DARTMOUTH Town Council has agreed to fund a vehicle recognition camera to help police trace any criminal activity in the town.
The £4600 device will be funded through grant money available to the council, not through funds from the precept paid by the town’s residents.
Sgt Abercrombie spoke to town councillors at their September full council meeting, following his request for funding a police ANPR - Automatic-numberplate-recognition – camera.
He’d previously written to the council to request £4600 for the device to be placed on the road into Dartmouth, near Sainsburys.
He said police resources will not cover the cost of purchase and installation – although they will pick up the tab for licenses and running costs – because Dartmouth is seen as a low-crime area, which doesn’t warrant 24-hour policing.
Sgt Abercrombie wrote: “Currently in Dartmouth there’s no police ANPR camera between Dartmouth and Plymouth, also Dartmouth and Paignton via the road. What that means is people who travel in vehicles in and out of Dartmouth are currently untraceable. If someone has committed any offence in Dartmouth and makes off in a vehicle, they would be able to get out of town without us knowing.”
He said an ANPR camera would mean 24/7 monitoring of any crime activity in Dartmouth, including drug dealing, stolen vehicles, and serious crimes; and enhanced security in the town.
He said to councillors on Monday: “It’s ultimately to make Dartmouth a safer place. There’s an issue with drugs being transported through Dartmouth with large amounts coming in via the river and on to Plymouth and Paignton etc. There’s a camera in Kingswear but nothing on this side.
“We don’t have the resources to police this, 10pm is the latest we work. It’ll be putting a footprint in Dartmouth overnight and mean 24-hour policing in Dartmouth.”
In response to questions from councillors Sgt Abercrombie confirmed the camera would not be used for minor speeding offences, and anyone coming into town via the coastal road would be picked up by shop CCTV cameras. He also confirmed ANPR cameras cannot be bolted onto existing CCTV cameras, because of licenses and monitoring issues.
Cllr Dawn Shepherd said she understood the need for a camera but objected to the request for funding. She said: “We already pay council tax for policing in the town. Why have we got to pay for something that if we’re in a low crime area we don’t need it, and if there’s a high crime rate then the police automatically pay for it. I struggle with why we’re paying twice. If it’s vital to what you’re doing in the town then the police should be paying for it.”
Sgt Abercrombie replied: “Everyone who lives and works here can honestly say there’s a lot more going on that’s not reported. How do you change that if we don’t have the intelligence and statistics to prove it. If we have an ANPR camera and it shows the movement of cars at 3am we then have evidence that things are going on and I can get more resources.”
Cllr Mike Rowley added: “I share Dawn’s outrage, but the reality is, of course, what is seen as a low crime town we’re not going to get a ANPR camera unless we pay for it ourselves. The camera itself will probably raise the profile of the crime we have in Dartmouth.
“Drug crime is the most corrosive crime our youth are exposed to. We need to look at the reality of the situation – if we fund it, it could well have knock on effects to prove that we do need a greater police presence in Dartmouth and that would be of benefit to the town. I agree about having to pay twice but this could be a small investment with a potential big pay back.”
Ali McGregor, the town council’s responsible financial officer, reminded councillors they could use funds from a grant that comes from the ‘Public Purposes Share of the Dartmouth Trust’ for specific reasons which benefit Dartmouth and its community, including emergency services. They agreed to use this to fund the camera, not from the precept.
Sgt Abercrombie agreed to a request for a monthly camera report to the town council. All councillors present voted in favour of funding the camera, except Cllr Dawn who voted against.