§ 9. Mr. Clive Efford (Eltham)What assessment he has made of the contribution of CCTV to the prevention and detection of crimes; and if he will make a statement. [103969]
§ The Minister of State, Home Office (Mr. Charles Clarke)Police operational experience and a number of research studies reveal that CCTV has considerable crime reduction and detection success, particularly when used as part of a wider strategy.
Schemes funded under the current CCTV initiative will be evaluated to build up a knowledge base of what works best and in what context.
§ Mr. EffordI thank my hon. Friend for that an answer. May I pass on the thanks of Greenwich council and Eltham police for the scheme that is being funded by the CCTV initiative? May I ask him to join me in congratulating Eltham police, who, by using a temporary scheme over Christmas, managed to arrest 10 individuals with the help of evidence that was gathered by camera, in a period when they would usually expect to arrest four or five individuals? Does he agree that this is vital step forward for the police, in that it will enable them to deploy resources more efficiently?
549 However, there is some concern about the ownership of the evidence that is gathered. Does my hon. Friend agree that, to secure public confidence in the long term, there needs to be a degree of openness and accountability about the evidence that is gathered by camera?
§ Mr. ClarkeI am grateful for that information and I am happy to join my hon. Friend in congratulating the police in Eltham on the success of their initiative over Christmas. There are many examples of areas where such initiatives have worked very well, but I strongly agree with my hon. Friend that the evidential basis of some of the material that is collected needs—and is being given— very careful examination and assessment.
§ Mr. David Ruffley (Bury St. Edmunds)Is the Minister aware of a recent local crime prevention survey carried out in mid-Suffolk that shows that 90 per cent. of local residents in Stowmarket believe that the introduction of a CCTV scheme in that town centre would enhance local safety? Is he further aware that Mid Suffolk district council in my constituency is considering making a bid this year for the second round of challenge funding? In light of that, can the Minister assure me today that, on receipt of a bid, he will bear in mind the fact that Stowmarket is the only market town of its size in Suffolk without a CCTV scheme, and seriously consider giving Stowmarket the share of funding that it deserves under the challenge funding scheme?
§ Mr. ClarkeI can give the hon. Gentleman that assurance. However, it might have been more in character with his usual graciousness had he acknowledged that the scheme in Bury St. Edmunds that we have announced today has been given to his constituency and is a step forward. It might also have been gracious for a former special adviser to a Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer to acknowledge that in this one year the Government have given more to CCTV schemes than was given in the whole of the last five years of the Conservative Government.
I give the hon. Gentleman the assurance that we shall consider carefully the bid for Stowmarket, a place which I travel through frequently on the train from Norwich to London. As I flash past, I shall try to glean what I can to assess the town's crime needs.
§ Mr. Bill O'Brien (Normanton)I congratulate my hon. Friend on the Government's contribution to the introduction of CCTV throughout the community. However, may I press him for more portable CCTVs in communities? My own constituency is asking for such facilities, which would do a tremendous amount to reduce crime in Outwood and Stanley. Will my hon. Friend tell us what provision for portable CCTV is made in the allocation to which he has referred?
§ Mr. ClarkeI very much agree with my hon. Friend's points—indeed, a number of the schemes agreed and announced today are portable CCTV schemes. We are currently drawing up the guidelines for the next round in which I hope we shall announce results more regularly— every three months or whatever—than on a year-by-year basis. In the guidelines, we intend to give priority not only to portable CCTV schemes such as those that have been mentioned, but to schemes that focus on rural areas and 550 on parades in out-of-town estates, which have not always been at the top of priority lists. I hope that previous experience will inform the future programme, which remains very substantial over the next two or three years.
§ Mr. David Lidington (Aylesbury)Given the undoubted effectiveness of closed circuit television in preventing and reducing crime in this country, why do police force figures show that, in the first six months of the current financial year, recorded crime rose nationally by no less than 5 per cent? Why is that happening?
§ Mr. ClarkeAs I said earlier, the hon. Gentleman will have to wait for the figures tomorrow to see exactly what is happening on recorded crime throughout the country. However, there is no doubt that CCTV can have a major impact in reducing crime in the ways that I described to my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing, Southall (Mr. Khabra). It might be in keeping to acknowledge that the Government are trying to use this important weapon to reduce crime in a way that most Members on both sides of the House would acknowledge is beneficial.