Work is now underway to install 15 new CCTV cameras in Worksop as part of an ambitious safety project to protect women and girls from violence.
Officers from Bassetlaw District Council’s Community Safety and CCTV Teams have been busy undertaking site and technical surveys in central Worksop in areas where women and girls are more vulnerable and at increased risk of crime and violence.
New columns have now been ordered and 15 extra CCTV cameras are due to be installed in early 2022. Upgrades will also take place on 12 existing fixed cameras to improve the quality of the footage obtained.
The work is part of the multiagency Safer Streets 3 project aimed at boosting safety in key public spaces in the way local women have urgently called for.
Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Caroline Henry secured £550k in the third round of the Home Office’s Safer Streets Fund and is working closely with Bassetlaw District Council, Nottinghamshire Police and Nottinghamshire County Council to deliver a series of safety improvements including extra CCTV and new street lighting.
From the funding, £275,000 will be invested into new or upgraded CCTV provision in Worksop, £45,000 will fund four new CCTV operators to the town and £36,000 will cover CCTV maintenance costs for the next five years.
Deputy Leader of Bassetlaw District Council, Cllr Jo White said: “It is important that we move quickly on this project and ensure that the CCTV improvements in Worksop are up and running as soon as possible. Women have told us they want to see more CCTV cameras and coverage and this project will deliver on that.
“Women’s safety is everybody’s issue. As well as increasing deterrents like lighting and CCTV, we all need to work together to challenge the attitudes and behaviours towards women and girls that leads to them feeling unsafe.”
Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Caroline Henry said: “It is fantastic to see this project off the ground so quickly.
“Community Safety officers are working hard to ensure local people benefit from these new security cameras at the earliest opportunity and I am delighted this will be sooner rather than later.
“We have listened very carefully to the views of girls and women who live and work in Worksop and we are making the changes they have said are desperately needed. Alongside new CCTV and street lighting, we will also be funding a range of diversionary and awareness training to address the behaviour of perpetrators and challenge the attitudes that drive gender violence in the first place. This approach is vital for sustaining reductions in violence in the long-term and protecting women in the future.”
Inspector Neil Bellamy, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “The effective use of public CCTV networks can play a vital role not only in detecting crime and getting justice for victims, but also in preventing offences from happening in the first place.
“Safer Streets money is being used to fund a range of initiatives in the local area that will complement our existing offer to residents and help to keep everyone safe.
“As a force, we are committed to tackling violence and against women and girls and I have every confidence that this ongoing work to improve the local CCTV network will give us a very effective additional tool to help us in our work.”
A new partnership team has been put in place to manage the delivery of improvements in Worksop which will be implemented over the next six months.
Overall, the scheme will fund a total of fund 27 fixed CCTV cameras (12 upgrades and 15 new) in Worksop South, 200 upgraded streetlights and three new ANPR cameras.
The cameras will be monitored by the control room in Worksop 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Environmental clean-up activities are also being funded by the Bassetlaw District Council.
Prior to submitting the bid, the Commissioner undertook a female safety survey asking women what safety measures would make a difference to their confidence while police analysis was undertaken of the types of crime in Worksop South over the past three to four years.
More than 60 per cent of respondents said improved CCTV was needed and there was also support for training to change attitudes to prevent gender-based violence among males at risk.
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Posted on Monday 8th November 2021