Thames Valley Police – and in particular two of the city’s commanders – spent a lot of effort convincing the community that CCTV cameras were needed to cut crime in Cowley Road.

There was huge political wrangling behind the scenes as both Jim Trotman and Brendan O’Dowda put their own and the force’s credibility on the line as they argued the cameras would benefit the area and were not a threat to civil liberties.

It may appear not that significant, on the face of it, that police are refusing to release the crime figures for the area under the watch of the cameras, but it once again speaks volumes about the force’s attitude towards the community it ‘serves’.

Thames Valley Police has been notoriously sensitive about the information it releases. In recent years the majority is only released if it serves the force’s own interests – even if that runs counter to the public’s.

And so the question must be why will it not tell you if the cameras – which you paid £48,000 for – have had any affect on crime? It hides behind the cost of collating this information, but we suspect if the cameras have had a positive effect the force would be falling over itself to put out figures that meet its “tackling the fear of crime” mantra.

It argued for the community in East Oxford to trust it about the need for cameras, so it is morally obliged to open the scheme up to some scrutiny.

Otherwise why trust it in future?