Major upgrade to London’s CCTV network following Mayor’s investment in capital’s digital infrastructure

• More than 300 new or upgraded cameras rolled out across the capital thanks to Mayor’s investment in state-of-the-art fibre connectivity 
• Rollout will help keep Londoners safe as clearer footage will be captured and available to the Met Police to pursue and prosecute offenders
• Fibre connectivity rollout has allowed Merton Council to increase reliability of their CCTV network, improve incident response times and reduce running costs

More than 300 new and upgraded CCTV cameras producing higher quality images have been installed across the capital thanks to funding by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan. 

The cameras, which will help to improve security for homes, businesses and communities, have been fitted following £30million investment from City Hall in full fibre coverage1 across London. 
 
This funding for state-of-the-art connectivity is part of the Mayor’s ongoing work to deliver new improved digital public services and make London safer for everyone.
 
As part of this major London-wide upgrade, clearer footage will be captured by CCTV cameras and be available to the Met Police, helping to identify, pursue and prosecute offenders.
 
The installations and upgrades have been delivered by the Mayor’s Connected London programme which improves full fibre connectivity across hard-to-reach areas in the capital. 
 
This also includes the installation of new sensors to monitor air quality, better monitoring of traffic congestion, as well as supporting councils to enhance public safety by monitoring town centres and high streets. 
 
Merton Council used the investment to upgrade their fibre to support the installation of 55 new cameras, and enabled the local authority to improve incident response times with partners, increased the reliability of their CCTV network, reduced running costs and helped them allocate extra resources to other community safety initiatives. 
 
Older CCTV networks are limited by picture quality, range and capability. These upgrades will lead to much clearer images and will reduce any delays in control rooms, helping local services keep everyone safer.
 
Better quality CCTV cameras work alongside an enhanced approach to local neighbourhood policing as part of the New Met for London Plan* - which is being supported with record investment from City Hall. Latest ONS figures show that the violent crime rate is lower in London than in the rest of England and Wales, personal robbery has fallen by five per cent in the last year and - thanks to the hard work of the Met, partners and prevention work led by London’s Violence Reduction Unit - burglary, gun crime and knife crime with injury among victims aged under 25 years are all down since 2016.2
 
The Mayor will continue to work in partnership with London boroughs, Transport for London and the Met Police to bear down on criminality in all its forms to keep our towns and neighbourhoods safe.
 
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “As a thriving global city, it’s essential our capital’s digital infrastructure is kept fully updated so I’m pleased that an investment of £30million from City Hall is ramping up full fibre connectivity across London. New and upgraded CCTV cameras will produce sharper images that will help local authorities, TfL and crucially for the Met police improve safety for everyone after dark and present stronger evidence in criminal trials. I’m committed to working with the police, partners and businesses to improve security in our transport networks, high streets, and town centres to create a safer London for everyone.”
 
Commander Owain Richards from the Metropolitan Police said: “We welcome these improvements which will give our officers the tools they need to crackdown on crime and bring perpetrators to justice. The Met will continue to work with the Mayor and partners so we can improve CCTV across the capital and ultimately make London a safer place.”
 
Shashi Verma, Chief Technology Officer at TfL, said: “It’s great that our work with Boldyn Networks to utilise our network to provide new fibre connectivity across London is already delivering tangible benefits for Londoners. We’re committed to working with boroughs to improve connectivity across the city, which will support growth opportunities and help deliver better use of digital technology for all.”
 
The London Borough of Merton’s Cabinet Member for Enforcement and Community Safety, Councillor Edith Macauley MBE, said: “The Mayor of London’s investment in dark fibre has been vital in undertaking our important work to upgrade Merton’s CCTV network to become one of the best in the capital. Transmitting high-definition video feeds in real-time has resulted in our CCTV operators being able to prevent more crime and respond to incidents faster. The full HD quality images on our static and mobile cameras, which are monitored 24 hours a day, make identifying crimes and offenders much easier and the evidence recorded has proven crucial in bringing criminals to justice. This includes our camera operators having been able to tip off the police when they’ve recognised people who are wanted in connection with crime. These upgrades are a key part of our ambition to keep Merton as one of the safest boroughs in London.”   
 
Theo Blackwell MBE, Chief Digital Officer for London, said: “Connected London is making fantastic headway in rolling out fibre across the capital and today’s announcement shows what can be achieved when we improve the capital’s digital infrastructure. Thanks to the Mayor’s leadership in this area we are making great progress in improving safety for everyone across the capital.”