer nearly £200 million.

The figures appear to confirm research by the crime reduction charity NACRO, who claim that greater investment in alternative measures such as extra street lighting would be more effective in tackling criminal behaviour.

Your local Liberal Democrats believe that the figures demonstrate yet again that the 'surveillance society' we are living in under the Labour government is not effective in fighting crime in Walthamstow.

"We need to think again to ensure that we are implementing the most effective methods for tackling criminal behaviour. Residents have told us that they want to see police officers and wardens on their streets.

"Whilst CCTV has a part to play, the sense of security that visible street patrols give residents is crucial.

The plea for a revision of current crime prevention tactics comes after the Liberal Democrats pledged to 'roll back' what "the ongoing erosion in the liberties of the British people".

"This government has given the state unprecedented powers to invade the lives of its citizens. The Liberal Democrats are committed to the immediate repeal of the Identity Cards Act, the destruction of all DNA samples taken from those not charged or convicted and a greater regulation of CCTV"