Croydon Council is facing criticism as nearly a third of its public CCTV cameras are still out of action, leaving key ‘blackspots’ in coverage across the borough.
Experts warn that these gaps in surveillance are putting public safety at risk and undermining crime prevention efforts.
While the council has improved from a faulty camera rate of 58.2 per cent in 2023, 29.5 per cent of cameras remain non-operational as of April 3, 2025. Croydon had 98 cameras in 2023, and experts say this continued unreliability could compromise crime-solving capabilities.
Shahzad Ali, CEO of Get Licensed, stressed that CCTV cameras are crucial for both preventing and solving crime. “Buildings without CCTV are five times more likely to be burgled,” he said, urging local authorities to ensure their systems are fully functional.
In stark contrast, neighbouring Sutton Borough Council reported that 98 per cent of its cameras were working during the same period studied by Get Licensed. Ali believes this highlights Croydon’s struggle to maintain an effective CCTV network while other boroughs manage to keep their systems running smoothly.
He added: “As we can see from this study, there are still black spots in this CCTV coverage. Some local authorities have reported over 50 per cent of their CCTV cameras are out of operation due to faults or lack of maintenance.
“Therefore, it is important that we continue to encourage people to train in the security sector, gaining knowledge in CCTV operation so they can help identify faults and help the UK move towards becoming a safer place.”
A council spokesperson said: “The safety and wellbeing of residents and visitors is a priority for the Executive Mayor Jason Perry, and we work closely with the police and our partners to make our borough safer. The Mayor plans to continue upgrading Croydon’s entire CCTV public space camera system, and this will allow us to work more effectively with the police to detect and deter crime and anti-social behaviour.
“We are also investing in improving our mobile cameras. These can be installed temporarily in areas around the borough where we see an increase in crime or anti-social behaviour so we can work with local policing teams to target hot spots and improve our borough’s safety for everyone living, visiting or working here.”The spokesperson added that repairs are being carried out swiftly to ensure Croydon’s CCTV network is back to full strength. The council’s efforts to improve safety are ongoing, with a focus on both fixed and mobile surveillance solutions.
Last month, the Met Police announced that facial recognition cameras will soon be mounted on street furniture in Croydon as part of a pilot project. This follows previous deployments of live facial recognition (LFR) vans across several London boroughs, including Croydon.
LFR technology maps a person’s facial features and compares them to watch lists, but concerns have been raised about data usage and storage. Green Party London Assembly member Zoe Garbett criticised the scheme, calling it “surveillance without our knowledge.”
