Round-the-clock safety in Beeston town centre
One of the busiest streets in Beeston has been given a round-the-clock safety boost with the installation of two new ‘Help Point’ CCTV cameras.
The innovative technology has been strategically placed at each end of the town’s main retail stretch and pedestrian thoroughfare, in High Road, to enhance public safety and make people feel secure at any time of day or night.
The high-definition, 360 degree rotation CCTV cameras are mounted on highly-visible bases which have a help point button, allowing people to speak directly to the council’s CCTV control room operators for assistance.
As the cameras are monitored 24-hours-a-day, the control room operators can quickly spot any signs of trouble in real time, provide swift evidence for criminal investigations, and ensure police are sent urgently in an emergency.
The cameras have been installed as part of the Home Office’s Safer Streets initiative, which is delivered locally by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Nottinghamshire, Nottinghamshire Police and local authority partners including Broxtowe Borough Council.
Safer Streets has key aims to enhance safety and make people feel safer in public spaces, by tackling neighbourhood crime, antisocial behaviour and violence against women and girls.
Nottinghamshire’s Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner Angela Kandola, who leads on prevention of violence against women and girls for the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “These new cameras are a great additional layer of security for anyone who uses this busy area of Beeston.
“They should make anyone who comes here feel even safer – knowing that they have help at hand 24-hours-a day should they need it.
“This is in addition to the existing CCTV network across the town and the great work of Nottinghamshire Police’s neighbourhood policing team and Broxtowe Borough Council community safety team to provide high-visibility patrols, community engagement and local problem solving.”
The help point camera technology – which was a world-first to combine CCTV with the ability to speak to the control centre - was first launched in Nottinghamshire as part of Safer Streets in 2022, and similar devices have since been introduced in towns and cities across the country.
It was developed in conjunction with a CCTV provider to establish a place of refuge for people feeling unsafe and in direct response to consultation with University of Nottingham students and women’s groups.
The University of Nottingham’s ambassadors and campus police will be door knocking the student accommodation in Beeston providing community safety advice and handing out leaflets to let them know about the help points – which are also known as refuge points.
Councillor Helen Faccio, Community Safety Portfolio Holder for Broxtowe Borough Council, said: “We’re really pleased that these Help Points have been installed on Beeston High Road and are up and working thanks to funding from the Home Office’s Safer Streets initiative. We hope they offer reassurance, because if someone needs to use them, they will be connected straight through to an operator in our CCTV room, 24 hours a day.
“The Help Points also help us to protect woman and girls when they are out and about in Beeston, who are often more vulnerable. We want women and girls to feel safe and we know this isn’t always the reality, especially with the darker nights, so the presence of these help points in our Borough is very welcome.”
The help points are also in addition to the installation of 11 new CCTV cameras earlier this year as part of Safer Streets.
These were installed on the tram and bus interchange on Beeston High Road, Beeston Square, Humber Road, Broadgate Park, Regent Street, Derby Street (including car park), Station Road (including ARC Cinema), Commercial Avenue, Foster Avenue (including car park), Styring Street, Chilwell Road, Devonshire Avenue Car Park, Villa Street and Acacia Walk (including Tesco car park).
Broxtowe Neighbourhood Policing Inspector Usha Madaraa, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “These help points will be an asset by giving people that extra security and safety net if they ever need it.
“They will supplement our continued work as a neighbourhood policing team to keep people safe and supported.”
This is not the first time the Broxtowe borough has benefitted from safer Streets funding. Previously, innovative schemes were implemented in Eastwood, such as free home security devices for residents, new CCTV cameras, community days of action and much more.
The measures provided a boost to Nottinghamshire Police and Broxtowe Borough Council’s ongoing work in the area and led to a 66% reduction in burglary, a 45% drop in vehicle crime and a 27% fall in antisocial behaviour in the area where the interventions took place. This was in the 12 months from October 2022 when the project started, compared to the previous three-year average.