Hammersmith & Fulham Council is investing £3.2million in artificial intelligence and surveillance technology to catch criminals faster and make streets safer for residents.
We're investing in the most comprehensive crime-fighting service in Britain to help keep people safe. The investment cements the H&F's position as Britain's leader in crime-fighting innovation.
H&F Leader Stephen Cowan said:
Every parent deserves to know their children are safe walking our streets. Every woman should feel secure coming home at night. Every resident has the right to live without the fear of being a victim of crime.
"This investment is about giving families peace of mind, helping victims see justice done, and ensuring criminals know there's nowhere to hide in H&F. When residents see the results of justice being served is when the investment truly pays off."
H&F's rollout builds on H&F's £5.4million CCTV programme that has grown our local network to more than 2,500 cameras over the last four years. It's the most sophisticated surveillance network anywhere in the country.
It will deliver live facial recognition cameras at 10 high traffic areas, including Uxbridge Road in Shepherds Bush, Hammersmith Road and Fulham Road.
The three-year investment is funded through developer contributions and income from other boroughs who use H&F's CCTV services.
Our CCTV leads to Met arrests
In 2024 alone, our CCTV network contributed to 754 arrests made by the Met Police. From January to August 2025, we've already supported the police to make 634 arrests across the borough.
Our 24/7 control room operators monitor live feeds from across the network and proactively seek out crime and anti-social behaviour as it happens. They can share real-time footage directly with Met Police officers and our Law Enforcement Team through direct radio communications.
As a vital tool to help make H&F stronger, safer and kinder, our cameras provided crucial evidence in serious cases in and beyond the borough.
In Shepherds Bush, CCTV tracked the suspect in a double murder case involving victims Paul Longworth and Albert Alfonso. In West Kensington, our network helped secure convictions in a fatal shooting case.
Every day our cameras help solve smaller crimes too, tracking fly-tippers and identifying weapon carriers.
H&F now monitors cameras across borough boundaries, including 100 cameras in Westminster, giving us unparalleled reach across west London.
New technology
The investment will deliver four key upgrades to our existing network:
- Live facial recognition cameras: 20 new cameras at 10 crime hotspots will match faces against police databases in real-time.
- AI-powered crime detection: 500 existing cameras will be upgraded with artificial intelligence that can automatically track suspects across the borough, search thousands of hours of footage in seconds, detect weapons, and track vehicles.
- Smart intervention tools: 50 cameras will get speakers so officers can step in as and when anti-social behaviour is taking place. Another 50 will have spotlights to spotlight anti-social behaviour hotbeds.
- Safer parks: Following increased reports of assaults and anti-social behaviour, £1million will be invested specifically in park CCTV to protect families and visitors.
- Drone trials: We're exploring the option of drone trials will help tackle fly-tipping and support officers on the ground.
The facial recognition system will speed up criminal identification from hours to seconds, while trained operators in our CCTV control room will verify every match before police take action.
These CCTV operations are a central part of our crime-fighting services, which also includes our £4.85million-a-year Law Enforcement Team, £1million Gangs, Violence and Exploitation Unit, and £250,000 investment in preventing violence against women and girls.
