Rosalyn Harper calls for more action on CCTV (Surrey Heath Liberal Democrats

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Rosalyn Harper calls for more action on CCTV

November 23, 2004 9:00 AM

Ros Harper highlighting the need for CCTV

Rosalyn Harper, the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Surrey Heath, has called for quicker action on the provision of CCTV facilities for the outlying parts of the Borough.

She made her comments after a lengthy debate at Surrey Heath Council's Policy and Resources Select Committee, where the Liberal Democrat Council Group had called in an earlier decision by the Conservative Executive not to provide CCTV for Bagshot, Frimley, Heatherside and Lightwater shopping areas. The meeting was also attended by both Surrey Police and Lightwater Business Association.

"The decision by the Conservative Executive, just shows that they do not take the issue of crime and safety for local residents across the whole of the Borough seriously enough"

"We are greatly concerned at the lack of consideration to these outlying parts of the Borough, especially considering the growing problems of crime and anti-social behaviour in those areas - the recent ram raid at Shaws in Heatherside where I live is just one example"

"CCTV has been proven as an effective deterrent and provides the police with evidential material with which to make prosecutions. Whilst the use of CCTV should be combined with increasing the number of police on our streets, the reduction of crime in Camberley Town Centre following the provision of CCTV illustrates the benefits that can be obtained by installing CCTV. To investigate this further, a delegation of Liberal Democrats, including myself recently went to the Runnymede Borough Council's 24 hour CCTV Control Centre in Addlestone to observe the numerous benefits of installing CCTV"

"Although the Leader of the Council made some concessions at the select committee and seemed to accept that the original decision not to provide CCTV for the villages and other vulnerable areas in Surrey Heath was flawed in some ways, we are still not getting any short term action which will provide more protection for more people in the Borough,"

Rosalyn Harper, is taking the concerns of the local residents seriously and is starting a petition to present to the Council asking them for quicker action and to reconsider its decision not to install CCTV in the outlying areas in the near future. Rosalyn will be collecting signatures in person at each of the four shopping areas this coming Saturday.