Fylde Council will be deploying mobile CCTV in St Annes in response to recent incidents of anti-social behaviour.

An application has been approved to utilise the Council’s new redeployable wireless CCTV assets to monitor the section of Promenade including the St Annes Beach huts, following an act of vandalism resulting in damage to one of the huts. Another application proposes the deployment of a CCTV asset at Hope Street Park in St Annes to address concerns of residents after damage to park facilities.

Councillor Karen Buckley, Leader of Fylde Council, said: “We have suffered a spate of anti-social behaviour over the last few weeks, including vandalism and criminal damage.  I have been in touch with Fylde’s Police Inspector Jones who assures me that leads are being followed up and patrol plans are in place in areas of interest.  The Council are keen to assist by deploying their mobile CCTV cameras and have identified the area by the Beach Huts and Hope Street Park as current hotspots.

“These wireless CCTV cameras have been used at locations across the Fylde, including Lytham Windmill on Lytham Green, and are a good deterrent against anti-social behaviour.  They can only be deployed where there is evidence of need and so I’m grateful to the Police and the public for reporting the incidents.  I hope their installation has the desired effect.

“As well as the mobile CCTV, we are budgeting for an overhaul of the permanent CCTV provision in all three Town Centres in the next financial year.  The upgrade will mean higher-definition cameras including the ability to record colour at night-time.  We want to support the public with crime prevention measures and the Police with detection so this investment will be most welcome.”

The town centres of Lytham, St Annes and Kirkham are each protected by a network of fifteen static CCTV cameras, managed and monitored by arrangement by Wyre Council at their Civic Centre headquarters in Poulton.

Data from the April 2020 – March 2021 CCTV report showed that a total of 561 incidents were monitored across the three town centre systems. Case studies from the period showed operators being able respond in real-time to developing situations and work cooperatively with police to resolve them, as well as captured footage providing vital intelligence for police investigations, underscoring the value of CCTV to public safety.

 


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