CCTV: Cutting Crime or just feelgood?

Chelmsford Weekly News reports "Cctv Cameras Are Cutting Crime Say Council" but if you read the story carefully it is mainly reporting that CCTV helped catch some criminals, which is not the same thing. It did not stop the crimes being committed! Clearly, it is difficult to prove a negative - that CCTV stops crime being committed. But some reports have tried:
More CCTV on London's streets does not help solve crime (London Lib Dems)
CCTV Does Not Reduce Crime (Daily Mirror, reported on Prison Planet)
CCTV cameras fail to cut crime - (Times Online)
CCTV security systems & their effectiveness in crime prevention (Video Surveillance Guide)
Most CCTV cameras are 'illegal', watchdog claims

Watching over us:- Ian Readhead, Hampshire's Deputy Chief Constable, has gone on record to say that the town of Stockbridge in Hampshire is overreacting by installing a £10,000 CCTV system.

Stop urban sprawl

The campaign "Don't Choke Chelmsford" is gathering momentum, as more and more people learn about Conservative plans for over-development in Chelmsford town centre as well as green field building. Our roads are already too crowded; there aren't enough reliable bus services; the cycle network is still incomplete.

The latest element of this is when people learn that the council wants to sell off half of the Riverside leisure centre site for 400 (yes four hundred) flats and spend the money on a reduced number of new facilities. People queued up to sign the Lib Dem petition on Saturday. See also more about the campaign to Stop urban sprawl.