Crime on a Mansfield street dramatically reduces after CCTV camera installed

Funded by Mansfield Partnership Against Crime (MPAC), the £29,000 camera has been sited at the junction of Barringer and Ravensdale Roads, in Mansfield District Council’s Carr Bank ward.

The car park in Barringer Road had become a known gathering point for groups, as had the area in front of the row of shops on Ravensdale Road. The gathered groups also put people off using the shops, parking their vehicles or using the field area.

Hundreds of calls reporting problems in the area were made to the police, the council’s ASB team and the Neighbourhood Wardens. Figures included with the application for funding for the camera stated that between February 2010 and 2013 police received a total of 1,512 calls reporting problems on Ravensdale Road, Barringer Road and Hibbert Road, which are now covered by the camera.

The force met with council officers on site to discuss possible ways of reducing crime and ASB in the area and a number of actions were agreed and put into place, including providing youth activities and removing planters outside the shop area.

It was also agreed that a CCTV camera would make a big difference, bringing about a reduction in reports about problems, helping police to identify anyone involved in any incidents, and reassuring local residents and businesses that action was being taken.

A funding bid was submitted to MPAC’s Executive Group by Neighbourhood Warden Team Leader Lorraine Dryden and approved.

As a result the camera, which includes an audio speaker, was installed at the beginning of February 2014.

In the four months following its installation there have only been four reported incidents of ASB; one on the field and just three in front of the shops.

Ms Dryden said: “Since it has been installed, as the figures show, it has offered a deterrent to ASB and crime in the location. It has also been an extra reassurance to the community, businesses and visitors to the area.

“It is a vital tool in helping police to identify those committing criminal and anti-social acts by providing evidential support. This, in turn, has led to interventions to address the behaviour of those identified and, where relevant, to arrests and prosecutions.

“Environmental crime such as fly-tipping can also be picked up. Gathering visual evidence is vital to both the council and the police.”

The camera is being monitored in Mansfield District Council’s CCTV control room and figures for ASB and crime in the area are fed into MPAC’s Carr Bank Partnership Plus group meeting on a bi-monthly basis.