Labour council’s leader Adam Hug

NOISE-DETECTING CCTV cameras that watch and listen out for “screams and gunshots” on the streets are being set up in Westminster, after a £1.2million contract was handed to a surveillance firm.

One hundred of the AI-style cameras are being installed on lamp-posts across the summer in “priority areas”.

They are portable and can be moved around the city as hotspots for trouble change over time.
Footage from the cameras will be monitored at a control centre in Hammersmith & Fulham borough, which is partnering Westminster in the deal with company North.

The cameras will be able to trigger alerts to the control centre when certain noises are detected, for example “screams, explosions and gunshots”, Westminster City Council said.

The Labour council’s leader Adam Hug said: “Anti-social behaviour and crime in our communities blights the lives of residents across Westminster and as a council we want to do what we can to help tackle it. The footage will also assist the police in identifying wrongdoers and provide the evidence to support work to design out crime.

“The safety of our residents is the council’s top priority, and we want to play our part in helping keep our streets safer and to ensure that residents feel more secure in their own homes.”

The new surveillance system will be the first time that the council has run its own public realm CCTV cameras since 2017 when the previous network was shut down. Funding was moved from the local authority to the Metropolitan police at that time.

The council says its cameras will help it monitor noise nuisance, anti-social behaviour and fly-tipping.

Andrew Foster, managing director for public services at North, said: “Enhanced public space CCTV is a vital intervention in the effort to make public spaces safer to live in and visit. The project serves as a prime illustration as to how Westminster City Council is making effective use of resources while prioritising the safety of its residents.”