CCTV cameras for Chelmsford footpath where females attacked

Twelve CCTV cameras are to be installed in the Bunny Walks area of Chelmsford to help deter violence against females

CCTV cameras are due to be installed along a footpath where women and girls have been attacked.

Chelmsford City Council in Essex hopes 12 cameras at Bunny Walks, which connects Springfield and Broomfield to Chelmsford, will make the area safer.

The city was given £550,000 of funding from the Home Office's Safer Streets Fund to improve the area in October.

The cost of the cameras is £164,753 and they will transmit images 24 hours a day.

The path runs through the council-owned Chelmer Valley nature reserve and is close to the Riverside retail park.

The CCTV camera safety work is part of a wider set of initiatives to improve public safety and the overall accessibility of the area, the council said.

A total of £40,000 is to be spent on a digital engagement project and £15,000 will be used for youth work, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

'Unhealthy sexual attitudes'

A £20,000 partnership project which aims to reduce violence against women has been formed involving Essex Police, Essex County Council, Chelmsford City Council and students from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU).

The Students at the Heart of Knowledge Exchange (SHoKE) scheme was developed by ARU.

Rose Moore, city council cabinet member for a greener and safer Chelmsford, said: "Arguably, education is the most important strand of the Safer Streets initiative.

"If we're to achieve our ambition for a world free of harassment and abuse, we must engage with young people who may be developing unhealthy sexual attitudes and help them understand how their behaviour affects others."

The council said any cameras installed near residential properties would have "digital masking to ensure that privacy is maintained".

The Home Office funding would also go towards improved lighting in the area.

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