CCTV cameras fitted at ‘anti-social’ park
ALL-NIGHT PARTIES, KNIVES AND FLASHING SPARK NEW MEASURES
SAFETY measures have been stepped up at a park with a history of anti-social behaviour, incidents involving knives, and flashing.
After years of campaigning by residents and councillors, Titchfield Park, Hucknall, now has two CCTV cameras overlooking its car park, cafe, skatepark and other areas.
One councillor says the park has experienced a steady rise in crime and anti-social behaviour.
The cameras were fitted by Ashfield District Council and will be wired through to Nottinghamshire Police’s control room for 24-hour monitoring.
Graham Willis, 51, an environmental agent for the park, said: “Hopefully it can do something to stop the crime around here because there’s a lot of it recently. Knife crime, flashing, anti-social behaviour – we’ve had the lot. There was a flashing incident last year where police were involved.
“A lot of it is kids, and younger people as well messing about, but yes, if we get CCTV in, which we should have done a long time ago, it can’t hurt.”
Maria Jones, 55, who runs Titchfield Park Cafe, said: “I’ve had this cafe for three-and-a-half years now and we don’t get much trouble up this way.
“It’s usually the other end of the park where you get trouble happening.
“I’ve been asking for cameras to be put in for ages now because the park definitely needs them, but I wasn’t even told that we’d be getting them. I think it’s needed particularly by the skatepark – that’s where all the trouble is.”
The cameras will capture highdefinition images after the council received complaints about all-night parties leading to smashed glass and damage to the play equipment. Chris Merryweather, 50, who sometimes walks his dog through the park, said: “I’m not sure if it needs it, but it certainly can’t hurt.
“I don’t come through here too often but I can’t say I feel unsafe. I can see why some people might, though. The skatepark is there and there are a lot of younger people that like to hang out around there.
“I’ll tell you, though, just the other day I was walking through the park and someone shot by on a moped.
“They must have been going 30 miles per hour at least and it nearly hit me. That’s dangerous. CCTV cameras would hopefully be able to stop things like that.”
Nottinghamshire Police say they are pleased about the new safety measures and hope that they can put an end to anti-social behaviour – an issue they say is a “blight on our communities”.
Inspector Jon Hewitt, district police commander for Ashfield, said: “When combined with a proactive programme of community policing, CCTV is an extremely effective tool for both preventing and detecting crime, and I am pleased that these new cameras are now in operation.
“Anti-social behaviour and recurrent crime is a blight on our communities and we are working hard with our partners to address these issues.
“However we cannot do this alone and need residents to tell us about what is happening in the areas where they live.
“I recently enjoyed the chance to discuss policing at a very wellattended public meeting, and will continue to meet with residents and their elected representatives.
“In the meantime I would urge all residents who are concerned about criminal or anti-social behaviour in their areas to tell us about it – either by phoning 101 or by contacting us online.”
Knife crime, flashing, anti-social behaviour – we’ve had the lot
Graham Willis