Why?
- The Home Office reports the average cost of theft is £1,000 (£5,000 when a vehicle is involved)
- Police budgets are being slashed weekly
- Local Council CCTV systems are being taken down
If CCTV was installed properly as standard – then not only would crime be deterred, but the Police would be able to use footage from such systems to bring around proper convictions.
The Stats
- According to the Home Office, there were 9.4 million crimes against businesses in England and Wales last year, with over 3.4 million of these involving theft.
- Businesses reported 15,500 incidents of crime per 1,000 premises in urban areas, showing that criminals hit properties again and again
- Three quarters of premises were hit despite having burglar alarms and other non-camera measures installed.
- The average cost of a theft is £1,000 per incident, rising to £5,000 if a vehicle is involved
Further figures from the Home Office show low detection rates for crimes against property.
- In England and Wales in the last year only 17.6% of reported thefts were solved
- Criminal damage and arson detection rates were even lower at 16.1%
The Effect
If we can push forward with these changes, it’ll bring down the fear of crime among householders and business owners, said CCTV.co.uk spokesman Jonathan Ratcliffe. Fear of crime is one of the issues that blight communities across the nation, and reliable camera systems restore confidence.
We’re told over and over again by new clients that they eventually gave up reporting crime as nothing seemed to be done about it without the strong evidence that CCTV cameras provide.
That’s why we’re pressing for mandatory CCTV cameras in newly-built premises, as this immediately ups the available court-approved evidence available to police.
