Nearly all CCTV systems fail to cut crime, a study claimed today - just as the council prepares to vote on whether to spend £123,000 on upgrading cameras in Worcester.
The Home Office study, by researchers from the University of Leicester, has revealed that of the 14 CCTV schemes examined, only one was shown to cause a fall in criminal offences.
The news comes at a time when the council is preparing to vote on whether to upgrade 36 of the 62 city centre cameras - as reported in the Evening News earlier this month.
Disappointing
Professor Martin Gill, who led the research said: "For supporters of CCTV these findings are disappointing.
"For the most part CCTV did not produce reductions in crime and it did not make people feel safer.
"There needs to be greater recognition that reducing and preventing crime is not easy and that ill-conceived solutions are unlikely to work no matter what the investment."
Councillors will vote on the upgrade plan when the full council meets on Tuesday, March 1.
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