A joint initiative between Fuller’s brewery and Chiswick police has resulted in CCTV equipment being installed in the underpass that runs beneath the A4 from the end of Chiswick Lane.

The project, which will hopefully result in further partnerships between local business and the police, has received a warm welcome all round.

Inspector Dave Osbourne, who has worked untiringly to get funding from local businesses for such initiatives, told ChiswickW4.com “We get very few offences in any of the subways in Chiswick, but I appreciate that they are unwelcoming places to use especially after dark. This installation will address the fear of crime that exists around subways in general.”

He continued “I am grateful to Fullers for their generousity in funding this installation, in doing so they have shown genuine concern about the welfare of their staff and the local community. They set a fine example to other employers that operate in Chiswick; I would welcome contact from other businesses that would be interested in funding similar projects in the other underpasses along the A4.”

Richard Fuller of Fuller's Brewery said, “We take the safety of our employees and local people very seriously and agreed to fund the installation of a CCTV camera in the underpass by the Brewery. We are always keen to play a role in the local community and hopefully people will feel safer now when using the subway to safely cross this very busy road."

Last week the Chiswick Area Monitoring Committee agreed to look for ways to help fund a four new mobile CCTV camera for the local area. Hounslow Police are seeking £30,000 from the committee to help finance their extensive CCTV project which already sees all the existing cameras across the borough monitored from a central point.

In his report to the committee Inspector Adrian Baxter noted, “The provision of CCTV cameras would improve the general sense of wellbeing amongst residents in the Borough. CCTV cameras used effectively, together with the deployment of police officers, would help prevent crime and the fear of crime.

“Cameras placed at the access points to underpasses, for example, would deter criminal behaviour as well as reassuring those using the system. This would impact particularly on the vulnerable, those requiring wheelchairs or parents with prams, as they use these subways, which have ramped access as well as stairs.”

April 2, 2008