Westminster Council Brings in 100 New CCTV Cameras

From today 100 new CCTV cameras are going live in Westminster. The network of cameras cost £15 million but has been down for the past year as they didn’t meet the Department for Transport guidelines on image quality.

However, dismissing concerns over the credit crunch and the spiraling government deficit, Westminster Council has splashed out £495,000 on improving image quality and another £330,000 on upgrading software.

Last year nearly 700,000 parking tickets were issued by the council and these cameras are expected to bring in another 140,000 fines.

Defending the cameras, Danny Chalkley, Westminster’s cabinet member for city management, said:

“We have sought a fairer approach to parking enforcement and are committed to getting it right first time round. CCTV is an effective tool in ensuring this happens.

“Cameras in Westminster are used in areas where there are known problems with traffic and anti-social behaviour and we hope that by highlighting the locations of these cameras motorists will think twice before driving dangerously or inconsiderately.”