CCTV on the Valley estate
Great news – after months and months of persistence work has started today on the installation of a CCTV camera on the Valley Estate. A huge thanks to our local neighbourhood team for helping push this through. Persuading the budget group to fund the CCTV was not an easy task, but I’m glad that I managed it – residents have lived in fear long enough. Hopefully funding will be found for a second camera to provide better coverage in the area (talks between the council, City West and police are ongoing).
City West will also be completing the installation of side gates along Coniston Road and fencing at the back of Dorning Road.
These are just part of a package of measures aimed at improving community safety in the area.
Together I’m confident that we can drive crime down and make life difficult for the bad elements who’ve been making the lives of the many decent people who live on the estate miserable.
7:01 pm on May 18th, 2010
I’m all in favour of preventing and detecting crime but I suspect that the CCTV on the Valley will not be as useful as might be hoped.
CCTV cannot prevent crime – it can only observe it; the deterrent potential of CCTV is weak and even if it does deter in one location it probably only displaces the criminal activity elsewhere.
Hardcore criminals and yobs are little bothered by CCTV – particularly if they’re away from their immediate home turf… hoods up, no problem.
The recent criminal damage to the muslims’ building in Eccles was caught on CCTV and so the presence of CCTV clearly failed to serve as a deterrent.
CCTV has limited usefulness as a potential means by which to identify suspects (and thus also as a source of evidence) but CCTV does little to prevent criminal activity.
I think that to present CCTV to Valley residents as somehow ‘making them safer’ is to be in danger of misleading the public.
Furthermore, in a residential area, CCTV is intrusive upon the privacy of the many good residents who would probably rather not be spied upon by public sector agencies.
7:41 pm on May 18th, 2010
With the greatest of respect Richard – I live on the Valley, I’ve spoken to the residents who live where this camera is going, and I’ve spoken with the police. All of us are united in wanting this, and believing that it, alongside all the other intervention work being done, has a real chance of making people’s lives better. The value of CCTV is entirely dependent upon the context within which it is being used. I know for a fact that the local criminal element are very unhappy about the prospect of this camera, whilst some of the residents are incredibly relieved – that alone is enough to tell me it’s the right thing to do.
9:08 pm on May 18th, 2010
Well, despite my reservations I sincerely hope that the CCTV does prove to be a helpful development on the Valley estate.
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What chance of seeing camera recording in the council chamber some time soon? It’d be good to see a few highlights from full council find their way on to YouTube; the public would no doubt find it interesting and informative to see some of what goes on and I think the extra scrutiny would be a welcome move.
9:43 pm on May 18th, 2010
The Lib Dem group has put forward the suggestion to the constitutional review – we shall see if it gets taken up.
3:09 pm on May 19th, 2010
I was in the public gallery and I’d have loved to have filmed a few moments from today’s full council and broadcast them on the web. It would be a real eyeopener to many members of the public to see just how good and how bad the contributions from various councillors really are.