Rapid Deployment Cameras to Deter Vandals

1.05.47pm GMT Mon 11th Jun 2007

Vincent Cable, MP, is urging the council and the police to speed up the use of new, mobile, temporary cameras to watch trouble spots in the borough.

The cameras, which cost a third of the (£20,000) cost of CCTV to install and much less to monitor, have already been used successfully to deter fly tipping in Crane Park and graffiti in Radnor Gardens. The council have ordered more. Vincent Cable is seeking feedback from residents;' groups on suitable new sites to catch villains and deter, in particular, vandalism.

Vincent Cable said: "cameras were virtually non-existent in public place 10 years ago and are becoming quite common. But they need to be used in a more selective and targeted way. The traditional CCTV cameras have their uses but are costly to install and operate; villains learn where they are; and there are growing anxieties form law abiding people about being under constant surveillance. It makes sense from every standpoint to use cameras where they are needed and for as long as they are needed".