Police launch CCTV scheme to make the town safer

Homes and businesses can now add their CCTV to a database to help Lancashire Police to tackle crime.

Transcript

00:00 So what we'll be asking is our communities to sign up to Nice2Share so we can start to map

00:04 what CCTV we have in our communities to keep people safe and keep people feeling safe

00:10 whether you are going to work or you are in your home.

00:15 Solangshire Police have been taking CCTV from communities and businesses for many years.

00:20 We ingest all our CCTV now and we take that through direct transfer.

00:25 What we do, we ask for single transfers for a crime or incident.

00:28 What this is to do is to identify people who have CCTV who we can then make online requests

00:35 for them to review the CCTV to see if they can provide any information which will assist in a criminal investigation

00:41 or to identify offenders involved in incidents.

00:45 We have really good cases here in Blackpool where we have people who have been charged with 5, 10, 15, 20 crimes

00:52 and we are now looking at civil orders against those individuals to stop them

00:56 either being in certain business premises or in certain areas and that's how proactive we need to be

01:01 working with the Community Safety Partnership here, working with the BID in Blackpool and working with our communities.

01:06 What we need to be clear on is we do not have access then to that CCTV, it is your CCTV, it is your business CCTV

01:13 and we will make a request, you will then share that with us.

01:17 Blackpool started because of its major commercial centres here, the amount of people, the traffic, the tourism

01:24 and everything that goes on. So yeah, we are starting with Blackpool, it will go across the whole of the county.

01:30 It's a piece of real good common sense that actually isn't going to cost anybody.

01:35 The police are operating it, the Police and Crime Commissioner's Office, Andrew Snowden the Commissioner

01:40 through his priorities has put money into this in order to promote it.

01:44 There is going to be significant publicity, I am really grateful to the Gazette for helping with this

01:48 but we will be promoting it through signs, through all sorts of promotional activity as well, so thank you.

01:54 So how did this idea come about, because it's not an idea that's come from high up is it?

01:59 No, no, this is from the ground, this is an amazing Sergeant Luke who's worked in this area for 15 years.

02:06 He's seen it, he's seen the need and he's hassled the various authorities to say, come on get a grip,

02:12 this is a really simple good idea, we've got the technology, we just need people to join in.

02:18 And the great thing is, people have got the choice, so it saves police time, it saves individuals time

02:23 and it also increases detection, puts people behind bars where they need to be behind bars

02:27 but it also stops them committing offences as well.

02:30 So this is as much as a deterrent as it is about?

02:33 It's as much about a deterrent, so people think it's not safe for me to go robbing in this shop.

02:39 The people that are looking after the shops, the cops, will be on my case as soon as possible.

02:45 It's a cracking bit of work and three cheers to Luke, the Sergeant here who's really raised it.

02:50 It's great that it's come from the workers isn't it?

02:53 Not seen with businesses obviously, but if we can get residential properties involved,

02:58 particularly protecting the vulnerable, and we've heard this morning about people who have been targeted

03:02 for any social behaviour, if they've got their cameras on their houses, on their doorbells,

03:08 that can be used as well, they can register them and then it can be easily sent through to the police for action.

03:13 It's great, it's a great initiative.

03:15 [BLANK_AUDIO]