More CCTV cameras can be connected to a digital network
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Following his own survey Joe O’Mahoney says the amount of bike crime has risen in his home city by more than 50 per cent in the past decade. He said: “The feedback from the public has been great. I’ve had lots of people contact me with their stories of having their bike stolen and, although it’s a minor crime in the eyes of the police, it’s very personal for the person who owns the bike.” The Cardiff man, who has suffered three times at the hands of thieves, added: “I’ve had a few students and other people get in touch who said it’s cost them a lot of money to replace their bikes.”
If you or anyone at your premises parks a cycle there, a good way to monitor and protect it is via digital CCTV. This comprises a PC based, multi channel video surveillance system that utilises the most advanced compression technologies to bring you the highest picture quality and video performance. Compared to analogue CCTV, a far greater number of CCTV cameras can be connected to your network and viewed, all through a single PC monitor.
Detectives have released CCTV images of three men they want to speak to in connection with a fight and robbery which happened at around 3am outside a midlands nightclub on September 10. Det Con Nick Taylor, from Wolverhampton Police CID, said: “We are very keen to speak to the men in the CCTV images and urge them or anyone who knows who they are to get in touch with us.” He added on the incident in Wolverhampton city centre: “We believe they have crucial information that could assist us with this ongoing investigation.”
The union representing Scotland’s police officers wants to discuss planned spending cuts to the country’s eight forces. The Scottish Police Federation (SPF) has warned the projected nine per cent drop in the policing budget is equivalent to losing 2,808 officers. They want politicians from the main parties to attend a special summit before the next budget is fixed. The SPF said: "We recognise the pressures that public finances are under and that is why we are calling on politicians from all of the political parties to get together with us to debate what can be done.”
Mirroring the overall UK trend, the number of crimes recorded in Scotland has fallen to a 32-year low, as shown by figures from Scotland’s chief statistician. The justice secretary welcomed the figures and said they coincided with record numbers of police officers. Labour’s justice spokesman Richard Baker said there were still too many weapons offences and that mandatory minimum sentences for knife crime were still needed. He added: "Violent crime in Scotland is still running at a much higher rate that the rest of the UK and further progress will need to be made."
Hampshire Constabulary will introduce redundancies, as well as measures like positions left unfilled, redeployments and voluntary redundancies in order to shed 20% of its workforce. Police officers are included in that figure, which will be implemented because the force will operate with a quarter of its budget lost due to deficit-slashing plans. Unions are to discuss the plans, which will go before the police authority. The force, which employs about 6,700 staff, also plans to share and sell buildings to deal with the budget restrictions.
An angry relative has started a petition calling for a city council to install CCTV at a graveyard after thieves desecrated two graves in just one week. Swift justice followed one of the incidents when Kelvin McIntyre (45), of Eastfield, was jailed for 28 days at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court for stealing two treasured bronze angels from a grave in Eastfield Cemetery and selling them on for just £10. Since the thefts one relative, Pat Howard, has started a petition calling for Peterborough City Council to install CCTV at the Eastfield Cemetery.
A councillor has objected to signs warning people they are being watched by the police. Portsmouth city councillor Luke Stubbs said the signs which have appeared in his locality are straight out of George Orwell’s 1984 novel. Police have put up eight of them in the area to deter criminals after a spate of criminal damage. One of the slogans reads Beware, We Are Watching You. Cllr Stubbs said: “It’s got out of hand – posters of this kind mark a new low. There’s a police station in Highland Road. Surely that deters law breaking.”
A pressure group is calling for the powers, designed to tackle terrorism, to be removed from councils to make secret snooping operations. For example, Hampshire’s 137 covert surveillance actions since 2008 number once per week and were revealed by pressure group Big Brother Watch. It is the eighth highest use of the spying powers by a council. County bosses say nearly all these measures were done by trading standards officers to catch rogue traders and illegal sales of alcohol and tobacco to children.
In their bid to tackle the fear of crime, officials in Southampton are taking advantage of the fact that overall crime in the city dropped 14 per cent last year; whereas night time violent crime in the city centre also suffered a huge drop, to 31 per cent. But Southampton City Council and Hampshire Constabulary are concerned that the fear of crime remains too high. Therefore they are telling people it is safer via posters displayed in bars and pubs in the city centre.