New high-tech CCTV cameras are set to be installed in a Lincolnshire town in a bid to cut crime. Spalding will be the first of three locations in the south and east of the county to get the new cameras, with Boston and Skegness to follow.
Funding for the £400,000 scheme came from the government’s Safer Streets Fund. South Holland District Council said 18 cameras would be installed at key spots in the town. The project aims to deter crime and make those who visit the town feel safer, officials said.
Standard CCTV cameras will be replaced by ones using artificial intelligence (AI) technology which are able to locate people by clothing descriptions or vehicle types automatically.
The Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner’s office heard from over 1,000 young people and identified sexual assaults and street harassment as the biggest threats to their safety. Street harassment and stalking had also been raised as an issue at public events in Spalding, Boston and Skegness.
The local authority said the new CCTV cameras would help create a “safe zone area” in Spalding. Councillor Gary Taylor said: “They will benefit not only our local residents, but local businesses too, offering a safer environment to those who want to visit the town in the evenings and at night.” It comes after similar projects in other parts of the county, including the use of hidden cameras in rural crime hotspots
