Sirs
I read with regret the plans for the installation of a CCTV system in Marlborough. In your article you state “Marlborough High Street, the only major shopping centre in the county that is unprotected”. I note your use of the word unprotected. You may be unaware that CCTV systems have at best a patchy record of giving “protection”. I include this link referring to reports on their effectiveness:
http://www.no-cctv.org.uk/caseagainst/reports.asp.
I do not want my taxes going towards a system of CCTV which has no proven track record and impinges on civil liberties in a space, namely the High Street, which belongs to all citizens of the town not just the shopkeepers. If individual shops have an issue with shop lifting then they have the right to install surveillance systems at their own expense. If the council pays to install one it will effectively be a public subsidy to private business.
I understand that the town centre has two main sorts of crime, shoplifting, which need to be dealt with by the businesses concerned; and anti social behaviour. This latter will not be prevented by the installation of cameras, which is surely what we want. This will only be dealt with by measures such as policemen(women) on the beat and pubs ensuring their clientele do not drink to excess.
Yours Faithfully
Gerald Payne
Marlborough
