After the great news that the unlawful Automatic Number Plate Recognition system is to be removed, Moseley residents might have thought they would get some respite from this nonsense.

Unfortunately not. It looks like we’re going to have another similar scheme sprung in us with little notice and very little consultation.

Our local Lib Dem Councillors have announced that they have managed to get £100,000 funding from Safer Birmingham to install cameras in the centre of Moseley. Safer Birmingham are the same organisation that came up with the Project Champion that we’ve been complaining about for the last year.

It seems that our Councillors are claiming that this is at the request of residents and local businesses. A claim we are very dubious of.

We know that Home Office Evaluation of CCTV demonstrates that it doesn’t have an impact on overall crime. This finding is backed up by similar research across the planet. We know that CCTV has no deterrent effect when it comes to anti social behaviour as a result of alcohol consumption.

So what is this scheme actually going to do?

It stands a good chance of displacing car crime from the car park to surrounding streets. Thus increasing the burden of crime residents.

It will be a further £17,500 the ward will have to find to operate the scheme in coming years. This will have a negative impact on services in Moseley.

So we can pay £100,000 and have more crime and less services.

Though there is a chance that one of our Councillors will get re-elected next year which is what this is all about.

There is a consultation on line on Birmingham City Council Hall Green page. This consultation is only due to last a few weeks and not the three months that good practice would dictate. This is an obvious attempt to stop people having their say.

Moseley Forum have organised a public meeting at the Community Development Trust for the 24th November.

Make no mistake, the view of our Councillors is that this should happen whether we like it or not. If you have any concerns then you need to voice them in the little bit of time we have been given to do so.

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