Hackney Council’s CCTV team assisted the police in arresting 22 people over the weekend for a variety of offences, ranging from possession of class A drugs, through to pickpocketing and robbery.

The Council’s CCTV team deals with around 1,100 incidents each month, which can range from helping the emergency services to locate people requiring assistance, to working on police operations targeting pick-pocketing and vandalism. Last year the CCTV team recorded 13,752 incidents which ultimately involved over 2,076 arrests.

Partnership Chief Inspector Liam Harrington of Hackney Police says: "Hackney Council s CCTV room helps us not only identify offenders and secure convictions, but it also serves as a deterrent to the small minority of individuals who engage in criminality. We have officers deployed within the CCTV unit and a great collaborative effort with our colleagues in the Council means that residents can feel confident that the streets of Hackney are getting safer."

Councillor Sophie Linden, Cabinet Member for Crime, Sustainability and Customer Services at Hackney Council, says: “I have seen the important role that the CCTV team play in the fight against crime and anti-social behaviour in Hackney. These results demonstrate that by working with our partners in the Police, the Council can play a significant role in making Hackney a safer place to live.”