Extra CCTV cameras to be installed in Holbeck to reduce crime rates in Managed Approach area

More CCTV cameras are to be installed in Holbeck, which councillors hope will improve safety in the Managed Approach zone

Leeds City Council is to put up six extra CCTV cameras in the area, which councillors say may help safeguard residents and regulate sex work in the Managed Approach zone.

The cameras will be monitored by LeedsWatch 24/7 and it's hoped they will also increase security for businesses in the area.

Councillors for the Beeston & Holbeck ward Gohar Almass, Andrew Scopes and Angela Gabriel have been lobbying for increased security and said they were pleased to see the installation of more CCTV.

However, some residents feel that while extra CCTV is reassuring, it will not curtail crime rates in the Managed Aprroach zone.

One male resident, who did not want to be named, said: "Whilst the new cameras will possibly provide some reassurance to residents they will not help with the effects the 'managed' approach has on residents.

"A camera can not prove if someone is soliciting and would just show a female talking to a gentleman in a car.

This map shows the exact streets and boundaries of Leeds 'legal red light zone'

"Holbeck has become a lawless area where prostitutes, drug dealers and kerb crawlers have free roam of our streets making residents feel unsafe and afraid to leave their homes.

"With so much criminal activity happening all the time it should be easy pickings for a CCTV operator so it should not take long to see if they do work in crime prevention, but will in no way deter the kerb crawlers who roam our streets viewing every female as a sexual object who can be bought."

Councillor Gohar Almass (Labour, Beeston & Holbeck) said: “The installation of these new CCTV cameras provides further reassurance to our residents that we are doing everything that we can as councillors to address crime in the area, and that community safety remains very much a priority for us.

"We know from police reports that they have already been used to prevent theft from cars in the area.

“We encourage residents to report all criminal activity and are hopeful that CCTV cameras will ensure crime levels are kept to a minimum.”