Parts of Preston city centre which have become a hotbed for drug dealing and anti-social behaviour will see new CCTV cameras trained on them.
Side streets running down from Fishergate towards Winckley Square are to be focused on in the first wave of new cameras from Preston City Council.
Residents living in and around Mount Street have long been complaining of issues with youth anti-social behaviour, empty buildings being entered and drug dealing taking place.
Read more: Fishergate bus lane cameras being turned back on again as Mount Street closure lifted
The city council say the 14 new CCTV cameras are being aimed at ‘low-light areas’ and ‘known locations for crime and anti-social behaviour [ASB]’.
Cabinet member for environment and community safety at the Labour-run city council, councillor Freddie Bailey, said: “These new cameras are an important step in improving safety in our city centre. By targeting key routes and known hotspots, we can deter crime, support police investigations, and make people feel more confident when they are out and about.”
The first set of cameras are due to be fitted on Mount Street, Winckley Street, Cannon Street, Ribblesdale Place, Cross Street and Bolton’s Court.
A second set will focus on an area on the Northern side of the city centre including Fox Street, Church Row and Jacson Street.
The new cameras are due to be fitted in phases over the next two years with the Mount Street area beginning later this year.
Installation of the cameras also follows the introduction of a Public Space Protection Order covering a huge swathe of the city centre which gives council officers and police the powers to issue an on the spot penalty for behaviour which breaches a number of rules. Blog Preston revealed earlier this year no penalty notices had yet been issued for anyone breaching the new rules.
Winckley Square residents respond
As Blog Preston has reported previously concerns had been raised particularly about empty buildings being accessed in and around Winckley Square and Mount Street – with the fire at the former St Joseph’s Orphanage shutting off Mount Street for 10 months since November last year.
Chair of Winckley Square CIC Steve Harrison told Blog Preston: “We welcome this investment in CCTV. It has great potential. The area from the railway station to the west side of Winckley Square has been plagued by anti-social behaviour, break-ins, vandalism, arson and drug dealing. Residents have complained bitterly for years. Buildings have been routinely entered by youths and windows smashed, roof slates thrown from on high, fittings ripped out and pedestrians intimidated.
“CCTV is known to act as a disincentive to ASB. However, its effectiveness is rightly judged by outcomes. What happens after the footage is viewed? A clear tension exists between the rights of most people to enjoy safe public spaces and the rights of young people not to be criminalised at an early age. It seemed recently that the priority given to child protection nationally was being re-balanced against the need for public protection, but it doesn’t feel like that here.
“We welcome in particular the fact that it will be ‘live’ monitored. However, unless it is part of a joined up approach by the city council holding to account the owners of property, allied with the police and social services taking effective action against adults and young people who act in an unacceptable manner, then the end result might be even greater frustration for the local community and a sense that the authorities appear impotent. CCTV is not an end in itself. It’s a means to an end. That end must be the goal of improving the lives of those who live, work or just visit this historic part of Preston.”
Business community welcomes investment in security
Preston’s Business Improvement District manager Mark Whittle said: “Following the business community’s sizeable investment in upgrading CCTV cameras and associated infrastructure, a couple of years ago, it’s great to see the City Council stepping forward to strengthen city centre coverage.
“Preston, overall, remains a safe place to visit and enjoy, but there have been a number of incidents connected to disused buildings, many located within the areas that the additional cameras will serve.
“We are sure that the extra coverage that they will provide will be welcomed by businesses operating in the immediate area.”
Blog Preston approached Lancashire Police for comment but received no response by the time of publication.
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