Cameras are set to be installed in Southall to tackle street prostitution, which has been identified as a serious problem in the area.
Funding has been secured for the cameras by Hounslow Council’s community safety team, which is working with police to address the issue.
The exact location and the date of their introduction have yet to be confirmed, but it is understood they will be placed in or around Hayes Road, Southall, where women can be seen soliciting most nights.
Police said the cameras would be used not to target the prostitutes themselves, many of whom have been trafficked from Eastern Europe, but the gangs controlling the women, and the kerb crawlers who approach them for sex.
The matter was raised at a public meeting on Wednesday (February 24), which was held in Convent Way, Southall, to improve community relations with police and council enforcement officers in the Heston area.
One member of the public said she had noticed an increase in the last six months in the number of prostitutes soliciting in Hayes Road, especially near the junction with Wentworth Road and outside shops including Tesco and Toys ‘r’ Us.
'Exploited and under real threat of violence'
Chief Inspector Jon Kennedy said it was important to remember the women were the victims.
“Most of them are exploited. They’re trafficked from Eastern Europe and have a man who controls them, and they’re under real threat of violence if they don’t do what they’re told,” he said.
“It’s the traffickers we need to go after but often the women are so afraid of retribution for themselves or their families back home that they’re afraid to give us details.
“If members of the community are using these women we have to work together to tell these people what they’re doing is wrong.
“These women are being forced to do what they’re doing and no one should be giving them money to continue that.”
Police said they carried out frequent operations targeting kerb crawlers in the area, who were arrested or received letters warning them they were committing a criminal offence.
They encouraged members of the public to record details of the time, location and registration numbers of cars dropping the women off, which could be used to help bring the traffickers or kerb crawlers to justice.
