http://itn.co.uk/news/9619aaa984396250c21e345c6fd4c473.html
A senior police officer has admitted CCTV has failed to cut crime
despite huge investment in camera systems.
Detective Chief Inspector Mike Neville, head of Scotland Yard's Visual
Images, Identifications and Detections Office (Viido) said cameras do
not act as a deterrent as many criminals assume they are not working.
"Billions of pounds has been spent on kit, but no thought has gone
into how the police are going to use the images and how they will be
used in court" - Det Ch Insp Mike NevilleAnd he acknowledged that some
police officers do not want to look through CCTV images "because it's
hard work".
Det Ch Insp Neville said only 3 per cent of London's street robberies
had been solved using CCTV images.
"Billions of pounds has been spent on kit, but no thought has gone
into how the police are going to use the images and how they will be
used in court. It's been an utter fiasco," he told the Security
Document World Conference in London.
Scotland Yard is hoping to raise conviction rates in cases where there
is CCTV evidence by putting images on the internet from next month and
creating a database of images to track and identify offenders which
could become a national resource for police.
Det Ch Insp Neville said images are already being collated from
thefts, robberies and more serious crimes across London.
"If criminals see that CCTV works they are less likely to commit
crimes," he said.
Det Ch Insp Neville said there needs to be more training to help
officers use CCTV evidence and develop a constructive relationship
with CCTV operators.
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Cynic
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