Daventry's CCTV cameras used almost 10 times a day

The figures have been released by Daventry Town Council, which funds the network of cameras that cover the town centre.

The data covers the month of October, when the cameras were used for 285 incidents, which are in turn broken down into a series of headings.

Although the cameras were used 285 times in a month, it does not mean there were 285 criminal acts, just that the authorities believed there were possible incidents or people they should keep an eye on.

The largest category was for anti-social behaviour when the cameras were used 69 times – 24 per cent of the cameras’ use.

Closely following was drunk and disorderly incidents with operators using the cameras 63 times.

The cameras were used 54 times to track ‘persons of interest’ who were either known to camera operators, the police, or were acting suspiciously. A further 18 uses were classed as ‘suspicious persons’.

People’s welfare was the reason given behind 22 uses of the cameras, which covers missing persons, homeless people, accidents or people needing an ambulance.

Other categories are shoplifting 9, theft 2, assault 20, underage drinking 13, traffic incidents including parking 13, and drugs 6.