Police chief in call for CCTV cameras (From Swindon Advertiser)

Police chief in call for CCTV cameras

8:00am Friday 10th February 2012 in News By Josh Layton

Inspector Roger Bull, in Wood Street, Old Town

THE police inspector in charge of east Swindon’s neighbourhood team has called for CCTV to help crime-fighting efforts in Old Town.

Insp Roger Bull said surveillance of the area, which includes the Wood Street enclave of bars and restaurants, would have a big impact on reducing trouble.

Police have been running Operation Diamond in the town centre, where additional resources are placed on to the streets at weekends.

Officers have also visited more than 1,000 licensed premises in Old Town over the past year to make sure they are being run responsibly.

But Insp Bull told the Rotary Club of Swindon yesterday that CCTV covering streets and car parks would be a great boost.

Giving a speech at the King’s Arms, in Wood Street, he said: “There has been a small reduction in recorded crime for the night-economy over the last 12 months in Old Town, but it doesn’t help you if you are a business and have been a victim of crime.

“Since coming to Swindon one of the things I was most surprised about, compared to other towns I have worked in across the county, is the absence of effective CCTV.

“Does it prevent crime? Sometimes. But CCTV won’t prevent drunken crime, as once someone's taken a barrel-load of beer on board they won’t care who’s watching from up there, they’re just thinking about what's in front of them.

“Where CCTV does help is catching people, because if we’re not there, we can look at the evidence later.

“I know considerable work is being undertaken by the council at the moment in this regard and the plea I would make is if we could have effective CCTV here, it would make a real impact.”

Insp Bull revealed that in the last 13 months police have made 3,400 visits to licensed premises across Swindon – including more than 1,000 in Old Town.

He said: “We are interested at the police, along with the borough council, of having a successful, vibrant and safe night-time economy.

“We want people to go out and have a good time. However, vomiting in doorways, urinating in the corner, collapsing, fighting and anti-social behaviour are not my definition of having a good time and that’s what we’ve got to deal with.

Insp Bull, who is only responsible for half of Wood Street due to a quirk of boundaries which are due to be redrawn, told the meeting that police had been working closely with the council’s licensing team to monitor venues.

“We are not in the business of closing down successful commercial operations,” he said.

“It is in all our interests to make sure they are successful and that the people who go there are safe.

“We are working closely with the council to make sure the safe atmosphere is maintained and the rules are followed.

“We have the same goal – that the people of Swindon and surrounding areas come out and enjoy themselves safely without causing disturbance to the local residents.”