Police want to speak to man after ULEZ cameras vandalised

More ULEZ cameras have been damaged across London boroughs as the planned expansion date draws nearer. The Met Police launched an operation in April after reports of criminal damage and theft were made by Transport for London (TfL).

As of Tuesday August 1, the Met had recorded 288 crimes relating to ULEZ cameras. This includes approximately 185 reports of cables being damaged, 164 cameras being stolen and 38 reports of cameras being obscured. A crime can include multiple offences. Multiple offences can also be linked to one camera, for example a cable being damaged then the camera being stolen.

As part of the ongoing operation, officers have now released an image of a man they are working to trace in connection with four offences in Hillingdon, Harrow and Uxbridge on Saturday, June 17.

Commander Owain Richards said: “These are clearly unacceptable acts of criminality and we have a team of officers investigating and identifying those responsible. We are providing a proportionate policing response, balancing these incidents against the wide range of operational demand and crime we must respond to across London.

“We are working closely with Transport for London and alongside our investigation into offences already committed we are supporting them identify new ways to prevent further cameras from being damaged or stolen. We are continually reviewing where we need to focus our efforts and we will continue to do that over the coming weeks to ensure we are providing the service Londoners expect from us.”

The ultra-low emissions zone is set to expand to all London boroughs – including those on the border with Essex – on August 29 this year. The Mayor of London has announced a range of support packages^[2] for motorists whose vehicles do not meet the standards required by ULEZ.

Any witnesses or anyone with any information about the man in the image is asked to call police on 101 or contact via Twitter @MetCC. Please quote CAD3968/14AUG. To give information anonymously contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org.

References

1. ^{^} Should the ULEZ scrappage scheme be expanded to Essex? Have your say in our poll (www.essexlive.news)
2. ^{^} a range of support packages (www.essexlive.news)