Are All Those Cameras Really Going To Waste?

We all know that feeling of being watched. It seems every corner you turn there’s another CCTV camera peering down at you, following your every move.

But is there anyone at the other end?

A recent survey suggests that the Metropolitan Police, who have access to one of the largest networks of CCTV in the country, are failing to retrieve vital footage in almost 9 out of 10 cases they investigate.

In the year to May 2013 there were 92,490 ‘acquisitive crimes’ (that’s robberies to you and me!) committed on their patch – and yet CCTV footage was recovered in only 15,354 cases.

The findings have caused outrage amongst victim groups and MP’s.  Roger Evans, Tory spokesman for the London Assembly said “CCTV is everywhere. In 2007 it was claimed that the UK had 1% of the world’s population but 20% of its CCTV cameras. While it is meant to be there to protect us from crime, these figures demonstrate that they are rarely used.”

Whatever the reason, failure to investigate CCTV evidence is certainly leading to criminals failing to be convicted. And it means a huge waste of investment for companies, individuals and councils who have paid to have systems installed that are being left idle.

We’re not here to knock the work that Britain’s police officers do up and down the country on a daily basis. But it does make us wonder whether our streets would be a little bit safer if criminals knew that CCTV footage would be vigorously checked in the wake of an incident.

Of course we’re sure that you have your CCTV systems regularly checked and serviced to ensure they’re firing on all cylinders – after all, what could be worse that discovering you’ve been burgled only to learn that your camera lens was sooted up, the feed wire had been chewed by a mouse, or the fuse had blown in the recorder?!

If by any chance you’ve been letting your CCTV (or alarm, smoke detector or other security system) languish in the hope you’ll never need it, now would be a great time to call us!

See the full story here: http://bit.ly/1cspCZu – and then contact us here or call direct on 01254 739 255.