Targeted use of Babergh’s CCTV system by police officers in Sudbury is yielding excellent results – thanks to partnership funding.
Babergh’s Community Safety Partnership (CSP) awarded funding of £3,000 to Sudbury police earlier this summer in a bid to try and reduce alcohol-related crime and anti-social behaviour in town centres
This initiative, which is part of a range of measures the CSP brought together under its 2008/9 action plan, is just one of a series of articles being published in Babergh Matters this week, a bi-annual council publication which is distributed to all households in Babergh.
Paul Little, Babergh’s Community Safety Manager, said: “We have been really pleased with how well this extra funding has been used by the Police.
“People’s perceptions of crime and anti-social behaviour are higher than actual statistics but that is not to say there isn’t a problem.
“As a result, this targeted use of CCTV has shown that, if used properly and utilising local knowledge, it can really improve the quality of life for residents who live close to trouble spots – and, in some instances, stop the problem occurring in the first place.”
Now officers at Sudbury’s police station are hopeful they can continue this increased surveillance utilising monitoring equipment at Sudbury Police station until a local control room for Babergh’s CCTV system is established early in the new year.
This follows a decision by Babergh to end current monitoring arrangements from February 2009, which involve a control room outside of the district, in favour of a local control room where targeted use of the system will continue.
Inspector Paul Crick, from Sudbury police station, said: “This welcome additional funding from the partnership has allowed an increased level of pro-active CCTV monitoring.
“It has directly led to the detection of two drugs offences and prevented numerous minor scuffles from escalating by allowing officers to attend incidents more swiftly as directed by the CCTV operator.
“We are now hopeful that with careful management, this funding can be targeted to provide an enhanced service up to, and over, the Christmas period.” ENDS
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