Two Safe Point intercoms are being installed along with new enhanced state of the art cameras in Mansfield town centre as part of £133,000 of Safer Streets investment.
The Safe Points in West Gate and Clumber Street have intercom buttons which allow people to communicate 24/7 with Mansfield District Council’s CCTV operators in cases of emergency. They will be white in colour to make them stand out and be accessible for deaf and disabled people.
They are among a number of new measures in the town centre which aim to make people feel safer. They include:
- Two multi-sensor cameras in Walkden Street and another on Stockwell Gate. Each of these installations comprise five individual cameras to provide 360 degrees coverage, recording high definition full colour footage round the clock. The angle and focus of one camera in each of the locations can be adjusted to enable more focused observations as and when needed.
- PA speakers are to be added to CCTV cameras in Walkden Street that will allow CCTV operators to communicate directly with people in the vicinity to disrupt and deter violence and antisocial behaviour.
- Work to trim trees and foliage to improve lighting and visibility.
- A youth intervention scheme that aims to break the cycle of offending and reoffending.
- A new Street Guardian scheme to provide a volunteer first aider presence and support in the evenings.
- Promotion of the ‘Ask for Angela’ scheme which enables women who feel in danger to discretely ask venue staff for help.
Some of the cameras have already been installed and the work on trimming back trees has taken place. The remaining cameras, Safe Points and camera speakers are expected to be installed by early April.
Cllr Caroline Ellis, Joint Portfolio Holder for Wellbeing, Health and Safer Communities, said: "These new Safer Street initiatives will allow us to deploy even more state-of-the-art technology to help keep people visiting the town centre safe – day or night
"Assistance will now be at hand at the push of a button and our highly skilled and eagle-eyed CCTV operators will be watching out for you and working with the police to help to deter antisocial behaviour before it even happens.
"We had one incident recently where a woman was at risk of serious harm in the town centre from a person who was carrying and concealing a weapon. Our CCTV operators were able to see the potential for a serious crime about to take place and alert the police to intervene before anything happened.
"The person carrying the weapon was obviously aware of the CCTV in the town centre and moved to a place where they could not be monitored. These new cameras will eliminate that blind spot."
The Safer Streets funding focuses on crime prevention and among the elements of the project is a new scheme to engage with and educate young people in the town centre at risk of violence or antisocial behaviour.
This project will be delivered by Switch Up - an award-winning organisation which has successfully produced results in the district in other projects to reduce crime and antisocial behaviour - whose Outreach workers will work closely with council Community Safety Officers.
Poppy Flint, Children and Young People’s Service Manager at Switch Up, said: “Since the start of this project our youth outreach workers have been engaging young people who are gathering in the Market Place and offering them opportunities and supporting them into provisions across Mansfield.
“Problems can arise because young people may not have much to do and then start getting into trouble through antisocial or criminal behaviour.
“What we do is offer them alternatives and get them involved in sports or other activities which could help unlock talents and interests they never knew they had.”
Since the start of the outreach scheme some of the young people have started attending free activities at the Switch Up Community Hub in Barringer Road in Ravensdale where a mentoring and boxing tuition scheme is run for vulnerable young people.
There is also the Kefira Girls Group which promotes female empowerment and offers a safe space to young women to come together and engage in a variety of activities for free.
Another strand of the Safer Streets funding will enable trained uniformed Street Guardians to be provided in the town centre on key weekends from Saturday 27 April in partnership with St John Ambulance.
These patrols will be handing out water, offering first aid when needed and be on the lookout for how to prevent violence against women and girls.
The Safer Street initiatives have been made possible after the Nottinghamshire Office of the PCC secured £1m of Home Office funding via the Safer Streets fund aimed at tackling antisocial behaviour, neighbourhood crime, and violence against women and girls across the county.
In total more than £333,000 will be spent across the North Nottinghamshire Community Safety Partnership area, which includes Sutton-in-Ashfield.
Nottinghamshire PCC Caroline Henry said: “The innovative refuge point cameras that were first used here in Nottinghamshire provide reassurance for anyone in trouble, knowing that pressing the button will get you through to the CCTV control room and enable you to speak to somebody.
“Mansfield has become even safer in recent years thanks to the huge investment in tackling antisocial behaviour locally, and the new investment in Mansfield town centre will make a huge difference to the town.”
The town centre Safer Street measures come on top of a similar £375,000 programme in Warsop where vehicle crime has fallen by a third and antisocial behaviour by 46% since Safe Points, improved street lighting, new CCTV cameras and automatic number plate recognition cameras, were installed last year.
Inspector Kylie Davies, District Commander for Mansfield: “When people come to Mansfield to enjoy a night out it is our job to keep them safe. Our work in this area has already benefited from significant Safer Streets funding in the town centre area and will be further assisted by the work of local volunteers, businesses and partners to create a night-time economy that is beneficial for everyone.”
The council is currently seeking views and opinions from Mansfield residents and visitors about how safe they feel in Mansfield town centre in an online survey. The results will help signpost the council to issues that need improvement. Fill in the short questionnaire here (link opens in new window).
To report antisocial behaviour in your neighbourhood, call Nottinghamshire Police on 101 or report it online on the Nottinghamshire Police website (link opens in new window) or council website. In an emergency, always call 999.