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# Damage to cars might have been prevented if new Lichfield CCTV cameras had been actively monitored, councillor says
- URL: https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/damage-to-cars-might-have-been-prevented-if-new-lichfield-cctv-cameras-had-been-actively-monitored-councillor-says/
- Published: 2023-01-16T08:06:00.000Z
- Updated: 2023-01-16T08:13:09.000Z
- Description: Thousands of pounds worth of damage to cars might have been prevented if new CCTV cameras in Lichfield had been monitored in real time, a councillor has said.
- Author: Lichfield Live
- Tags: Crime, Politics, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-07-22 19:07, News

Thousands of pounds worth of damage to cars might have been prevented if new CCTV cameras in Lichfield had been monitored in real time, a councillor has said.

The upgraded system was installed near Dimbles shops last August in a bid to cut anti-social behaviour in the area.

But Lichfield District Council [confirmed earlier this month](https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/council-chiefs-admit-new-cctv-cameras-in-lichfield-are-not-linked-to-control-room/) that the cameras had still not been linked to the central control room where the city’s network of CCTV is monitored.

Cllr Joanne Grange, independent member for Chadsmead ward, said incidents which saw damage to a number of cars in the area on New Year’s Eve might have been prevented had the link been in place as originally planned.

> “Describing what happened on New Year’s Eve as vandalism is perhaps underplaying the tens of thousands of pounds of criminal damage caused to many, many vehicles – mine included.  
>  
> “While having actively monitored CCTV may not have stopped the damage, it may have meant the police could be alerted quickly and they may have saved some of the cars from being damaged.”  
>  
> Cllr Joanne Grange, Lichfield District Council

Cllr Grange’s comments follow those of Labour’s Cllr Dave Robertson who [said he was “very disappointed”](https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/councillor-very-disappointed-to-discover-new-cctv-cameras-are-not-being-monitored-in-real-time/) to discover the cameras were not connected to the control room as had previously been claimed by the local authority.

Cllr Grange said:

> “As Cllr Robertson has pointed out, councillors were told the CCTV was linked and being monitored.  
>  
> “Indeed a press release was issued on 5th December, some time after the installation in August, that said ‘the cameras are monitored remotely 24 hours a day, seven days a week in a control room in Lichfield city centre’ – not ‘we hope they might be’ or the work was still to be completed, but that they were already being monitored.  
>  
> “I can’t speak for Cllr Robertson but when I spoke to residents, I relied on the press release as being accurate and assured people that the cameras were working as described. How stupid do I feel now?  
>  
> “To all those residents I inadvertently lied to, I am very sorry. I honestly didn’t believe the council would issue a false press release.  
>  
> “I hope this is just a one off as councillors – and others – not being able to rely on statements made by Lichfield District Council is not a good state of affairs at all.  
>  
> “There’s also the small issue of the council once again, as with the blue bags, appearing to not get what was required.  
>  
> “Given that the council is only now working with the supplier to establish the link, was this because the link wasn’t asked for in the first place, or the supplier hasn’t provided what was ordered?”  
>  
> Cllr Joanne Grange, Lichfield District Council

After it emerged that the cameras were not connected to the central control room, a spokesperson for Lichfield District Council told *Lichfield Live*:

> “To help tackle anti-social behaviour, new CCTV equipment was installed on Dimbles Lane last August, replacing an outdated, faulty system.  
>  
> “The cameras have been recording 24 hours a day, seven days a week since August, and provide extensive high-definition coverage of the area around the shops.  
>  
> “Following the recent incidents of vandalism the police have asked to review recordings and we are making the relevant footage available to officers today to assist in their investigations.  
>  
> “The link to the city centre monitoring room is currently being completed and we are working with our supplier to establish this as soon as possible.”  
>  
> Lichfield District Council spokesperson