Council accused of putting public safety at risk as street CCTV cameras have been out of action for ‘months’

Angry business owners hit by a wave of burglaries say the lack of security cameras in the city centre has left them vulnerable.

The council has confirmed that there has been an “issue” with some cameras since October.

Urgent talks are being arranged after businesses have been repeatedly burgled during a city centre crime spree.

Wakefield MP Simon Lightwood has called a town hall meeting with police and council chiefs over the concerns.

Nick Farmer, Tory councillor for Ossett, has been demanding action to get the council’s CCTV camera network fully operational since last summer.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “The situation is appalling and simply not good enough.

“Wakefield Council has been aware of this threat to public safety for months now and we are still awaiting answers and a solution.

“Those cameras are there to protect members of the public and businesses, deter criminals, prevent anti-social behaviour and assist police in detecting offences.

“None of this is happening while most of the CCTV is switched off across the district.”

Antony De Csernatony, owner of KRA:FT cafe and bar, on Wood Street, had his business broken into on January 30.

He said: “I can’t believe as a city we do not have security cameras in place. It really is quite scary.

“Are crimes being missed and going undetected because of this?

“I raised this with the council a while ago now.

“It is very sad that we are now going to have conversations about something so negative for the city.”

Violet Ruszczynska, owner of Havana Tanning Spa, had the windows of her shop smashed during an attempted break-in at her premises on Cross Street earlier this month.

She said: “I was 100 percent sure that the cameras were working until I was told by the police that they weren’t.

“They had to use the footage on my own CCTV camera to catch the guy who did it.

“People don’t feel safe knowing the cameras are not working. What are we paying our business rates and council tax for?

“There needs to be action to get these cameras back on to protect people.”

Hakan Kalkan’s Turkish restaurant, Sofira, on Northgate, has been broken into seven times since 2021, costing him around £20,000.

He said: “I have asked time and time again for an explanation why the CCTV camera on Northgate is not working and I still don’t know what is going on.

“It is not deterring people from committing crime.”

Glynn Humphries, Wakefield Council’s corporate director for communities, environment and climate change, said: “Unfortunately there has been an issue with some cameras in the CCTV system in Wakefield City Centre, with issues starting in October last year.

“Our provider for the affected cameras is unable to fix the fault.

“We have identified a new provider and are working with them to make sure we provide a much more reliable system as quickly as we can.

“Whilst we do that we’re also actively looking at a temporary solution to provide greater coverage as we move to the new system.

“We are continuing to work closely with West Yorkshire Police to help resolve crime issues in the city centre and are pleased that the police did make two arrests in connection to recent burglaries.

Senior councillors and officers have been aware of problems with CCTV cameras across the district for at least seven months.

In July last year Coun Farmer raised the issue in the council chamber as he spoke about anti-social behaviour problems in his ward.

He told a full council meeting: “We were absolutely amazed at what the police were telling us.

“The vast majority of the CCTV cameras, not only in our area, but the whole area across the district, are not in operation.

“Over 70 percent of ours are not working.”

Coun Farmer asked Coun Maureen Cummings, cabinet member for communities: “Can you confirm whether they are going to be replaced?”

Coun Cummings replied: “Sadly some of the CCTV is analogue and we are just changing over to digital, and it is happening at the moment.

“I can get you when it is going to happen in your ward but I can’t be more specific than that.

“But we are changing over from analogue to digital because the analogue ones are not working any more.”