Islington will have increased CCTV surveillance as a part of a £1.9million investment to tackle anti-social behaviour.
The declared figure is a part of the Making It Happen Fund: a wider £5million investment for reducing anti-social behaviour, improving play spaces and parks, and general cleaning throughout Islington borough.
New mobile CCTV vans is a key feature of the investment, sparking debate amongst Islington residents concerning the use of police surveillance to fight crime.
Susan, 72, is retired and regularly cares for her granddaughters in Highbury.
When asked for an opinion on whether increased police surveillance will have a positive impact on tackling anti-social behaviour in Islington, she said: “Yeah, definitely – if there’s a follow through and there’s some action taken.”
“Even just seeing cars and policemen around more, I think it would help.”
However, Gabor, 49, an architectural material consultant and Islington resident, didn’t share Susan’s optimism when he was asked the same question.
“Not at all,” he said, then proceeded to share his concerns about the police use of facial recognition technology.
“Facial recognition is crazy. It’s against humanity. You don’t know where it’s leading to.”
Anti-social behaviour in Islington borough – 12 month rolling rates
Councillor Angelo Weekes, the executive member for community safety, spoke about the plans to tackle anti-social behaviour at the budget meeting on the 26th of February.
“I know anti-social behaviour is one of the issues residents raise with me most often,” he said.
“People are frustrated. They are tired of feeling that a small minority can disrupt daily life without consequence. But safety in Islington is not a luxury. It’s the foundation of liveable borough.”
“Through the Making It Happen Fund and our £5million investment, we are back in practical action: improved lighting and gating, deployable CCTV where it’s needed most, removing phone boxes that have become hotspots for crime across the borough and crucially funding resident led safety solutions so communities can shape their area.
“We have a record we can stand behind, Islington Labour, working with the police and partners on prevention and swift enforcement. This budget strengthens that work by 1.9 million.”
The overall annual crime rate in Islington was 103 crimes per 1000 people in 2025, putting it among the top 5 most dangerous boroughs in all of London. This compares discouragingly to the capital’s overall crime rate of 85 per 1000 people.
The most common crimes in Islington are violence and sexual offences – with 8,224 offences recorded last year.
Featured image credit: nathy dog via Unsplash
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