CCTV in Leeds

Leeds Initiative
The objectives of the Leedswatch scheme are:
To reduce the ‘fear of crime’ and offer ‘ reassurance’ to the public, by:(1) Facilitating the apprehension and prosecution of offenders.
(2) Assisting in the prevention and detection of crime committed in public areas.
To achieve the above objectives, the main function and responsibilities of the CCTV operators are to:
(a) Work a shift pattern that provides the monitoring of Leedswatch CCTV on a 24 hour basis.
(b) Respond to incidents and report to the police & other agencies when necessary.
(c) Provide statements for Court purposes.
(d) Act as professional witnesses.
(e) Keep accurate records of incidents.

The cost of running the CCTV service is around 1.5 million annually

A CCTV operator has received a national award for helping to save a woman’s life after she collapsed in January’s heavy snow.

Street marshals are employed by the clubs and bars in the city centre to keep the area safe outside their own premises.

They deal with rowdy behaviour as it arises by:

• warning troublemakers about their behaviour
• liaising with other clubs to ban entry for specific people
• getting city centre CCTV cameras trained on troublesome groups or individuals
• contacting the police when necessary

I dont think leeds city centre is as bad as it was 10 or 20 years this is mainly down to the diverse nightlife and choice of venue
But it could be better a lot better and the major factor in that is policing and by this i dont mean the plague of cctv which is great at filming crime but does little to prevent it. Walking the beat seems to be a thing of the past and should be more of a priority its become like a lost art. leedsleader said at 2010-10-27 15:14:51

New York Surveilance Players ' As the final version of his map indicates, this rather small, densely packed area is watched by a total of (at least) 153 cameras: 115 installed on the exteriors of privately owned buildings, and most likely operated by private security guards; 22 hidden within uncommonly large, black-tinted globes, and most likely operated by the police; and 16 installed atop poles, and definitely operated by the City Council.'

FOI Request Reveals Councils Have Spent £315 Million On CCTVs In Last 3 years - LGA Defends Councils Decision On CCTVs

 Leeds with £3.9 Million

Big Brother Watch   

Leeds - 

Trying to provide a positive slant on Surveillance cammeras:


http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/features/Watching-them-watching-you-.5965866.jp


From Council report

'CCTV is an emotive issue; however the public of Leeds, on the whole, are

supportive of the Council’s use of this technology to reduce crime and the fear

of crime. The cameras have a proven track record as a key strategy in crime

prevention and detection and allaying the fear of crime.'

The average cost for the installation of a single CCTV camera system costs in

the region of ￡22,500 (Capital) and on average continuous annual revenue

costs are ￡4,500 per year. Annual revenue costs cover the cost of the BT line

rental, electrics, monitoring and maintenance of the system, but do not include

any insurance for damage to the system e.g. motor vehicle collision or

vandalism.

Another website with the same idea!

http://mapcams.org/contribute


385  cameras 715402 (2001 pop)  0.5 cameras per 1000