New Safety Camera Leads to West Kensington Arrests


Helping police find men suspected of knife fight in Star Road

Residents of Alice Gilliatt Court in Star Road, W14 are already benefiting from a new safety camera which was installed earlier this year at their request.

The camera has led to three arrests following a fight involving knives in the local area.

Following a successful trial of new technology, the deployable CCTV camera in Alice Gilliatt Court began operating in February, after residents expressed their concerns about anti-social behaviour and drug dealing in the area.

This month, Hammersmith & Fulham Council’s CCTV  team used the camera to show police officers where two knives had been discarded after a man had been threatened at knifepoint during a fight.

The camera also tracked the three suspects who were then arrested for affray and possessing an offensive weapon.

" We listened to residents' concerns, acted upon them and installed cameras in crime hotspots, leaving criminals with no place to hide.

" This has led to two dangerous weapons being removed from our streets and three arrests being made," says Cllr Larry Culhane, chair of H&F Council’s Community Safety, Environment and Residents' Services Policy and Accountability Committee.

" Tackling crime and reducing anti-social behaviour is a key priority for us, we'll stop at nothing to ensure that residents feel safe in and around their own homes. I hope these arrests reassure residents of that."

The new deployable cameras were jointly developed by Hammersmith & Fulham Council's CCTV service and Vemotion. They can be set up in a fixed position at a given location and then manually operated by the H&F CCTV team.

They came into full operation in February following several months of successful trials.

April 15, 2016