BUDE and Launceston have received financial support from the Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) towards their CCTV systems.

Tony Hogg, the PCC, visited Bude Police Station last week to see how the project works in the town and how the money has been spent.

In Bude, two replacement cameras have been purchased, with similar investments made in Launceston.

Mr Hogg said: “We live in a safe policing area. The people of Devon and Cornwall should feel safe, but our policing services are stretched and they’re specifically stretched in some of the far-flung areas. In Bude I know that the police presence can sometimes seem a little on the light side to the public.

“For me this is a great day because we’ve funded some new CCTV facilities. Bude is relatively crime-free but nonetheless incidents do occur. In summer, should the police need to apprehend somebody or arrest someone, then it tends to leave Bude centre a little less protected.”

The CCTV project in Bude was implemented in 2008, making it the first community CCTV project in the country. It came about due to concern at the time about a rise in incidents of anti-social behaviour.

David Parsons, chairman of the Bude CCTV project, said: “We set up the project with local community groups to make it work, with community supervision, working very closely with the police.”

Its effect was noticeable within a short time, as within the first year, the amount of anti-social incidents dropped by around 70%. The cameras allowed earlier intervention before incidents got out of hand.

There are now five cameras in Bude — two funded by the police crime commissioner, one by a local community project, one paid for by a local business and one funded by the CCTV project itself.

Mr Hogg said: “CCTV is something of our time. The environment is changing fast. The nature of crime is changing. We need technology to deal with some of the new crimes, such as money laundering and cyber crime. We need technology on our side. When I look at policing today I look at it in a wider sense rather than the simple feel of security on the streets.”

Mr Hogg felt that people need to move away from the presumption that CCTV is the responsibility of the police to fund and maintain. He said the Force will be part of a partnership but there needs to be input from other community groups and businesses.

“It needs to be a community issue. We need to work with the local area and local businesses. Today we’ve a very good example of that working well. What we’ve done here in Bude and Launceston is to seed-fund a community response to that. We’ve funded two cameras here in Bude and the local community has put a third in that has been completely refreshed. Bude is a remote area of Cornwall. When officers are trying to police the rural areas around Bude and they have to go to Newquay or somewhere, Bude can seem a little naked at times in regards to police presence. These CCTV cameras will help to plug that gap. It’s a really good model which I would like to be rolled out around Devon and Cornwall.”

The cameras have been provided by Nigel Marshall, owner of NM Technical Services, who was asked if he could come up with a solution to obtain high quality images at the right price.

The system is based around ‘off the shelf’ equipment, making it affordable. The HD cameras can be controlled remotely, covering hot spots and giving good night vision, allowing facial and number plate recognition. Operators can zoom in without losing any clarity on the images and recordings can be played back straight away.

Mr Parsons said: “This is a very inexpensive way of doing it. We can do it very cheap because we’re using off the shelf equipment. It’s a good model for other towns.”

Bude-Stratton Town Council has agreed to pay for the maintenance of the cameras for five years, and it is hoped that local businesses will contribute to the fund to generate enough money for a ‘buffer’ in case an item of equipment needs to be replaced.

The CCTV is operated by volunteers, including members of Bude’s street pastor team. All volunteers are vetted by the police.

A similar project has been funded in Launceston. Mr Hogg accepted that since the custody unit closed at Launceston Police Station, if an officer has to transport someone to custody suites at Newquay, Barnstaple or Plymouth, that is one less officer in the area.

“There are similar issues between Bude and Launceston,” he said.

Jim Hunter, acting sector inspector for Launceston, said: We are very fortunate that we live in a low crime area, in an area with great community spirit. The project is run by the community for the community. The Launceston model follows on from Bude. It works as an effective deterrent.”

Support has also been received from Launceston Town Council.

Mr Parsons welcomed inquiries from other towns and villages keen to find out more about the CCTV system.

The group has developed various pieces of paperwork and procedures surrounding data protection that can be used by other places rather than starting from scratch.

He thanked Mr Hogg for the funds and the local police officers who have given their support to the project.

If anyone would like to speak with Mr Parsons about the CCTV project in Bude he can be contacted via email at [email protected]