Concerns have been raised about the effectiveness of CCTV in the city's Waterside following an assault on a man and a woman in the early hours of Saturday morning.
A 46-year-old man was assaulted while walking along Irish Street around 1.50am on Saturday morning. A 54-year-old woman who went to his aid was also attacked, although neither victim is believed to have suffered serious injuries.
DUP MLA Willia
m Hay has since voiced concerns at the low level of prosecutions secured since cameras were installed at Irish Street and Gobnascale areas as they have yet to stop sectarian violence.
"Clearly, the cameras are there to try and identify people on either sides of community who might be causing this problem," Mr. Hay said, "So if the cameras are not doing the job they should be doing then we need to be going back and looking at the whole scheme again."
Waterside SDLP Councillor Gerard Diver also strongly condemned what he called " a disgraceful and sinister incident": "Given the fact that it would appear the man in question was attacked by a gang, it is only by good fortune that both he and the woman that went to his aid did not sustain more serious injuries.
"I'm aware that there are concerns as to whether the incident was captured on CCTV. I certainly hope that it was and that the police can arrest those responsible," he added.
Police are examining CCTV and have appealed for anyone who witnessed the attacks or has any information about them to get in contact with them.
