Mar 20

Are current cuts the death knell for the Bobby?

Police station closures will force officers and the public to go high tech

In the UK, the Coalition Government has cut funding for police forces by 20 percent. The consequences could be dire for many areas as the cuts force the police to shut many police stations. In Surrey, Epsom, Cranleigh and Walton are amongst a dozen stations earmarked for closure. As Jill Grieve, a spokeswoman for the Countryside Alliance, told the Sunday Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/9150425/End-of-bobby-on-the-beat-as-third-of-police-stations-close.html

These forthcoming closures have sounded the “death knell for the bobby on the beat”. What it will mean is that for many communities – especially those living in rural areas, many won’t be able to go to a police station to report a crime unless they are prepared to travel considerable distance. It seems that both the public and the Police forces will have to turn to technology to fill this gap.

The Sunday Telegraph recently carried out a survey of 43 police forces in England and Wales. The newspaper discovered that out of 1,300 police stations, at least 361 have closed or are due to be shut to the general public over the last two years. About 66 per cent of those are in small towns and villages.

For example, in Hampshire victims of crime are being asked to report offences by email since 18 of the county’s 47 police stations are being sold off or closed.

Police forces themselves are claiming that the public is actually welcoming a move towards utilising technology rather than having to rely on the old fashioned practice of making a trip down to the local station.

One solution is, of course, to install a web based surveillance system like the one offered by Jabbakam. When an incident occurs – such as a burglary, it will provide the house owner will all the evidence that he or she needs. In effect, the video footage can be forwarded to the closest police station and officers can respond as necessary. Especially if the system has caught either a vehicle registration number or a good image of the perpetrator’s face.

Mar 12

World’s Strongest Man contestant has his weights stolen

Metal thieves either getting braver or more stupid

Not only are the UK’s metal thieves heartless, they are now apparently fearless as well. Or possibly just plain stupid because two thieves have just stolen training weights belonging to a former England’s Strongest Man – Wayne Russell. Actually, Wayne, from Tipton was last crowned England’s Strongest Man back in 2007 but he had a good chance of winning the World’s Strongest Man this coming September until thieves took 4,300lbs of equipment worth around £2,000. Wayne remarked, “Perhaps they should have a new competition in the World’s Strongest Man to see how far we can throw metal thieves.” Nice idea. (more…)

Mar 05

Essex churchyard to protect graves with CCTV

Treasured mementoes stolen by unscrupulous thieves

Thieves in Britain obviously have no scruples. It’s been widely reported that memorial plaques have been stolen from graveyards. Now mementos with very high sentimental value have been taken from a churchyard in Tiptree, Essex. Thieves took two cherub statues and an angel figure from graves. The loss of such items from St Luke’s Church, in Tiptree – which has also been hit by vandalism, has spurred the local vicar – the Rev Anne-Marie Renshaw, into action. She has announced plans for CCTV cameras to be installed in the churchyard.
The Rev Anne-Marie Renshaw told the Essex County Standard here http://www.essexcountystandard.co.uk/news, “We’ve had some problems with a bit of vandalism in the churchyard and with people removing items on graves, which is obviously very distressing for the families affected.
She continued, “Nobody was ever caught, but we’re hoping to improve the security in the churchyard by installing some CCTV cameras that would cover most of it.
“It will set people’s minds at rest and give the reassurance we won’t have a repeat of these distressing incidents. It will act as a deterrent and if anything happened in the future, we would have something for the police to use. We’re going to need members of the community to help fund that. The church has not got the money for pay for it.”
In order to install the cameras the vicar had to apply for a certificate of approval from the Church of England’s Diocesan Advisory Committee. If nobody raises objections then the certificate will be issued.
In order to fund the installation, it has been estimated that St Luke’s church will have to raise around £2,000. To support the appeal, potential donors might wish to ring the Rev Renshaw on 01621 815260.

Without any detailed knowledge of the intended installation, that figure might have been reduced if the church had decided to install a community monitored TV system instead. There would have been an additional benefit with a system such as Jabbakam which would have meant that all concerned parishioners could have viewed the cameras.