Police to use £1m to make public spaces safer

Darryl Preston, Police and Crime Commissioner for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, said interventions would help prevent crime before it happened

A police and crime commissioner (PCC) is hoping to make public spaces safer by installing CCTV cameras and training people to identify predatory behaviour.

The plans aimed to tackle anti-social behaviour and reduce the risk of violence against women and girls in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

The proposals include the installation of additional CCTV cameras, including three in Park Ward, Peterborough.

Darryl Preston, the Conservative PCC for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, said: "Fewer crimes translate to fewer victims and if this investment spares just one future victim, it is worth every penny."

Mr Preston secured £1m in funding from the government's Safer Streets scheme.

His office said the money would be the biggest investment in tackling violence against women and girls the county had ever seen.

Day and night-time economy workers will also receive training in identifying predatory behaviour, with support from Cambridge City Council.

Part of the funding will also go towards installing additional CCTV cameras, including six across Fenland, Huntingdon and St Neots.

In the past 12 months in Peterborough East, which includes Park Ward, 2,857 violent and sexual offences were reported, alongside 993 reports of anti-social behaviour - the two biggest reported crimes in the area.

In addition, residents who have been victims of burglary in the past 12 months have been contacted and offered security surveys of their homes alongside crime prevention devices.

The PCC hopes by putting measures in place, residents will feel the benefits, "sooner rather than later".

"This project is designed to complement those efforts by supporting a whole range of interventions to prevent crime before it happens," he said.

Anna Smith, the Labour Party's PCC candidate, said it was "good" to see action being taken.

"People tell me that they feel unsafe on the streets or at home because there have been so many cuts to local policing. We need to see sustained action to improve safety. That needs to include visible neighbourhood policing."

Edna Murphy, the Liberal Democrats' PCC candidate, said the police need "fair funding".

"The police need to do more on crimes such as sexual assault and on new priorities such as fraud," she said.