What’s the point of CCTV?

Further to your articles regarding the recent surge in car crime in Worksop and advice from the police on keeping vehicles safe - despite having our vehicle parked outside our home in a very well lit street and no more than 20 metres from a CCTV camera we were the victims of having parts stolen from our vehicle.

This was reported to the police who have advised that they have nothing on the CCTV! How is it possible, when the camera is so very close, for someone to tamper with our vehicle and actually take the time to unscrew and remove parts without the CCTV picking up this suspicious activity?

It seems to me that if they cannot pick up crimes being committed directly under them then these CCTV cameras are absolutely useless and were a total waste of taxpayers money.

Is the purpose of CCTV not to make it safer for both people and property? So if I am mugged walking from my car to my home then presumably the culprit will get away with it as either the camera is not functioning correctly or the operators are not doing their job effectively. How can this happen in such close proximity to supposed security in the middle of the night on a quiet street and the camera not pick up on this?

It is not acceptable that we are doing all we can to keep ourselves and our possessions safe from the undesirables in society, who seem to think they have a God given right to take whatever they like without a second thought for the hard work that has gone into actually earning the money to purchase the item, and that the security provided by the council is totally ineffective.

I would welcome the views of both the police and the council on this obvious problem with the CCTV in Worksop.

Angry Worksop Resident

(via email)