§ Mr. Tony ClarkeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the impact of CCTV on the level of crime in Northampton. [11279]
§ Mr. DenhamPolice operational experience and various research studies show that Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) has considerable crime reduction and detection potential, particularly when used as part of a wider strategy.
The Home Office has made no formal evaluation of the effectiveness of CCTV in Northampton. However, the Northampton Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership consider that CCTV has contributed to the 5.9 per cent. overall fall in recorded crime in Northampton last year.
Northampton's existing CCTV system was recently expanded, with £155,000 funding from the Crime Reduction Programme CCTV Initiative, to include Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology. According to figures provided by the Partnership, since the introduction of ANPR, vehicle-related crime in Northampton has decreased by 21.6 per cent. against the same period last year. The scheme has led to 346 arrests as well as the recovery of 31 stolen vehicles and property worth £150,000.
In the first six months of the introduction of CCTV at Sixfields Leisure Park car park, Northampton, last year, there was a 40 per cent. reduction in theft of cars and a 50 per cent. reduction in theft from cars.
Further funding of £148,000 to expand the Northampton CCTV system to cover three residential areas has recently been approved under Round 2 of the CCTV Initiative, to target burglary, vehicle crime, antisocial behaviour, drugs offences and youth crime.