Officer calls for debate on CCTV

CCTV should be agreed only after consultation, Insp Paul Morgan said

A police inspector from Devon has raised concerns about the increasing number of towns and villages pressing for CCTV monitoring.

Insp Paul Morgan, who works in the South Hams, said CCTV could play a useful role, but it should only follow proper consideration.

It follows calls for a CCTV system in south Devon towns including Totnes.

He said there was a danger of local people accepting CCTV systems without a "proper debate".

You can be safe within, but what you end up doing is polarising activities Insp Paul Morgan

He said: "We're probably the most monitored country in the world per head of population.

"As a a citizen I think there are questions about whether it is the most appropriate use of funds to reducing crime levels."

He said that CCTV systems could end up simply sending crime to areas that were not covered.

"It's like gated communities," he said.

"You can be safe within, but what you end up doing is polarising activities.

"If I was planning to rob someone I wouldn't do it in front of a CCTV camera, but it wouldn't stop me going to rob somebody.

"There are other ways of tackling that kind of behaviour."