London licensees welcome extra security measures

Licensees in London have welcomed news that extra CCTV cameras are to be installed in the West End as part of an ongoing battle against the rising tide of drink-related violence.

The £1.2m project will see 33 additional cameras watch over Regent Street, Soho, China Town, Leicester Square, Piccadilly and Covent Garden by June next year.

Residents and licensees in the area have welcomed the move.

Philip Matthews of the Westminster Licensees' Association and licensee of the Rock Garden Bar and Restaurant said: "This is the kind of initiative that licensees want to see as long as it targets all issues and not just drunkenness.

"Most of our operators have increased the levels of CCTV on their premises and have cameras at the front door.

"As long as this is not a replacement for police officers on the streets it will be a great benefit. But there are already too few officers on the streets of Westminster."

Half of all crime committed in Westminster occurs in the West End, which accounts for just five per cent of the city.

Andy Trotter, head of policing in Westminster, said: "We will be using the system to help crackdown on those crime and safety issues which affect the overall quality of life for those who live and work here; drunkenness, threatening behaviour, robbery and pick-pocketing."

Crime costs the city £300m a year and it is hoped that this initiative will play a part in a wider blitz to tackle drink-related crime and stamp out the area's "Ibiza culture." (See our news feature The Wild West-End (13 September 2001)for more information).

London Mayor Ken Livingstone said it was important that both residents and visitors to the capital were not put off by the fear of crime and said the extra cameras, along with additional policing, would help.