Councils across the UK spent more than £515m on CCTV systems between 2007 and 2011, according to campaign group Big Brother Watch.

Figures obtained by the civil liberties group found that Birmingham City Council was the highest spender and spent £14.3m on its 636 cameras.

Second highest was Westminster City Council with £11.8m on 153 cameras.

‘Comparable to DNA’

Deputy Chief Constable Graeme Gerrard, from the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), said: “CCTV forms a vital element within modern policing and most serious crime investigations have a CCTV investigation strategy.

“Following the disorder in August 2011, a significant number of offenders were prosecuted using evidence from CCTV cameras and images and films from mobile phones of members of the public.

“Overall, Acpo believes the contribution of CCTV to the detection of crime is comparable to that of DNA and fingerprints.”

Of the 428 councils questioned, Big Brother Watch found 51,655 cameras are now being operated and that 18 authorities spent more than £1m per year.

A £4million spend on CCTV in Barnet has been defended by the borough council which says the surveillance equipment is a valuable crime deterrent.

The authority came tenth in a list of the highest spending councils that poured money into CCTV cameras between 2007 and 2011.

Figures researched by civil liberties campaign group Big Brother Watch revealed Barnet spent £4million on 141 cameras in the four year period.

Councillor David Longstaff, cabinet member for safety and resident engagement, believes investment in CCTV is necessary.

He said: “CCTV continues to be a valuable tool in detecting and deterring crime and anti-social behaviour in Barnet. The spending reflects the geographical size of the borough – one of the largest in London.

“At a time of severe financial constraints the council has however, managed to reduce the cost of operating our CCTV network during the last financial year and we have not implemented any new schemes in the last two years.”

Councils are no different to any other organisation when it comes to securityand need to decide how to best allocate the available budget.  There is the neeed to balance electronic security along with other measures such as policing or guarding.

It would seem that many councils believe that a modern CCTV surveillance system, that works effectively at any time of the day or night and in all conditions, is now regarded as an essential tool to combat crime.