Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of CCTV footage in reducing crime in urban areas.

CCTV is a long-established and widely used tool across England and Wales, operated by a range of public and private bodies to support crime prevention, public safety and investigations.

The Surveillance Camera Commissioner (SCC) is responsible for encouraging compliance with the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice. The Code provides guidance on the responsible use of surveillance camera systems, including CCTV, by police and local authorities and voluntary adopters in England and Wales. This ensures public trust and compliance with data protection laws. The Commissioner also provides advice and information to the public and surveillance system operators about the effective, appropriate, proportionate, and transparent use of surveillance camera systems.

The SCC is progressing the delivery of a project to assess how overt surveillance, such as CCTV, can support the Government’s Safer Streets initiative and efforts to reduce violence against women and girls (VAWG). The findings and recommendations are anticipated to be published later this year.