Clippings (Oct-Dec 2000)Clippings (Oct-Dec 2000)Spy camera surveys town (T&A 15 Dec 2000)
The all-seeing eye that understands nothing (Observer, 10 Dec, 2000)
Police search CCTV footage (T&A, 28 Nov, 2000)
£12,000 plan for CCTV is unveiled (T&A Oct 23, 2000)
Traders may set up own 'spy' cameras (T&A Oct 10, 2000)
by KIM McRAE, T&A Reporter, T&A Oct 10, 2000
Traders are considering setting up their own CCTV system after being refused government funding because there isn't enough crime in Cleckheaton.
The Government denied the town CCTV last year, saying crime figures were not bad enough to warrant its introduction.
But Spenborough Chamber of Trade and Commerce is now investigating the possibility of going it alone in a bid to deter criminals. Member and former Spen councillor Gordon North said certain shops, persistently targeted by shoplifters, could benefit.
"Cameras are very cheap these days and to install a system on the top of properties and have volunteers to monitor it while they're doing other duties would cost peanuts," he said. "It would be very much cheaper than the sort of super deluxe system they are talking about.
"It just needs the commitment from people because it has to be professionally monitored. It would act as a deterrent even if it is not catching criminals at the time."
It is hoped the cameras would stamp out crime, vandalism, drug-dealing and drunkenness in the town centre, despite not being monitored from a central unit in Huddersfield like other town centre cameras.
Members heard that cameras cost,£5,000 each and £15,000 a year to monitor in Huddersfield. A minimum of three to five cameras were needed.
Chamber president Keith Joplin said he was unsure whether alternative funding was available to help pay for the scheme, but he would investigate. He also urged people to report crimes, however small, to the police because it would push up crime figures.
Members were concerned that criminals were targeting Cleckheaton because nearby Dewsbury and Batley have CCTV coverage. One member said a thief who had tried to steal from a Cleckheaton jewellers said the town had been chosen because it was "an easy touch".
Members felt that because their system would not be monitored in Huddersfield they would not be able to catch people in the act, but could trawl through videos to give to Police as evidence.
"Once the word gets round the criminal fraternity that Cleckheaton has CCTV, it will do the job," said one member.
PC Graham Eaves, police partnership officer based at Dewsbury, said they would like Cleckheaton to have CCTV, but it would still have to be run by Kirklees Council.
"You've got to have a real quality system that can be used in court," he said. "If traders are looking at running it, how are they going to run a business at the same time? They will have to investigate any complaints and the scheme has got to have credibility. It wouldn't have public support if it was a half-baked system."
T&A Oct 23, 2000
Big brother could be watching late night revellers in Silsden if a mobile CCTV camera is sited in the town.
The camera can be positioned almost anywhere to keep a close watch on anyone who could be committing a crime.
It was on display at a community network safety day in Keighley organised by police and crime prevention bodies. And now parish councillors in Si]sden are hoping it can be tn-sled in the town in a bid to deter acts of petty vandalism and other crime. Keighley-based community safety officer Chris Slaven said the mobile camera system cost £12,000 — a lot less than the £21,000 price tag for static CCTV cameras.
"It’s a wonderful piece of equipment and what we’re hoping to do is get enough funding to buy one," he said.
"And if we can get some funding from Bradford Council and other bodies it can be used in all parts of Keighley"
Mr Slaven added that footage from the camera could be used as evidence in a prOsecutiQn. Silsden Parish Council members have so far had no luck in finding cash to pay for the installation of two permanent cameras in the town.
They want to use them to deter crime and fear of crime. Last year a council delegation visited Bradford’s CCTV control room to look at the system already installed in Keighley and Shipley
by Ian Midgley, T&A, 28 Nov, 2000
Police were today scouring CCTV footage for clues to the identity of gunmen who blasted two people outside a Bradford nightclub.
But police said they are disappointed about the lack of witnesses at the club at the time who have come forward following the shooting outside the Planet Venus nightclub, in City Road.
The couple, a 20-year-old man and 18-year-old woman from Leeds, were leaving the nightclub early yesterday when gunmen opened fire.
Both people underwent operations last night and were described as in a stable condition today.
It is believed that the male victim - among a group of five people from Leeds - may have been involved in an argument with some other men earlier in the evening.
The woman was being treated for serious injuries to her back and legs while the man underwent surgery to remove pellets from his thigh yesterday.
Both were being kept under armed guard at an unnamed hospital.
Police who arrived at the club at 2.50am yesterday were initially unaware anyone had been injured.
But the couple later turned up about 40 minutes later at a hospital casualty department where staff contacted officers.
The gunmen are believed to have made off towards Bradford city centre in a light-coloured vehicle.
Detective Superintendent Bob Bridgestock, of Bradford Central police station, said police were treating the attack as attempted murder.
Officers yesterday made a fingertip search of the doorway outside the nightclub in a bid to find clues to the identity of the attackers.
The shooting follows a spate of firearms incidents in Bradford this year which included a drive-by shooting and the murder of 27-year-old Dexter Coleman in July.
Det Supt Bridgestock yesterday said it was too early to link the shooting outside Planet Venus to other incidents but did not rule out the possibility.
Anyone who witnessed the incident or saw the white vehicle leaving the area can contact police on 01274 373133.
T&A 15 Dec 2000
A seventh CCTV camera in Bingley will come into operation next week.
The £16,000 camera is positioned next to Darren Todd’s butchers in Chapel Lane and will cover Chapel Lane, the entrance to the precinct and Harvester pub in addition to part of the rai1way station.
Bingley town centre manager David Dinsey who obtained the money from Bradford Council’s Community Safety Unit said he hoped the camera would not be the last. He hopes to install an eighth camera at the new car park at the bottom of Main Street but is still seeking the necessary funding.
Mr Dinsey said: "These cameras have proved very effective in deterring crime and we are trying to improve the well being and safety of people in Bingley"
The town’s cameras are situated at Ireland Bridge, outside Barclays Bank, opposite Alltel, (formerly Bradford & Bingley) in Main Street, Queen Street, Midland Hill car park and outside the Magistrates Court.
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