Author Topic: Westminster council to abandon CCTV because of budgetary pressures  (Read 5685 times)

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Offline The Bald Eagle

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When Wastemonster first installed CCTV cameras, they were sold to the public on the basis that the primary use of the cameras would be to ensure law and order was maintained as a priority in order to protect law abiding citizens from the increasing amount of mugging and theft going on in the capital.

What happened next is a matter of record which shows Wastemonster used the cameras as $cameras in order to perform its own version of legalised mugging, with millions of pounds being taken off motorists for parking offences, despite statutory guidance that said the $cameras should not be used where traffic wardens had access.

Then, after a concerted campaign by a small group of activists ;) who maintained that the $cameras had little to do with maintaining law and order, and were in fact being primarily used to generate income (IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY was our mantra), the government took away the mugging option, presumably so that WCC, and all those councils who adopted the WCC rip off model (and there were many of them) could go back to prioritising the pledged service to the public of maintaining law and order on its streets.

Turns out that WCC, and their many London based followers who are apparently similarly affected by the issue of having to fund cameras it can no longer make money out of, had absolutely no interest in the safety of its citizens, as WCC (and no doubt many of its followers up and down the country will quietly do likewise) have now decided that $cameras that are now just cameras are too expensive to run, so the good citizens of this fine country can go get stuffed.

It also turns out that it really was


ALL ABOUT THE MONEY
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Westminster authority to abandon CCTV because of budgetary pressures

A London council is considering scrapping its CCTV network due to Government cuts.

Tory-controlled Westminster Council is thinking about getting rid of its 75 cameras after 1 September, 2016, because, it says, they cost millions to run.

A council spokesperson said: ‘Our current view is that we do not feel we are able to continue to subsidise this non statutory service which will cost us £1m per year to run, when there are many other pressures on our budgets.’

Westminster claims the main beneficiaries of the CCTV cameras are the Metropolitan Police [That's odd! I could have sworn it was members of the public the authority purport to serve who were the main beneficiaries. <Swearyangry>] and not the local authority itself.

This means, they argue, it is increasingly difficult to justify investment in the service at a time of financial restraint. However, the council emphasises they would be happy to see another party take over the network as well as explore other solutions.

The spokesperson said: ‘It is with regret that we are considering taking this action; however we continue to encourage our partners to keep working with us to try to find the right, sustainable and affordable solution.

‘For example, if any partner wished to take over the day to day running of the system from the council, we would do all we can to support making that happen. We would also welcome looking at a pan-London solution with our partners, as this is an issue that affects many of the London boroughs.’

CCTV in the council’s housing estates will be unaffected by the decision

http://www.localgov.co.uk/Westminster-authority-to-abandon-CCTV-because-of-budgetary-pressures/40967
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Offline 2b1ask1

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Re: Westminster council to abandon CCTV because of budgetary pressures
« Reply #1 on: 06 June, 2016, 05:51:06 PM »
ha, what a 'Pickle'....
Willing to do my bit...

Offline DastardlyDick

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Re: Westminster council to abandon CCTV because of budgetary pressures
« Reply #2 on: 06 June, 2016, 06:31:34 PM »
And there I was thinking that all parking "schemes" had to be self funding - D'oh  :schucks:

I can only guess that either WCC's "Traffic Marshals" are seriously raking it in for them or they've got some other evil plot to unleash on the residents of, and visitors to, their rotten borough.

Offline Kill Switch

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Re: Westminster council to abandon CCTV because of budgetary pressures
« Reply #3 on: 06 June, 2016, 06:33:54 PM »
We said they were lying bastards all those years ago when they said the camera's were for the "safety" of the public, we always new we were right, now they've just confirmed it.
A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones that need the advice


Offline Ewan Hoosami

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Re: Westminster council to abandon CCTV because of budgetary pressures
« Reply #4 on: 07 June, 2016, 04:30:27 PM »
 <Yeahthat>
Whenever there were national news items highlighting draconian enforcement or worse still, innocent motorists being accused, there was always a comment from the Council/LGA/BPA Ltd spokesweasel that camera enforcement was essential to keep traffic flowing and for public safety. I'm still waiting for holocaust like death toll figures due to, ahem, 'dangerously parked cars' and how traffic flow is now more strangled than it was before. Spot the feckin' difference.
<Swearyangry>


 <Bsmeter>
Appealing to the council is like playing chess with a pigeon. You might be a chess grand master but the pigeon will always knock all the pieces over, shit on the board and then strut around triumphantly.

Offline scalyback

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Re: Westminster council to abandon CCTV because of budgetary pressures
« Reply #5 on: 08 June, 2016, 12:11:03 AM »
A wastemonger official was reported to have said, "We are the first London council to help lower unemployment by helping more muggers and thieves to operate in our city. Turning off the CCTV cameras should help boost these trades by an estimated 200%. Trust Wastemonger to do what's best for the people."

Offline The Bald Eagle

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Re: Westminster council to abandon CCTV because of budgetary pressures
« Reply #6 on: 09 June, 2016, 09:58:17 AM »
The original article was only an indication that Wastemonster MIGHT throw it's citizens to the wolves.

It seems that councillors have now concluded that feeding the wolves is more important than the safety of its electorate.

 <Swearyrant> <Swearyrant> <Swearyrant> <Swearyrant> <Swearyrant> <Swearyrant> <Swearyrant> <Swearyrant> <Swearyrant> <Swearyrant> <Swearyrant> <Swearyrant> <Swearyrant> <Swearyrant>

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Westminster Council agrees controversial move to turn off entire network of CCTV cameras


All of Westminster Council's 75 cameras will cease to operate from September 1

A central London council has made the controversial decision to switch off its entire network of CCTV cameras.

Conservative-run Westminster City Council agreed the move at a cabinet meeting on Monday evening as part of an effort to cut costs.

It means all the local authority’s 75 cameras will be turned off on September 1 to save up to £1 million a year.

Some of the busiest areas of central London fall under Westminster Council control, including Soho, which has a huge night-time economy.

Opposition leaders and policing experts have previously criticised the proposals.

Terror and policing expert David Videcette told the Standard earlier this month: "It will be a huge, huge loss to police.

"All council CCTV networks are a massive resource to police, have a massive impact on bringing down anti-social behaviour, crime, drug dealing, they are very, very valuable to police.

"It's crazy - the money the council will spend on putting things right, vandalism, theft from local authority premises, it will pay for itself twice over.

"And there's a risk if there was a terrorist attack and we had to track a terrorist's movements.”

But tonight Westminster’s cabinet member for public protection Cllr Nickie Aitken said it could no longer afford to pay for the service which is “non-statutory”, meaning it is not legally required, when it was the Metropolitan Police who mainly made use of the cameras.

She said: “Like many other local authorities around the country, our current view is that we are not able to continue to subsidise this non statutory service when there are many other pressures on our budgets and where other partners are the main beneficiaries.

“We will keep talking and in the past week have had very constructive discussions with the Mayor, the Metropolitan Police and Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime.

“We want to work towards a pan London solution that is right for the capital as criminals don’t stop at borough borders.”

CCTV cameras in the area run by Transport for London, private businesses and on housing estates will continue to operate.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/westminster-council-agrees-controversial-move-to-turn-off-entire-network-of-cctv-cameras-a3265156.html
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Offline Coco

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Re: Westminster council to abandon CCTV because of budgetary pressures
« Reply #7 on: 09 June, 2016, 12:08:08 PM »
Quote
Cllr Nickie Aitken said it could no longer afford to pay for the service which is “non-statutory”

How very interesting! Will we also see Watemonster City Council also opting out of moving traffic and parking enforcement too? After all these activities are "non-statutory" - the Council elected to takeover responsibility, it was not a requirement that they do so.

Offline Ewan Hoosami

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Re: Westminster council to abandon CCTV because of budgetary pressures
« Reply #8 on: 09 June, 2016, 04:56:44 PM »
Wastemonster can still afford to pay for moving traffic and parking enforcement so there's no need to scrap that just yet. It's all about public safety you know  <Whistle> and the council doesn't make any money from it  <Whistle> It's all a huge misconception that it's about the money  <Whistle>
Appealing to the council is like playing chess with a pigeon. You might be a chess grand master but the pigeon will always knock all the pieces over, shit on the board and then strut around triumphantly.

Offline DastardlyDick

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Re: Westminster council to abandon CCTV because of budgetary pressures
« Reply #9 on: 09 June, 2016, 06:28:57 PM »
I would have thought that if they really do "switch off the entire network" then they won't be doing moving traffic offences either.

Offline Overlord

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Re: Westminster council to abandon CCTV because of budgetary pressures
« Reply #10 on: 09 June, 2016, 09:03:00 PM »
 ::))) Right! That's it then!! If we can't use the CCTV and $Scamera cars for parking to boost our income, we'll switch everything off and see how you like that!!  <Swearyangry>
« Last Edit: 09 June, 2016, 09:11:16 PM by Overlord »

Offline The Bald Eagle

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Re: Westminster council to abandon CCTV because of budgetary pressures
« Reply #11 on: 02 August, 2016, 04:32:07 PM »
So Salisbury are turning their cameras off too (article below), but apparently for different reasons.

Now I'm not an advocate of Big Brother, but I can see that cctv cameras do have their uses provided proper safeguards are in place. However, the amusingly named "Dick Tongue" (finance chief) seems to forget he is a public SERVANT and has decided to serve mammon instead when he states "It’s very difficult for us to spend £500,000 and get nothing in return”.

Perhaps he should tell one of the victims of a rape attack that when their assailant walks free due to a lack of cctv evidence. I don't think the victim would regard that as "nothing".

I would very much like to meet Mr Dick Tongue as I would very much like to shake him by the hand throat

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CCTV 'vital' in jailing rapists and murderers, says top judge, as city's cameras stay switched off



 SALISBURY’S top judge says CCTV has been “vitally important” in jailing rapists and murderers, as pressure mounts on the city council to start meaningful talks to get a working camera system back in place.

The cameras have been switched off since Wiltshire Council (WC) sold the control room six weeks ago, and the authority will not spend the promised £500,000 on a new system unless the city council takes over some of its liabilities.

Judge Keith Cutler told the Journal: “I have been involved in cases including murder and rape, which have occurred in Salisbury, which have completely depended on CCTV evidence.”

And he warned it would be “absolutely awful for people to realise they can come in [to Salisbury] and commit crime”.

Old George Mall boss Jon Osgood said it was essential to install CCTV before the Christmas period to “ensure the continued safety of Salisbury residents and the protection of businesses”.

But WC finance chief Dick Tongue said: “It’s very difficult for us to spend £500,000 and get nothing in return”, and urged the city council to “come and talk to us”.

Recently, Salisbury City Council (SCC) leader Andrew Roberts said the city could not afford to take on the CCTV and other assets, including the Market Place, after it lost a bid to take over Laverstock and Ford parish and a potential £300,000-a-year in extra council tax income.

Cllr Roberts said the city council was “actively considering its next steps”.

Judge Cutler backed the Journal’s decision to reveal the fact that the cameras had been switched off.

“If we have been misled into thinking CCTV was there and shopkeepers and other people thought they were protected, it must be right for the Journal to report it,” he said.

He recalled three rapes in Salisbury where CCTV had played a key role in getting a conviction, including that of a young woman in St Thomas’s Square in 2005.

And Adam Cross was convicted in 2014 of murdering Joseph Starzacher, thanks to “crucial” camera footage, he said.

“I can’t think there are many cities now that don’t have [CCTV],” he added.

Cllr Tonge said he was “disappointed” SCC had not come back with an alternative plan to save the asset transfer deal and CCTV, after it lost its battle over the Laverstock and Ford boundary.

Cllr Tonge said there had been “high expectations” of the city council and, while there was no set deadline for a decision, the talks could not “go on forever”.

“We don’t want to let Salisbury down, but we have got to have a reasonable deal if we are going to go ahead,” he said, adding that “all the other towns in Wiltshire pay for their own CCTV”.

It comes after business leaders this week urged the city council to “get on and agree your negotiations quickly”.

Salisbury BID board members said having no working cameras was “unacceptable and jeopardises the safety and the future of this important city,” after a meeting on Wednesday.

 The BID, which represents Salisbury’s city-centre firms, has trained volunteers ready to operate the new system as soon as it is installed.

Wiltshire Council has promised Salisbury a new CCTV system worth up to £500,000 to replace the one it abandoned last August and switched off in June, when it sold the building that housed the control room to developers.

Talks between the two councils have stalled in recent weeks, after Salisbury failed to win a “hostile takeover” of Laverstock and Ford parish, which would have secured more council tax to help pay the running costs of the camera network. This failure prompted city council leader Andrew Roberts to declare the asset transfer deal “dead in the water” and “neither fair nor affordable”.

But since then, city councillors have said they want to re-enter talks over the asset transfer deal.

Salisbury BID director and manager of the Old George Mall Jon Osgood said “whatever the outcome” of the talks, “a decision on procuring the new system must be made within the next few weeks and at the latest by the end of August”.

He said: “Our board represents the whole city, so the message is pretty clear – get on with it, the city needs CCTV again, and quickly.”

Cathedral Hotel boss Tony Negal said he was angry at the “crazy” situation, which he described as “absolute madness”.

He said it should have been sorted out before Wiltshire Council sold the control room at Pennyfarthing House to developers.

“It’s huge,” he said. “It should be the councils’ number-one priority. There’s a duty of care.”

Mr Negal said he knew of three crimes in the city centre on Saturday night that either would not have happened, or would have been easily solved, had there been working CCTV.

In one incident, a man had a chunk of his ear bitten off in the Market Square.

Salisbury’s new police chief, Inspector Pete Sparrow, has also spoken of his disappointment at the current situation and called for a swift resolution.

http://www.salisburyjournal.co.uk/news/14649420.Judge_says_CCTV__crucial_in_jailing_rapists_and_murderers__as_pressure_mounts_on_council_to_agree_new_camera_deal/
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