30 July 2010Sevenoaks District Council's CCTV cameras have zoomed in to assist Kent Police in the fight against crime by helping them make nearly 40 arrests in a six week period recently.
When five men were arrested in Swanley in the early hours of Wednesday 14 November after being monitored by CCTV, it meant the cameras had helped Kent Police make 37 arrests since the start of October.
These arrests have included:
On 5 October in Sevenoaks the CCTV control room were alerted at 12.20pm, via a 'shop safe' radio call, to three individuals suspected of shoplifting in the town.
The individuals were then monitored and recorded on CCTV stealing goods from a number of stores on the High Street. The CCTV control room subsequently contacted the police and relayed live images to Kent Police Headquarters.
With the help of the control room, Kent Police were directed to the individuals who were stopped by police in the High Street at 12.25pm and arrested after they were found to be in possession of stolen goods. Their vehicle was also seized by the police.
The following day, at 7.10pm, CCTV monitored two large gangs of youths gathering in the Skateboard Park at Swanley carrying offensive weapons.
The police were called, and CCTV continued to monitor the youths until they arrived at 8.40pm. One of the youths was then subsequently arrested for being in possession of an offensive weapon.
Then on 17 October at 12.50pm, Kent Police contacted the CCTV control room requesting help in trying to locate four males in connection with an incident in Swanley.
The CCTV operators monitored the whole of the Swanley area until the four males were spotted at the entrance of White Oak Leisure Centre. The live images were relayed to Kent Police who arrived on the scene at 1.25pm to arrest the four men.
At the start of this month, on 2 November, CCTV helped the police secure the arrests of two youths for criminal damage to parked vehicles in St. Botolph's Road in Sevenoaks.
The youths were unaware they had been caught on CCTV at 11.43pm causing the damage, and were stopped and arrested by police at 11.50pm as they made their way towards Riverhead.
In the early hours of last Wednesday (14 November) at 3.49am, the CCTV cameras monitored a group of five men running out of ASDA in Swanley and then getting into a vehicle and driving off.
CCTV continue to monitor the vehicle when it returned to ASDA shortly after, whereupon the men were seen throwing objects at the windows. The CCTV control room made the police and ASDA aware of the situation, who confirmed the individuals were wanted for assaulting a member of staff.
The police arrived on the scene at 3.55am following directions from the CCTV operators. The five individuals were all arrested for assault at 4.24am outside Swanley Police Station.
In the same six week period the CCTV cameras also contributed to another 20 arrests in the District.
Cllr Keith Loney, Sevenoaks District Council Cabinet member with responsibility for Community Safety, says: "Good partnership working is something we pride ourselves on, and our work with Kent Police epitomises this. These incidents also highlight just what an effective tool CCTV can be when it comes to reducing crime and the fear of crime in the area."
Sevenoaks District Council's CCTV system has 96 cameras covering priority areas in Westerham, Edenbridge, Swanley, New Ash Green and in Sevenoaks.
The system is manned 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by trained and highly skilled staff. It is operated and paid for by Sevenoaks District Council.
