Cameras are installed in town park hit by vandalism
TWO CCTV cameras have been installed in a Hinckley park hit by vandalism and other criminal incidents recently.
The pole with two cameras has been installed near the bandstand, and includes a fixed camera facing the front of the bandstand and another camera at the top, which can rotate 360 degrees.
Hinckley Police said on their Facebook page that the devices will hopefully provide evidence of “naughty people doing naughty things”.
In June, vandals attacked the bandstand, smearing paint on newly painted walls and scrawling graffiti on the building’s doors.
They also damaged the downpipes of the prominent Art Deco-style building, which had just had a £6,500 refurbishment.
In a previous incident earlier that month, police were called to the park after a report of a large group of young people fighting there.
Police attended and the group dispersed and left the area, with a second report coming in 40 minutes later about a group of teenagers fighting in the area of Factory Road.
Four youths, aged between
12 and 15, were detained and their details taken.
Hinckley Police posted about the incident on the team’s Facebook page, saying that the youths showed “a complete lack of consideration towards the general public and complete disregard for their own safety”. Police also attended a report of a large group of teenagers fighting in Clarendon Park, a few days later.
The council has also secured £108,000 in Government funds to tackle crime and improve security in the town centre. The money will pay for an additional eight CCTV cameras, including in Clarendon Park and Queen’s Park, as well as two automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras.
More radios will be provided for the radio link scheme managed via the Business Improvement District (BID), which links up businesses, police and CCTV to ensure timely responses to incidents, helping with evidence gathering and prosecution of offenders.
Households will also be offered free security upgrades to help make their homes inaccessible to criminals, while funding will also go towards removing graffiti.
The cash is coming from the Home Office’s Safer Streets Fund.
A total of 40 areas across England and Wales have been chosen to receive grants to tackle neighbourhood crime and clamp down on burglary, robbery and vehicle theft.