The BT Link box in Camden High Street

THEY were heralded as an “innovative” step forward for the high street, a monolithic screen where people could charge their phones and make calls for free.

But the BT Link kiosks which were supposed to bring forward a tech revolution have, according to police, become a magnet for crime.

Officers have now said that a project which councillors had once celebrated should not be renewed.

Their intervention comes as comms giant BT fight refusals to replace the current screens with larger replacements.

Ten separate appeals have been submitted after initial planning department rejections.

A major concern are the screens in Camden High Street, particularly close to the station – which has been called a “honey pot” for drug deals.

“The BT Link blocks CCTV and the drug dealing happens behind it”, a police statement said.

“This BT Link creates an area of anti-social behaviour, as members of the public are charging their phone they congregate around it, playing music and drinking. Drug dealers are known to hide behind it, waiting for people to exit Camden Town Tube station. The dealers know that it is blocked from Camden CCTV and use this area to deal drugs.”

Claims were made when the new hubs were first installed in 2018 that they would help reduce anti-social behaviour by replacing old phone boxes, which had become a hot spot for drug dealing and drug use, urination and harassment.

But the police said they have done more harm than good.

The screens have also been erected at different times in Highgate and Bloomsbury. When they were launched in 2018, Camden’s then finance chief Theo Blackwell – now London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan’s digital czar – trumpeted their arrival as a “really exciting step forward” adding: “It will mean Camden is the first council in the UK to host these innovative services.”

It has since been questioned whether it is safe to charge your phone by a roadside with thieves on bikes targeting them, and there have been reports the free calls facility has been used by the dealers themselves.

Meanwhile, BT has been able to cash in on screen advertising.

“The current installation has had the screen damaged and fly posted over,” the police statement said.

“It has not been repaired or well managed.”

Officers said they feared by providing free wi-fi it could encourage school-age children to gather there to use their mobiles and increase their chances of being victims of crime.

“This could make it easy pickings for organised criminals who profit from this crime type,” the police statement said.

“The new product is larger than the previous model and as such creates a larger space for possible concealment. This means that a potential thief could hide behind the other side of the screen to wait for an opportunity to commit the offence.”

Camden Council recently removed 19 similar phone boxes in and around Tottenham Court Road and say they have “de-cluttering” plans for Camden High Street.

A BT spokesperson said they did not comment on individual applications, but said they urged anyone who witnesses criminal activity to call the police.

They said BT has a legal obligation to provide the public with access to telephony, and the hubs offer free ultra-fast Wi-Fi, phone calls, rapid device-charging, real-time public information and a dedicated 999 calling button for emergencies.

They added that the hubs could be used to monitor air pollution and provide public information updates – a role the hubs were used for during the Covid-19 pandemic.