Covert spy cameras lift lid on nuisance neighbours

Councils are supplying householders with covert spy cameras so that they can amass evidence against nuisance neighbours.

The devices can be hidden in pot plants or door frames and provide 24-hour surveillance to capture evidence of vandalism, threatening behaviour or abuse.

Councils in London, West Yorkshire, Northumberland and Dundee have introduced the schemes to help to secure antisocial behaviour orders, injunctions and criminal convictions.

They follow government demands that local authorities crack down on anti-social behaviour.

The devices can be hidden between the covers of books on windowsills facing the street or squeezed between door frames and brickwork.

The cameras and recording equipment cost up to £2,500 and record on tape or hard disk which can capture 28 days of non-stop activity.

Some can also be accessed remotely by the councils' antisocial behaviour taskforces so they can take immediate action or alert the police.

One camera in Dundee fitted behind a door's existing spy hole has already led to the conviction of a man who tried to smash through his neighbour's front door with an axe.

A burglar in Rochdale was caught climbing in through the front window of a house by a camera set up to record less serious antisocial behaviour.

"Once we've got this footage it's impossible to claim you didn't do it," said Darren Kennedy, community safety officer at Kirklees council in West Yorkshire which has installed more than 20 spy cameras in houses and other locations since April.

"Needless to say they end up with a conviction. It is never instead of other investigative work, but it speeds it up."

Kennedy's most ingenious hiding place for a camera was in a rockery.

"We built a system which fits into a fake rock. It could contain a camera, a battery and a radio link or it could feature several cameras, a hard disk and a remote access satellite system. You drop the rock and away you go," said Mr Kennedy. 

He said the surveillance was carried out within the laws on gathering evidence which say such devices can be used only if there is no other way of obtaining the evidence.

Councils are expected to weigh up the potential risks to a householder if their neighbours discover the spy camera, which could further inflame disputes.

Dundee city council also has a team of professional witnesses who can be called via a confidential hotline to observe antisocial behaviour and then testify in court, which many residents are afraid to do.