I must respond to the letter from Paul Peters which contained so many inaccuracies and gave a hugely misleading picture of the way CCTV is operated in the borough, and address the enormous successes the cameras have achieved over the years.

Their presence is undoubtedly one of the reasons why crime in Wandsworth is the second lowest in inner London.

Mr Peters says the CCTV control room is manned for "only a few hours a week", but he is wrong. The cameras are monitored by council officers and the police for around 350 man-hours every week.

Police officers have remote control access to the network and can direct the cameras to any incident they choose, at any time of day or night. Then all the footage is recorded and kept on tape for a minimum of 28 days in case it is needed as evidence.

Contrary to what Mr Peters says, the CCTV control-room staff do not use their time trying to catch motorists using bus lanes. They concentrate only on reducing crime and disorder.

Mr Peters should be aware the control-room staff are dedicated, public servants, who regularly overstay their shifts to see through surveillance operations through to a conclusion.

Only recently, a quick-thinking council operator alerted police to the presence of three criminals, wanted for a string of offences across London.

I'm delighted to say they were arrested and will now be brought to account for their crimes.

They will join the 700 people who are caught every year on the council's cameras and arrested for committing offences in our town centres.

The one thing Mr Peters is right about is the frustration and disappointment felt locally, that a new modernised CCTV system is not in operation in Danebury Avenue.

This is mainly because the Government decided not to award a single penny towards CCTV projects in Wandsworth this year.

The cameras in Danebury Avenue are in line for replacement but, of course, there are many other locations where residents would like to see CCTV introduced, and without any government support, some of these messures may have to wait a bit longer.

What we should all remember is CCTV is not the only way to beat crime, and it is not necessarily the best.

The best way to fight crime is to have as many police officers as possible patrolling the streets.

Since 1994, Wandsworth police division has lost 100 officers.

If the government actually provided some of the police numbers it keeps talking about, rather than doing the opposite and taking them away, there could be more frequent, visible street patrols in places like Danebury Avenue to deter the sort of violent crime that sadly took place there.

COUNCILLOR GUY SENIOR, Cabinet member for Environment and Public Services, Wandsworth Council

November 30, 2001 13:00