A councilor’s call to install video surveillance in a park that was recently the scene of a fatal stabbing has been rejected.
Cllr Sara Conway, union representative for Burnt Oak, has called for temporary CCTV cameras to be installed in Montrose Park, Edgware, to help protect children and youth during the summer months.
She made the request at a meeting of the Hendon area committee in June after a 22-year-old man was fatally stabbed in the park on May 31. This responded to residents’ requests for CCTV and lighting to help restore community trust.
But Tory advisers declined to support the call, with Tories later saying the proposals – estimated to cost £ 25,000 – were less effective than park patrols and would have failed to catch the people wearing balaclavas.
After the meeting, Cllr Conway said it was “deeply disappointing” that the voice of the community was not heard.
She added that it was “almost unbelievable” that the council could quickly deploy CCTV to protect a cemetery in Hendon after the gravestones were vandalized – a move she fully supported – but could not. do it to try to help protect the children and youth of Burnt Oak.
Read more: Vicar congratulates community and council for their support after ‘shocking’ vandalism
Cllr Conway said: “It is also almost unbelievable that this council has spent millions of pounds on parks but failed to put in place basic security infrastructure, including reactive video surveillance in vulnerable areas.”
Responding to the comments, Cllr Jennifer Grocock, a senior police and community safety officer, said the park patrols put in place by the council were a more effective deterrent than spending £ 25,000 on CCTV cameras temporary.
Cllr Grocock said: “Unfortunately, in response to this tragic incident, Cllr Conway’s proposals are less than helpful. In this case, the solution proposed by Cllr Conway could be avoided by people wearing balaclavas.
“This administration has brought in park patrols to several of Barnet’s parks and open spaces, including Montrose and Silkstream, through a specialist partner called Parkguard to ensure these are safe spaces for the residents.
“These patrols are a far more effective deterrent than the easy-to-avoid and vandalizing cameras, and collect a wider body of evidence and intelligence. ”
Cllr Conway claimed the patrols spent less than an hour in each park each day, but Cllr Grocock said they were “tailor-made” and “flexible to respond and respond through an intelligence-based deployment. “.
Labor and Tories have also clashed over proposed schedules for video surveillance. Cllr Conway said they would be deployed for four months, while Cllr Grocock suggested this was unrealistic, as her member’s point was presented to the committee at the end of June.
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Source: www.times-series.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-07-12 15:58:46
