Merton Council?s new radio link with the police has met with success less than a day after being introduced.

The new system, one of the first of its kind in London, allows the CCTV control room at the Civic Centre to monitor radio communications with individual police officers in the borough as well as having two way contact with the police control room.

In its first day of use, a CCTV controller helped police arrest three shoplifters and monitor a suspect vehicle.

Wimbledon Police are now studying the CCTV footage that could be used as evidence in court proceedings.

Councillor Geraldine Stanford, Cabinet Member for Financial Services, said: ?We are delighted that this new initiative worked so well and so quickly. The CCTV operator did brilliantly in pinpointing the exact whereabouts of the people the police were looking for.

?We?re doing all we can with our partners to help make Merton a safer place to live, work and visit and this latest step is proving that we mean business.?

Ends