New CCTV is cutting crime in town, says council
Funding was used to install 80 new CCTV cameras in the town
- Published
Council bosses have credited the installation of new CCTV cameras with a drop in shoplifting and antisocial behaviour in Chesterfield town centre.
Chesterfield Borough Council said it had seen an 18.5% drop in shoplifting and a 15.2% reduction in antisocial behaviour in 2021/22 from the last comparable pre-Covid figures in 2019/2020.
The authority said this had followed the addition of 80 new cameras in the Derbyshire town.
The cameras were funded by a £335,000 grant from the government's Safer Streets initiative.
In a report seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the council said: "The replacement and expansion of the CCTV camera coverage across Chesterfield town centre has significantly increased the potential to improve the safety and security of our community.
"The significant uplift in the number and the quality of the cameras and their positioning provides a level of coverage never seen before in the town centre."
The Safer Streets cash was also used to install new ANPR - numberplate recognition - cameras at Horns Bridge and West Bars roundabouts.