Investment into CCTV in West End from council
Westminster City Council has revealed an investment of over £500,000 into CCTV cameras for the West End. The money will go to some of the capital’s busiest areas, Leicester Square, Chinatown, and Soho, which see millions of tourists and visitors throughout the year.
Soho will see 18 cameras under a plan supported by the Soho Business Alliance as part of a £309,403 funding package. Leicester Square and Chinatown will see 14 cameras as part of a £213,579 investment supported by the Heart of London Business Alliance.
The CCTV cameras, due in the summer, will be part of a network of 200 cameras being introduced across the borough. It is Westminster’s largest ever CCTV investment. Over half of the planned cameras are already working and are being monitored 24/7 from a control room based in Hammersmith and Fulham Council.
This is part of the Westminster After Dark strategy, that was launched earlier this year, designed to “ensure people can enjoy the night attractions of the City in safety.”
“Soho, Chinatown and the West End see some of the busiest footfall in the world during peak season,” Cllr Aicha Less, deputy leader and Cabinet Member for Communities and Public Protection, said. “We want people to enjoy our fabulous West End but without the misery of mobile phone theft, pick pocketing, watches being stolen or running into aggressive behaviour.
“Our new cameras will be there alongside mobile Council cameras already in use to ensure people can enjoy the West End in safety and opportunist criminals find it a harder place to operate. With these cameras going up over the summer, we are delivering against the commitments of Westminster after Dark.”
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