Author Iain Sinclair has launched a scathing attack on Hackney’s “Orwellian” CCTV culture, saying the borough’s taxpayers are being forced to “write a blank cheque” for their own surveillance.
Mr Sinclair said research he carried out for his latest book showed local money was being wasted on cameras and control room staff.
He said: “I asked the Hackney CCTV watchers how they stopped criminal behaviour.
“All the entire operation amounts to, I discovered, is just to collect evidence for various Met operations going on all the time.
“Hackney taxpayers are essentially writing a blank cheque to provide resources for the Metropolitan Police.”
Speaking at an LSE event to promote his new book, Hackney, That Rose-Red Empire, Mr Sinclair said the culture created by round-the-clock surveillance was “strange and bizarre”.
He said: “There is this Orwellian sense that the watching continues, in that now council workers have been provided with cameras to follow people around places like London Fields to catch them dropping litter.
“The whole way of thinking is extremely strange and bizarre.”
Mr Sinclair is no stranger to controversy. In October he was banned from appearing at Stoke Newington Library to promote his book after he criticised plans for the 2012 Olympics.
Mr Sinclair predicted the Olympic venue would be nothing more than a giant shopping centre in Stratford and said the legacy would be “lasting shame”.
Hackney Council said it would be inappropriate to allow him to promote a book expressing controversial opinions in a library.
Thumbnail image taken from Redvers on Flickr.
Ian Sinclair reveals a staggering lack of knowledge of CCTV operations – what does he expect CCT 'watchers' to do, IGNORE criminal behaviour and NOT pass any evidence to the Met?
Crime in Hackney has dropped 34% over the last 4 years, with hundreds of criminals caught thanks to CCTV – it would be interesting to know who Ian Sinclair spoke to.
Hackney CCTV is rated very highly both by the Police Officers who work alongside them and also by other CCTV operations. I suspect that Mr Sinclair is looking for a publicity grabbing headline to peddle his book, rather than making any constructive comment.