Hounslow Council agrees to put cameras in Barnes Passage

Image above: Barnes passageway; photograph Anna Kunst

CCTV cameras to be installed to deter muggers

Hounslow Council has agreed to put security cameras in Barnes passageway, which leads from near Chiswick Station on Burlington Lane to Barnes Bridge.

Chiswick Cllr John Todd asked the Council to do it two years ago, he told The Chiswick Calendar, but was told there was not enough evidence that it was necessary. Well now there is. There has been a spate of robberies recently, and there have been a number of arrests leading to several people being charged, thanks to vociferous campaigning of a parent whose son was mugged in the passageway.

Ania Oliviera brought it to the attention of the tri-borough commander, Chief Superintendent Sean Wilson, at the recent Town Hall meeting on policing and a Hounslow officer who met residents at the follow-up meeting at Chiswick Cricket Club has acted swiftly on the feedback he received.

READ ALSO: Residents vent their anger at police about rising tide of crime in Chiswick

READ ALSO: Robberies in Barnes passageway by Chiswick Station a frequent occurrence

Image above: (L to R) PC Sam Allo; Cllr jack Emsley; Matt Duncan, Safer Communities Coordinator at Hounslow Council at last week’s meeting

Quick response from Hounslow’s Safer Communities Coordinator to residents’ concerns

Matt Duncan, Safer Communities Coordinator at Hounslow Council, heard from Ania and about 30 other residents of Staveley Gardens about how vulnerable they were to attacks in the passageway. Jane Mills, Deputy Head of Chiswick School, told him how their students had been targeted. Representatives of Chiswick Hockey Club who use the passageway to get to their ground in Dukes Meadows told him how it affected them.

The Police said they had given several recommendations to LB Hounslow to improve safety along the passage, including the introduction of CCTV and that there should be a designated enforcement officer, either from the Police or the Council to patrol the alleyway after school has finished.

Within a week Mr Duncan had got back to Chiswick councillors Jack Emsley and John Todd to tell them he could confirm two cameras would be installed by the Council – one on Burlington Lane near the station which will be put up next week and one outside Virgin Active. The police are also looking at installing a ‘Nomad camera’ temporarily near Barnes railway bridge.

Ania told The Chiswick Calendar:

“As a community we are really relieved that they’re putting up these cameras to make it safer for us. It’s a lovely community with loads of families and children and it’s good that we can feel safer.”

Cllr Emsley told The Chiswick Calendar:

“I’m really pleased that Barnes Passage is finally being made safer with the deployment of CCTV. The worrying spike in crime in the area has left many feeling concerned about using the passage, so this action by the police and the council will go some way to making it safer for local people to go to and from their homes, shops and schools.

“I’d like to particularly thank local police Constable Sam Allo and Hounslow’s Safer Communities Coordinator, Matt Duncan, for their hard work and persistence, as well as all of the local residents, schools and businesses who have worked with us and campaigned to make this area safer.”

Read more stories on The Chiswick Calendar