A motion to expand the CCTV network in Redbridge was withdrawn after the council argued it was already sufficient.
Conservative councillors Paul Canal and Joel Herga called on Redbridge Council to install cameras in Monkhams, Bridge, Churchfields Fairlop and Hainault wards.
Their motion was tabled at the full council meeting on 19 September, after “numerous residents” told councillors “more robust” measures were needed.
The Tories argued the “powerful deterrent” would “enhance public safety” and “improve the quality of life” for residents.
However, the Labour group proposed its own amendments to the motion, which crucially changed the wording to acknowledge “flexible deployment of CCTV cameras” across the borough already “enhanced public safety, deterred criminal activity, and improved the quality of life for residents in these areas”.
It removed any material reference to those five wards and any agreements to take new action. The wording was also altered so the council agreed to “continue” assessments, rather than “immediately conduct” fresh reviews of its resources.
Cllr Canal, who has led the small opposition group since 2022, said he was “appalled to see it had been eviscerated”.
He said he “could not go back” to the residents in the north of the borough having voted for a substantially different motion, and withdrew it.
Over the past three years, the borough’s network of 700 cameras has led to more than 3,200 arrests.
Cameras have been placed in hotspots identified by “conclusive data,” the council says.
Councillor Khayer Chowdhury, the cabinet member for community safety, said cameras could not be deployed based “on the whims of individual members”.
He told the chamber: “We deploy cameras based on police intelligence, crime data, and intelligence from our community protection task force.”
However, the Conservatives argued expanding the CCTV network in those five wards could replicate the success seen elsewhere and “provide equitable protection across the borough”.
The overall crime rate in Redbridge in 2023 was 104 crimes per 1,000 people. As of 2024, it is around 2% lower than the London rate, but 20% higher than the overall figure for the UK.
Prior to the debate, the council unanimously passed a motion to strengthen its mental health awareness campaigns, following personal anecdotes from Labour councillors.
It also agreed to explore the possibility of bringing a bookshop back to Ilford, in the wake of Waterstones closing its doors.
