A six-month CCTV crackdown on fly-tipping in Barnet has landed £42,500 in fines — and the council says more cameras are on the way.
Officers from Barnet Council’s Community Safety Team, working alongside the CCTV Control Room, spent April to October watching live camera footage to catch people and businesses dumping bulky waste in public spaces. Those identified were fined £500, rising to £600 for a second offence.
More than £13,000 of the fines has already been paid — just under a third of the total — with the rest still being pursued.
The pilot sits within the council’s wider “find and fine” campaign, launched last year, which pairs proactive patrols with camera surveillance to catch dumpers in the act. It has been backed by 27 new redeployable cameras, adding to the borough’s existing network of 900 static camera views.
Councillor Sara Conway, the council’s cabinet member for community safety, said the figures showed the upgraded network was working.
“The latest figures show that our new and improved CCTV network is having a real impact against the scourge of fly-tipping,” she said.
“Some of the recent perpetrators ‘caught on camera’ can be seen dumping a range of bulky household items next to commercial bins – while some may consider this to be better than fly-tipping in green spaces, it is still fly-tipping.”
She urged residents not to take the risk. “There are a range of ways that residents can legally get rid of their bulky waste – don’t be lazy and run the risk of being fined.”
Cameras stay up for the rest of the year
The project will keep running for the rest of the financial year, with more cameras due to be installed before the end of the year.
Councillor Alan Schneiderman, cabinet member for environment, said fly-tipping was one of the issues councillors heard about most.
“Fly-tipping is one of the topics that is consistently at the top of councillors’ inboxes and now is the time to dump the dumpers and take action to stop fly-tipping in Barnet,” he said.
“Alongside CCTV and proactive patrols, it is also really important that – if you see anyone fly-tipping or have any information about this in your area – you report it through our web portal.”
The council has been stepping up enforcement across the borough in recent months. In Golders Green, officers seized more than 17,000 illegal cigarettes in raids on shops, in another case built on intelligence and surveillance work by the council’s enforcement teams.
Anyone who spots dumped waste in Barnet can report it through the council’s website, giving officers the location and any details that could help identify who left it there. With the pilot now extended and more cameras going up, the council says the message to dumpers is simple: the cameras are watching, and the fines will follow.
