Businesses in Winton are backing council plans to upgrade the towns CCTV. Bournemouth Borough Council has set aside £268,000 to fund the project, as part of their Safer Communities programme.
Councillor David Smith, Cabinet Member for Communities, said: “CCTV is a cost effective tool for the Council and the Police.
“It’s important we invest now to ensure that the standard of our CCTV equipment is maintained so that we can continue to tackle anti-social behaviour in Bournemouth”.
Paul Skipton, owner of dress shop House of Sparkle, located on Winton High Street, feels that CCTV is “essential to maintain safety in this day and age”.
“There are a lot of drunks and troublemakers on the streets, and accidents do happen.”
Martyn Webster, a Dorset Police Detections Officer, said: “CCTV is a vital element in the investigative process and assists the police in a number of ways.
“It has helped on numerous occasions in convicting offenders from simple public order matters to more serious offences.”
Mr Rose, Owner of Roses Jewellers, also located on Winton High Street, said he would rely on it in the event of a robbery:
“We had an incident happen in the shop once, which we caught on CCTV, but we didn’t catch the registration number of the car involved.
“A yellow bus went past at the same time. We got access to the CCTV on board and managed to get the license plate number.”
Work on upgrading the towns recording and monitoring facilities is due to begin this spring.
