Community Cashback funding secured for mobile CCTV van for the Bay

Release Date: November 2009

After an incident of vandalism on his property, Adam Nunn owner of Red Rock Café in Goodrington came forward at his local ‘You Said, We Did’ meeting and highlighted his concerns about criminal damage and anti social behaviour in Young’s Park. Mr Nunn strongly felt that the addition of CCTV to the area would facilitate identification of culprits and moreover, would deter potential perpetrators.

‘You Said, We Did’ is an initiative set up by Safer Communities Torbay, a partnership between Torbay council, police and other local agencies. As the title suggests; ‘You said, We Did’ is a means whereby local residents come together to highlight local concerns and Safer Communities develop and implement plans to tackle them.

At the meeting, Torbay Anti-social behaviour team, part of Safer Communities, alerted Mr Nunn’s attention to a government scheme that is asking local communities to nominate projects that they feel best tackle anti social or criminal behaviour in their area. With the support of Safer Communities Torbay, Adam put forward a funding application for a mobile CCTV van for Torbay, a valuable tool in deterring anti-social behaviour in trouble hotspots.

Of the 98 projects that went to public vote, the top 10 went through to a panel for consideration. 7 of these were successful in securing funding. Mr Nunn’s bid was successful in his bid for £15,000 to help fund the mobile CCTV van for the bay. Safer Communities is supporting Adam’s application and providing additional money to ensure that the vehicle is equipped in order to fully undertake the role for which it will be commissioned.

The addition of the van would provide presence in parts of the bay that are not currently covered by fixed camera networks, its flexible approach means that it would not have a fixed route nor times of operation, so acting as much as a deterrent, with potential assailants not knowing when or where to expect it. What is more is the high quality images captured will be permissible as evidence in a court of law.

Supt Richard Baker comments; “We are delighted that Torbay is benefiting from the addition of the van. We have over 200 fixed CCTV cameras monitoring various areas across the bay, however having the capability of a mobile CCTV van will increase our ability to monitor areas that do not currently benefit from the fixed cameras. This will be of great assistance in the prevention and detection of crime and disorder. Torbay police are grateful to Mr Nunn for his successful application, proving the value of the local community’s involvement.”

Cabinet Member for Community Safety Louisa Aiton says; “It just goes to show that if you speak up and take a stand people actually listen. Mr Nunn’s case should be an inspiration to all residents of the bay whose quality of life is being blighted by a small, un-welcomed minority. There is a great deal of work being done in Torbay to stamp out Anti-social behaviour, encouraging residents to come forward and report it so that action can be taken. Mr Nunn should be applauded for his proactive approach.”

Mr Nunn praised the residents of Torbay for their support; “I am absolutely delighted to have won the funding. I would like to say a big thank you to all those people out there who voted for the project. It goes to show that people do care and are willing to speak up when there are issues. It is great that with Safer Communities’ contribution we have secured enough funding for the van and I hope it will make a huge difference in deterring bad behaviour going forward. The hard work starts now really.”

ENDS

• Press Release: Community Cashback
• Herald Express Article: Bid for Government cash for CCTV vandalism fight  - 22 July 2009