CCTV plan to stop burglars' getaway on Honeybourne Lane
BURGLARS are using a Cheltenham footpath to escape from their crimes.
That is according to the borough council which is hoping to install seven CCTV cameras on the Honeybourne Line.
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The move, which has the backing of police, will cost £62,000 and will be phase one of a project which aims to put up 17 cameras on the path.
A report, which will go before the cabinet on December 6, said there has been a consistent increase in raids on homes over the last year across the town.
The papers state: "The location of many of these burglaries alongside intelligence strongly indicates that the Honeybourne Line is used by criminal elements to gain access to houses to commit burglaries and also to aid their escape with stolen property."
Several assaults have taken place on the path this year and the line is also subject to antisocial behaviour.
The first phase of the project will focus on the stretch between Cheltenham Railway Station and the Jubilee Bridge, considered to be the highest priority.
Councillor Klara Sudbury, cabinet member for housing and safety, says work is being carried out to secure funding for the rest of the project, which will cost £140,000.
She said: "The aim is to have 17 cameras.
"The reason this stretch has been put forward for the first phase is that negotiations and discussions between our officers and police highlighted this as a stretch that the police particularly felt was the issue.
"The Honeybourne Line is somewhere that we want to be a safe place for people to use.
"It's a really important transport link and that's why it's really important to us."
When the cameras are all in place, they will stretch as far as the Prince of Wales Stadium, in Tommy Taylor's Lane.
Gloucestershire Police said that they believe the path has been used as a route for criminals for some time.
Inspector Alistair Barby, from Cheltenham Police, said: "We are pleased investment is being made into installing CCTV on the Honeybourne Line.
"We are fully supportive of any steps to improve security in the area."
6 Comments
by Ms_Superstar
Tuesday, November 29 2011, 2:21PM
“No objection to the cameras - it's just the logic behind them that stinks. I'm sure it's a terrible thing to have your home violated, and I imagine you would never feel safe there again, but at the end of the day it's only stuff. Far more serious is crime against the person, which the local police do not seem to take seriously.
To be fair, cctv wouldn't make me any more likely to use the path after dark. Just because the police would have some grainy images of anyone being attacked there, it wouldn't make the crime any less traumatic for the victim.
Cheltenham (indeed, probably Gloucestershire as a whole) needs to raise its game. Build stronger communities. Less of the materialistic 'me-first' mentality. Deal with lawlessness before it gets out of hand. You know it makes sense.”
by TimMessanger
Tuesday, November 29 2011, 12:14AM
“Haha lane or line? TiG is showing it's real values again!
Reopen the railway then the trains can kill the $***!”
by Occupy_TiG
Monday, November 28 2011, 3:47PM
“One would hope it would be a deterent.
I used to use this route a lot. Now I wouldn't dare.
As Klara says, it is a really useful link. It's a shame so many are put off using it, because of the mindless actions of a few.”
by Kay_Powell
Monday, November 28 2011, 3:12PM
“Regarding the headline - how does fitting CCTV actually stop burglars from making their getaway? It might help to catch them later, if they are identifiable, but it could only monitor the getaway if the burglary were to be reported pretty much as it was happening.”
by johnnypunk66
Monday, November 28 2011, 3:02PM
“Agreed Ms Superstar...They protect our freedom by taking it away.”
by Ms_Superstar
Monday, November 28 2011, 1:20PM
“This is Cheltenham all over. We have to stop burglars using the path as an escape route, and if public safety is improved as a side-effect then that's a bonus. How misguided is that!
I suppose an Englishman's home is his castle and this was never more true than at present.
Look, if the authorities only care about protecting individuals' homes and valuables rather than building and improving communities and encouraging law and order then we'll always live in or near a rough area and we'll always be watching our backs.”