1 CRIME SOLVED FOR EVERY THOUSAND CCTV CAMERAS; Cops 'ignore film'.

Byline: JON CLEMENTS

BRITAIN'S biggest police force is revamping its use of CCTV to improve the cameras' tiny impact on solving crime.

The shake-up was revealed after a senior officer discovered just one crime is solved a year by every 1,000 CCTV units in London - where there are more than a million cameras.

Detective Chief Inspector Mick Neville said officers sometimes fail to bring criminals to justice even if filmed and identified.

His probe said CCTV had helped catch just eight out of 269 suspected robbers across London in a month.

The Metropolitan Police has launched a pilot scheme to improve the use of images. Staff in 11 boroughs are forming teams to collect and label pictures before passing them to a unit that distributes them.

Meanwhile former shadow Home Secretary David Davis called for "a major rethink" on where cash is spent. He added: "CCTV is a huge intrusion on privacy, yet provides little improvement in security."

A spokesman for the Met insisted: "We have made major strides in the use of CCTV." He claimed CCTV had helped solve "more than 70%" of murder probes.

Earlier this year a Home Office report found camera schemes have just a "modest impact" on crime.

Researchers said they were most effective in stopping vehicle thefts and car park vandals.

The Home Office said: "CCTV is a crucial crimefighting tool."

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COP THIS CCTV array YOU'RE CLICKED Met officer watches banks of monitors