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COURIER OPINION: Police Scotland CCTV failings are letting us all down

Police Scotland has been criticised after CCTV image was not presented to courts. Photo: Shutterstock.
Police Scotland has been criticised after CCTV image was not presented to courts. Photo: Shutterstock.

The advent of CCTV cameras has changed our neighbourhoods – and more recently our homes.

Simple domestic devices can now be purchased at a relatively low cost, acting as a deterrent and a source of evidence in the event of a crime.

Where once we had privacy, we now have peace of mind.

Or so it seems.

Disappointingly, The Courier is once again reporting on delays in the criminal justice system caused by the failure of Police Scotland to hand over crucial CCTV images.

Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court.
Delays have been reported at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court due to a lack of CCTV evidence from Police Scotland.

In this case, prosecution and defence lawyers at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court are still waiting for footage which was seized by officers around two years ago.

It is believed to show people trying doors in a Fife village.

It comes just weeks after another trial at the same court had to be adjourned because footage from a year before had not been provided in time.

In that case the footage relates to an alleged act of public indecency.

Police Scotland CCTV delays are failing victims and taxpayers

It is simply not good enough for Police Scotland to blame Covid for the delays.

Their “tardiness”, in the words of the sheriff, is failing victims.

It is denying those who have been accused of crimes the opportunity to clear their names.

And it is wasting large sums of money in the criminal justice system which we, as taxpayers, can ill afford to lose.

These CCTV cameras are doing the job we once paid police officers to perform. The least they can do is work with the evidence they are given to keep our communities safe.

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