The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
New CCTV cameras are being installed in a Holbeach park after more than 20 incidents were reported to police over a year.
A previous CCTV system covering Carter’s Park was removed after a camera was stolen and a complaint was made about access to the data being stored.
“These are professional-grade CCTV cameras and one of our councillors trains CCTV engineers and has helped us in sourcing the equipment.
“The cameras are hard wired into a hard drive which is housed in a locked cabinet and the data will be accessed by a limited number of individuals from the cloud and it will be deleted on a regular basis,” said a statement from parish council clerk Jan Hearsey.
The six new cameras will be installed by the end of this month.
“We have been working closely with the police to reduce the antisocial behaviour in our park after we saw a rise and escalation of incidents over the summer,” says a council statement.
“The police informed us that, over the last 12 months there were over 20 incidents reported to them from members of the public who provided the location as Carter’s Park.
“The categories include drugs, anti-social behaviour, violence, criminal damage and suspicious activity.
Not only will this help the police with investigating crimes and anti social behaviours in the park, but will also help in locating missing children.
“As a council, we want everyone using our park to feel safe, but we also respect people’s privacy. Therefore, we would like to reassure the public that the system is being installed by professionals and their data will be processed safely and in-line with relevant legislation. If anyone has any questions about the processing of their data, contact the clerk via email at clerk@holbeachpc.com or call 01406 426739.”
Carter’s Park was left without cover when a camera was stolen in February 2020.
At the time, making sure the CCTV met legal requirements it would cost £350.
It was also suggested that the district council could add the cameras to its own monitored system, including Holbeach town centre, which is based at Boston Borough Council.
Last month Holbeach Parish Council voted through a 26 per cent hike in its portion of the council tax to £88.29 a year for Band D properties, up from £70 last year. The rise was prompted by rising energy costs and included the CCTV.
