H&F’s CCTV secures 500 arrests in a year
The “swift actions” of the borough’s Law Enforcement and CCTV teams have led to more than 500 arrests in the past year. A recent example featured two patrolling H&F officers coming across an attempted mugging in Harwood Road near Fulham Broadway at 11pm in late February. They immediately alerted the CCTV control room who were able to track the attackers fleeing the scene. The team guided police to their location, where they were arrested for robbery, assault and drunk driving charges.
The council says that incidents like this that highlight “the indispensable value” of its CCTV investment.
“Police and the local authority here in Hammersmith & Fulham are constantly working together to create and maintain safe and vibrant communities,” As Met Police Superintendent for Hammersmith & Fulham Craig Knight. “CCTV is a vital part of that partnership. The value of the CCTV camera network cannot be overestimated.”
The council says that it is currently upgrading CCTV infrastructure to improve and widen its coverage with a £5.4 million programme with 10 new CCTV cameras recently installed in parks across the borough.
The solar-powered cameras are located in Wormholt Park (W12), Ravenscourt Park and Furnivall Gardens (W6), Hurlingham Park and Bishops Park (SW6) and “will help make these green spaces even safer for park users,” the council says, adding that they “add to unmatched surveillance network, with over 1,860 cameras overall, and will play a key role in preventing and fighting crime in Hammersmith & Fulham.”
Since April 2023, footage from the borough’s cameras has helped the Met Police make 535 arrests and captured nearly 5,000 other crimes on video to support prosecutions for offences ranging from violent crime to fly-tipping. It is also helping the 72-strong Law Enforcement Team “win the war on local crime,” helping to cut the number of anti-social behaviour complaints from H&F residents to the police from 8,480 in 2021 to fewer than 6,800 in 2023.
