A significant investment in closed-circuit television cameras has not had the desired impact on catching criminals, according to British police officials.

Security Management Daily - SPN New - 03 June 2008 The government spent billions of pounds installing cameras, yet just 3 percent of street crimes in London are solved using the images. Police are trying to implement new procedures designed to increase the effectiveness of the cameras. These include the creation of a new national database of images, putting images of suspects on the Internet, and including pictures of convicted criminals in the database. Police are also studying whether it is possible to use software originally designed to monitor advertising during televised sporting events to track distinctive clothing on unidentified suspects. By back-tracking through tapes, officers may be able to find a picture of the suspect with their hood down or mask off based on what type of clothing they were wearing. One of the major problems with the current system is that 43 different police forces all operate their own databases of suspects and past offenders, with no central database available to search. One officers also said that police need additional training because they often avoid analyzing images since it can be difficult. Officials hope that improving the CCTV system will not only help police apprehend more criminals, but deter potential criminals from committing crimes.