CCTV plan for Birmingham council blocks due to crime concerns

New CCTV cameras are being considered for numerous tower blocks in Birmingham due to concerns over issues including criminal damage, drug use and arson.

The city council is looking at how cameras could be reintroduced into its high-rise and low-rise blocks and neighborhoods to help people feel safer at home.

It wants to roll out a 12-month pilot scheme based on sites that have experienced significant crime and anti-social behavior (ASB), with the council’s cabinet due to consider the proposal on June 25.

The council decommissioned its CCTV in 2014 due to the costs involved in upgrading the system at the time.

“The council engages with tenants and leaseholders in many ways in relation to housing issues,” a recently published report said.

“A constant theme throughout these interactions is that most tenants feel the council should provide CCTV to act as a deterrent to crime and ASB.”

The report acknowledges that since the decommissioning of the CCTV system, there has been an increase in crime and ASB in many blocks.

The council received 4,384 ASB reports in 2022-23.

If the decision is made to go ahead with the rooms following the proposed 12-month pilot scheme, residents may have to pay for them as part of their service charge.

More than 1,160 sites would be affected by the pilot scheme and the cost for each would be £1.97 a week, the report said.