Subscribe to trusted local news
If you are accessing this story via Facebook but you are a subscriber then you will be unable to access the story. Facebook wants you to stay and read in the app and your login details are not shared with Facebook. If you experience problems with accessing the news but have subscribed, please contact subscriptions@thestrayferret.co.uk. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
- Subscription costs less than £1 a week with an annual plan.
Already a subscriber? Log in here.
06
May 2021
Ripon council to buy CCTV camera to tackle anti-social behaviour
A mobile CCTV camera is to be deployed in Ripon to target hotspot areas for anti-social behaviour and crime.
Ripon City Council has this week agreed to purchase the surveillance equipment which its leader said will act as a “significant deterrent” against “frustrating” levels of crime seen during the third national lockdown.
It comes as the authority discussed using the cameras in March in an effort to tackle anti-social behaviour which has blighted the city.
Speaking at a meeting on Tuesday, Cllr Andrew Williams, leader of the council, said:
Cllr Williams said a “yob culture” had developed in the city with recent reports of crimes including street robberies, assaults on emergency workers and members of the public being spat at.
Read more:
- Police crackdown on crime in Ripon
- Robbery, thefts and man with machete in three-hour Ripon crimewave
- Mobile cameras to be used to reduce crime in Ripon
He previously said empty streets and dark evenings earlier in the lockdown had created the “perfect storm” for crime and that some residents – including himself – had become too afraid to leave their homes on an evening.
Cllr Wiliams also raised concerns over the number of officers patrolling the streets.
In February, North Yorkshire Police responded by stepping up patrols and said it had made “a number” of arrests, recovered drugs and seized criminal property including cash, imitation firearms and other weapons.
This was after the spate of crime prompted a meeting between city councillors and North Yorkshire, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Julia Mulligan who later said she was “confident” that officers were dealing with the problem “robustly”.
At Tuesday’s meeting, city council clerk Paula Benson said the CCTV camera could cost more than £7,000 and that the authority hoped to secure the funds through grants.
Cllr Stuart Martin said:
In a direct plea to those causing anti-social behaviour problems, North Yorkshire Police inspector Alex Langley previously said:
0