Campaign for CCTV at Whittlesford Station

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I am trying to persuade National Express to install CCTV at Whittlesford Station. As it has recently won the franchise to operate at Whittlesford, now is a very good time to press for improved amenities. I recognise that for some the sight of CCTV cameras is unwelcome, and shows how "watched" we have become as a society. On the other hand, in certain locations, CCTV is recognised as an effective deterrent.

I have talked informally with British Transport Police officers, and the view they hold is that given the location of Whittlesford Station, and its growing usage, CCTV would be a sensible security measure.

My argument is that the station is a village amenity that increases Whittlesford's attractiveness as a place to live. Many families have children taking the train to school. The station allows us to be in Cambridge in ten minutes at the week-end, as well as offering a relatively good service to London. While it is a busy station at peak times, it is very isolated at night, because of its location. In the last 18 months there has been: serious vandalism to a passenger shelter, which was left for many weeks with all its windows smashed and glass all over the floor, damage to a number of bikes this summer, and, most recently, the ticket vending machine on the platform has been raided for its cash. Two months later, it is still wrapped in police black and yellow tape.

My concern is that these incidents add, little by little, to the sense that the station is a place to be wary of late at night, not a place where bikes can be left, and so on. I think that CCTV cameras in the car park and in the environs of the station itself would act as a deterrent and increase safety.