More London bus stops fitted with CCTV in bid to improve safety for women and girls

The fig of bus stops being fitted with CCTV cameras is to beryllium trebled successful a bid to marque women and girls consciousness safer travelling astir London.

An archetypal aviator of 5 locations volition beryllium expanded to 20 arsenic Transport for London launches a 12-month proceedings of the effectiveness of the surveillance cameras.

In April it fitted 5 autobus shelters with CCTV – astatine Peckham Library, Finsbury Park, Gants Hill, Stratford and Turnpike Lane.

The 15 caller locations are successful Brent, Croydon, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Hillingdon, Lambeth, Newham, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest and Westminster.

The cameras volition beryllium disposable to the Metropolitan constabulary to forestall and analyse transgression and to amended incidental effect with unrecorded images.

Only the Met constabulary volition person entree to the footage, which volition beryllium retained for 31 days.

The results of the proceedings volition beryllium utilized to measure the costs and the feasibility of a wider rollout crossed London.

The 15 caller areas see locations with precocious footfall, quieter locations with little predominant autobus services, higher transgression areas, oregon locations wherever women and girls person reported feeling much unsafe.

However the accidental of being a unfortunate of transgression remained tiny – determination were 9.7 crimes for each cardinal autobus journeys.

Michael Roberts, main enforcement of the rider watchdog London TravelWatch, said: “Our probe tells america that galore radical tin consciousness unsafe erstwhile waiting for buses, peculiarly women and girls.

“This important and invaluable proceedings volition not lone assistance observe crime, but volition besides guarantee that women and girls tin consciousness safer and much assured erstwhile travelling by bus.

“We look guardant to seeing the results of this aviator and for further initiatives to amended information connected London transport.”

Seb Dance, the lawman politician for transport, said: “Increased CCTV volition assistance to guarantee the web is unafraid and welcoming circular the clock, supporting the mayor’s purpose to proceed gathering a safer London for everyone.”

Siwan Hayward, TfL’s manager of security, policing and enforcement, said: “We cognize the beingness of CCTV and different information measures improves assurance to question and usage nationalist transport, which is wherefore we are expanding our already extended CCTV network.”

Met commandant Ben Russell said: “This pilot… besides aims to assistance america bring much unsafe predators to justice, with CCTV being utilized arsenic a cardinal instrumentality arsenic portion of our investigations.”