Newbury underpasses could get mobile CCTV, says Thames Valley Police
Mobile CCTV units could be put in underpasses in West Berkshire.
Thames Valley Police Superintendent Zahid Aziz pledged to look for funds saying there was "a gap in provision in West Berkshire".
Speaking at Tuesday night’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee, which acts as West Berkshire’s crime board, he said cash could be found.
“We have no plans to install CCTV,” he said. "But we used to have mobile CCTVs in West Berkshire, and I would be interested to look to re-instate those.”
His comments come just weeks after a woman had her skirt lifted up by a man passing her in an underpass in Newbury.
He said the CCTV units were operational in Reading and Slough and admitted there is a gap in provision in West Berkshire.
“There is no real night time economy of predatory behaviour in West Berkshire, but I’m quite happy to see how we can move this forward,” he added.
Claire Rowles (Con, Hungerford and Kintbury), West Berkshire’s Safer Streets champion, told the meeting that council work had been ongoing to make underpasses and overgrown areas safer by cutting back undergrowth and regular checks on lighting.
Keeping people safe while they are on a night out is the aim of a scheme called Project Vigilant.
First piloted by Thames Valley Police in Oxford, it is aimed at targeting perpetrator behaviours, which are often displayed before a sexual offence takes place.
The Superintendent said police officers were given awareness courses to spot behaviours of potential sex offenders.
“A recent example of this was that a vehicle was spotted circling round and round, exhibiting potential predatory behaviour," he added. "The car was stopped, and it turned out he was a sex offender.”
He was also grilled on the recent case of a Newbury police officer, Oliver Perry-Smith, who was jailed for three and a half years after admitting accessing police data to pursue women.
“On the face of it, he was a good officer and showed no predatory behaviour,” said Supt Aziz. He added that the officer had been removed from patrol after concerns were raised, and the subsequent investigation took two years to bring to court.
