According to the British Security Industry Association, CCTV and other electronic security systems are now even more important for the maintenance of a safe environment for the public.

The BBC reported that, in the year since the riots in August 2011, cuts in public spending have seen the number of police officers decrease by as much as 10% - the lowest for nine years.

This means that they are increasingly reliant on both public and private CCTV systems to help them fight crime.

How can CCTV help the Police to fight crime?

Indeed, over 3,000 of the perpetrators of crimes during the riots in London, Birmingham, Manchester and elsewhere in the UK were apprehended as a result of their appearance on CCTV footage.

New innovations mean that CCTV images are being integrated with mobile phone technologies to allow the public to be even more actively involved in identifying the culprits.

Simon Adcock, Chairman of the CCTV Section of the BSIA commented that the new higher resolution cameras and improved software were making CCTV systems a very cost-effective and efficient method of crime prevention and resolution, contributing to the public perception of their own safety.

More recently, in the search for the murdered schoolgirl, Tia Sharpe, officers had over 700 hours of local footage to try to work out her last movements.

When a missing suspect in the case was spotted in a corner shop some miles away, police were able to access the CCTV footage on site to identify him and later arrest him in a nearby park.

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