Temporary cameras put fresh eyes on crime hot spots

Ten temporary CCTV cameras have been deployed around the borough as part of the Safer Croydon Partnership’s (SCP) work to tackle antisocial behaviour, fraud, fly-tipping and theft.

The cameras are in Frensham Drive, Hathaway Road, Headley Drive, London Road, North End (by McDonalds), Nursery Road, Poplar Walk, Portland Road and The Queen’s Gardens.

The locations were selected after residents highlighted them as areas often affected by these types of crime.

The cameras will initially be in situ for three months to help boost the council and police’s ability to respond to temporary problems in areas not covered by the existing fixed CCTV network.

The use of temporary cameras has proved useful in the past, for example footage from a temporary camera trained on The Queen’s Gardens helped to stop a serious fight from escalating, as the CCTV operators saw the incident and alerted the police who were quick to attend and stop further assaults taking place.

“Our temporary cameras are a strong addition to our CCTV network. They help our partnership by assisting the police in detecting criminal offences, and contributing to our work to stop antisocial behaviour.”

Councillor David Wood, deputy cabinet member for safer Croydon and communities

 

Once the three-month period has passed, the SCP will assess whether there is ongoing need for the camera to be kept in the temporary location, based on whether there has been an increase or decrease in crime and antisocial behaviour.

The partnership will also look at whether the objectives have been met in terms of gathering evidence to inform investigations, or monitoring activity in a crime hotspot.

It will also consider whether other measures have since been put in place that will mitigate the original risks in the long term, such as lighting, or cutting back hedgerows.

Some cameras will then be moved to a new location, while others will remain in the same location for a further three months.

2019-08-07T16:37:33+01:00 August 7th, 2019|Recent news|