Trigger warning: this article refers to violence against women and girls

Did you know there are 736 CCTV cameras in the borough that help to keep residents safe?

Imagine this. It’s late at night; you’ve had a good night out with friends and now have to navigate your way home safely.

Five minutes later and you’re walking with purpose, your friends have gone home in the other direction. But you can hear the footsteps of someone behind you, you feel uneasy and your heart is beating faster.

Could they just be going the same way? But as you reach the bus stop, your fear and anxiety is suddenly taken away.

Standing tall in front of you at the bus stop is a police officer.

He asks if you’re OK then speaks to the person behind you. You clamber onto the bus and within 10 minutes are back home safe and sound.

Being followed home or targeted by strangers is a very real fear a lot of women in the borough share, and it’s a matter Ealing Council takes very seriously.

More than 700 cameras

“There are guys who look for vulnerable women,” says Jason Hawes, the council’s CCTV manager.

At his disposal are 736 CCTV cameras strategically placed around the borough’s 7 towns, and he’s seen it all.

“We have been able to help in situations like this,” said Jason. “The police are fantastic, we can send them live images of any concerns we have. For example, if we’re concerned about a woman’s welfare.

“Quite often no crime has been committed, but we have prevented a situation from escalating. The police have spoken to the person in question and obtained their details. If it happens again in the future, they have something to draw on.”

All of the borough’s CCTV operators have been trained in the Project Vigilant principles, a police-backed initiative to prevent sexual violence by targeting predatory behaviour in the night-time economy.

Last year, the council published a strategy to prevent male violence against women and girls. As part of this, it promised to spend £1million in making public spaces safer and well-lit. A new Safer Ealing website was created to provide local information and practical advice on staying safe and where to get help.

The council also spoke to more than 3,000 women and girls, who shared their thoughts and feedback on what would make them feel safer, as part of its Safer Communities initiative. The plan was to install 14 new cameras, but the council decided this wasn’t enough and actually installed 43.

Jason has walked through the borough’s towns looking at spots to check where might benefit from extra cameras. For example, starting one morning in Acton and finishing in Southall.

But the team takes the privacy of residents very seriously and won’t put a camera up unless it’s 100% necessary.

‘CCTV is a last resort’

“There has to be a purpose for the camera. We’re not putting them up for the fun of it. Every position we’re looking at has to be necessary,” Jason said.

“The cameras are all visible, nothing is hidden away, we can’t be covert, and we promote transparency. There’s an interactive map on the council’s website if residents want to see where they are.

“But, typically, CCTV is a last resort.”

However, the value of having these cameras can’t be disputed. In December 2020, Andre Tucker was handed a 5-year prison sentence after repeatedly stabbing a man in West Ealing. It was one of the council’s CCTV operators who spotted the victim in Dean Gardens and the footage helped in Tucker’s prosecution.

The footage lasts for a month before it is overridden, which means the CCTV hub gets regular visits by police officers and detectives.

But, it’s not always serious crimes like the ones mentioned above. The CCTV team has flagged other offences like graffiti and anti-social behaviour – and even wildlife incidents, such as foxes becoming trapped and officers helping to free them.

‘Nobody should feel unsafe at night’

What happens, though, when an offender covers their face? This is something that happened quite regularly during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Jason said his colleagues caught a young person, who had been wearing a balaclava during a spate of criminal damage, by identifying the pair of trainers he was wearing. “He zoomed into the shoes and thought ‘this fits the suspect’. You just never know what might help,” Jason explained.

Last year, the CCTV team reported 8,800 incidents. Figures have previously reached more than 10,000. Police frequently review the footage, as part of their investigations.

Councillor Jasbir Anand is the council’s cabinet member for crime and antisocial behaviour. She said: “The CCTV hub is very impressive and an incredible resource to have as part of our arsenal.

“As a council we’ve committed to doing more to make our residents feel safe and this is a huge step forward in that work.

“I’m very pleased to see the additional cameras, more than we agreed, making a difference to the safety of our most vulnerable residents.

“Nobody should feel unsafe at night.”