Tuesday, January 29, 2013

On openness and accountability

I do find it oddly amusing that a council that has such a lot of CCTV pointing at the general public is so coy about showing that same public what is going on in the council?
 Community Safety Manager Kate Thomas said: “CCTV makes a huge contribution to tackling crime and anti-social behavior as well as providing reassurance for residents. The operators are extremely proactive, helping to provide evidence of crimes being committed and are often commended by senior police officers for their good work. The Community Safety Partnership is committed to tackling crime and disorder in Carmarthenshire and CCTV is just one of a number of tools being used in the drive to make the county a safer place to live, work and visit.”
I am the first to ask whether they could install cameras in the council chamber and prevent their hoodwinking of the public into thinking that the council is accountable in any way for the maladministration that has happened in at least two cases pointed out by many people including the Welsh Local Government Ombudsman.