|
Source
I WRITE with reference to the future of the CCTV cameras in Malton and Norton. Volunteers patrol as Street Angels on Saturday nights to help vulnerable people to act as a calming influence and to help make the streets safer. Patrols only take place with the permission and co-operation of the police and with the CCTV cameras manned for the duration of every patrol. Without the CCTV cameras, the police will not support Street Angels patrols. If the CCTV cameras are turned off (as they are in Pickering) then the Street Angel patrols will not be able to take place and the Street Angels will have to be disbanded. This would be a pity because in the year that Street Angels have been patrolling there have been fewer incidents of violence with injury and almost no broken windows while people are out at night. As there have been other Safer Streets initiatives during this period, Street Angels cannot take the credit for all of this, but the police have told us that our presence on the streets makes a difference. If the money needed to continue CCTV coverage and make it more effective is not found then our streets will be that much less safe for those who are out at night – this would include cinema goers, restaurant and takeaway users, as well as those visiting pubs and the right to walk the streets safely will be eroded. A White, Ryedale Street Angels co-ordinator, Norton Comments are closed.
|
|
RSS Feed