A new state-of-the-art CCTV camera with a Refuge Point button to speak to control room staff has been installed in Warsop as part of a major community safety project.
The high-spec camera in Church Road, Church Warsop, is close to the play area at The Carrs local nature reserve and can rotate to give a 360-degree view, as well as providing a Refuge Point. New street lights have also been installed at the park to increase the feeling of safety for visitors.
The camera uses the latest technology to act as a refuge point which is monitored 24 hours a day. Anyone in distress can press a button on the camera column which gives them direct access to the council's CCTV control room to ask for help.
Each help button has a Safe Point sign giving its What3Words location, in case anyone needs to share their position with a friend or emergency contact. The exact location can then be found using the three words in the What3Words app.
Similar to lift alarms, a caller can speak through an intercom, directly to CCTV control room operators, who will triage any emergency call and will be able to immediately advise the person asking for help. They may direct them to their nearest "Safe Space" provider or, if necessary, ask the police to attend.
Safe Spaces could be local shops and businesses that have signed up for CCTV cameras and whose staff have been trained to support people who come through their doors looking for help. They display Safe Space signs to make them visible and give people seeking support the peace of mind that help is close at hand while they are out and about.
Executive Mayor Andy Abrahams said: “Fear of crime, especially among women and girls has been an issue in Warsop and we hope this wide ranging community safety action plan we are putting in place there with partners, will go a long way to offering re-assurance – in this instance that help is hand at the push of a button.
“What we want is for people in this area – and indeed the whole district – to feel safe. It is by addressing these kinds of community concerns we can improve the quality of life for local people.”
Two other cameras with Refuge Point buttons can be found in Carr Lane, near Warsop Army Cadet base, and Sherwood Street, near the junction with Short Street. A Refuge Point button without a camera has also been installed near the junction of Sherwood Street and High Street.
A total of 11 new cameras have been installed. The locations include Carr Lane Park, Coral Crescent, and Clumber Street.
New automatic number plate recognition (APNR) cameras have also been added to help the police catch law breakers in the area.
In addition, pre-existing CCTV cameras in the area have been upgraded. These include those near the library and near The Talbot pub in High Street; in Sherwood Street (near Clumber Street); Burns Lane (near Sherwood Street); Church Street (near Sherwood Street traffic lights); and in Church Street (near Hetts Lane).
The camera and lights are part of a huge package of crime reduction measures being paid for by national Safer Streets funding, after the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Nottinghamshire was successful in a bid for £3 million for projects across the city and county.
Over £300,000 of community safety measures and improvements are being carried out in Warsop and other parts of the Mansfield district, delivered in partnership with Mansfield District Council, the Office of the Nottinghamshire PCC, Nottinghamshire Police and other support agencies.
Nottinghamshire PCC Caroline Henry said: “It was amazing to visit Warsop to see some of the innovative Safer Streets interventions in action.
“The refuge point cameras are so important in ensuring people in Warsop have access to help when they need it, and the addition of this brand new Refuge Point in The Carrs park, as well as brand new street lighting, which has been made possible through the Safer Streets programme, is amazing to see.
“Especially when we talk about feelings of safety for women and girls across the district, knowing that help is just a button push away will help people across Warsop feel a lot safer whilst out and about.”
The project in Warsop included funding to offer local people free access to the Hollie Guard personal safety mobile phone app. A simple shake or tap can activate the app when people are in danger, immediately notifying their chosen contacts, pinpointing their location and sending audio and video evidence directly to the contact’s mobile phone.
The scheme is also funding support for families and youth work to help prevent anti-social behaviour by encouraging young people to make alternative life choices and by offering them diversionary activities.
Approximately 50 trees around Market Warsop have been trimmed or removed at various locations, including The Carrs, the Burns estate, and Warsop library, to improve the effectiveness of street lighting, as part of the project.
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