A chief prosecutor has said CCTV footage in sex assault trials provides “powerful” evidence.

John Montague, rape and serious sexual offences (RASSO) lead at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said CCTV helps prosecutors paint a picture of the crime that is reported to them.

With a wealth of experience and countless criminal trials under his belt, John has seen first-hand the positive impact the inclusion of such video has on securing a guilty verdict.

This comes as our Reclaim Our Parks campaign continues.

We are calling for CCTV cameras to be installed in all city parks several following rapes, indecent exposures, and assaults against women and girls.

John’s remit at the CPS includes the police forces in Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Wiltshire, and Dorset and he has overall responsibility for the RASSO unit.

He also oversees a team of three legal managers and 16 specialist prosecutors.

So, in his 20 years at the CPS, what can CCTV contribute to a case?

“If CCTV is involved, it can assist us to paint a picture of what has happened”, John said.

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He added: “Sometimes the offence is captured on CCTV, and the before or after the events is captured too.

“That can help to go alongside what the victim is saying in relation to the incident.

“Our job is to put the jury there at the time of the incident and CCTV is quite a powerful piece of evidence in order to do that, and it goes alongside what the victim has to say and whatever other evidence there may be.

“It is corroborative.”

John admitted that CCTV is often not used as the primary evidence in a case, but he emphasised the importance of the cameras.

He said: “It is all about making people feel safe, isn’t it?

“If they are walking through parks and they know there is lighting and actions captured on CCTV, that may make certain groups feel safer and give them more freedom.”

When taking on a case from the police, John and his team are first and foremost led by the complaint made by the victim, and their account of events.

From there, any further evidence that can be gathered is sought, with CCTV footage and DNA evidence the next port of call.

In the last 12 months, CPS Wessex’s charge rate has gone up by almost 35 per cent, and that is thanks to a stronger collaboration with police forces.

John said: “We are encouraging the police to come to us with rape offences after they have been reported - within three weeks - for us to be able to get involved as early as possible.

“Building stronger relationships with the police means we are able to build better cases that are looked at and dealt with earlier than they had been previously.”