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New CCTV police van for Nottingham crime hotspots 'not a good sign'

New CCTV police van for Nottingham crime hotspots 'not a good sign'

Yahoo02-03-2025

A new CCTV van launched by police to tackle anti-social behaviour in Nottingham is a "bad sign" of the state of the city, residents near a problem spot say. Last week, Nottinghamshire Police unveiled the vehicle, which has cameras with a 360-degree view and are capable of seeing faces from more than 1,500 feet away.
The force is deploying the van in a bid to tackle anti-social behaviour across certain neighbourhoods in the city. The van, which will be staffed by officers, has six cameras and a telescopic mast which can reach a height of more than three metres.
Police said the vehicle will be sent to areas identified by residents of having a significant or emerging anti-social behaviour problem. This could include areas such as Sherwood, Bulwell town centre and Forest Recreation Ground, where the van was launched on Thursday, February 20.
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Footage collected by the van can also be viewed remotely from the force control room, allowing for real-time information to be passed to officers. Residents in Forest Fields had mixed opinions on the £130,000 project, which is mainly funded by a Home Office grant.
Lex Comber, who lives in Foxhall Road, said the project was a "symbol of how society is becoming". 'We've got cameras at the top of the street and dodgy stuff goes on but nobody does anything about it.
"It's a misdirection of resources. Why don't they put some police on the ground?," said the 59-year-old university lecturer.
'That's the real issue. It's a symbol of how society is becoming, it's a symbol of unwillingness to tackle problems on the ground. Kids aren't bothered about getting nicked so it's a deterrent to what? It's still not a solution.'
Mr Comber added: 'There's far too much CCTV already, you go to Germany and they're amazed at the amount of surveillance we have. It gives an image of security, but doesn't really do much to prevent crime other than something like shoplifting."
Dominic Pote, 48, was more open to the idea but said he would also rather see investment made elsewhere. 'I generally don't think surveillance is good, but the way things are maybe it's sometimes necessary. It's good if it leads to things being resolved and deters people from doing things," he said.
'In some ways, it's not a good sign. I'd rather have a presence of officers on the streets. I think you feel safe if you've got a good sense of community. I'd rather see investments in other places, rather than let's stick a camera there.
'We've had all sorts of things. We've had all sorts of things on this street, we've seen fights and people shouting at each other. We've had someone dump something with unknown objects in it and right on our door."
Rich Glover, a 57-year-old support worker, said it sounded like a good idea. 'If they can deal with the crime in the area then it's another string to their bow. Fly-tipping and stuff like that," he said.
'I'd feel assured. I'm sure if something like that was in the area they would be put at ease.'
Neighbourhood Inspector Paul Ferguson, who is responsible for getting the project off the ground, said: 'Residents want to feel safe in their neighbourhoods and shouldn't have to experience this type of behaviour where they live and work. That's why we are committed to sorting this problem out.
'With this new piece of equipment, there will be no place to hide. This new vehicle will not replace uniformed officers who will continue to patrol these areas. However, it provides us with a full picture of the area, allowing us to zoom in so we can capture a problem, sometimes before it occurs.
'This is also not a van that we will just leave in an area like a mobile CCTV camera. It will be occupied by specially trained officers who will be actively searching for offenders. We couldn't be clearer as a force. We won't tolerate ASB in our neighbourhoods."

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Jesus Cruz polished luxury cars at an LA car wash for a decade. Then ICE showed up
Jesus Cruz polished luxury cars at an LA car wash for a decade. Then ICE showed up

Yahoo

time3 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Jesus Cruz polished luxury cars at an LA car wash for a decade. Then ICE showed up

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Disorder breaks out in Northern Ireland for third straight night
Disorder breaks out in Northern Ireland for third straight night

Yahoo

time5 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Disorder breaks out in Northern Ireland for third straight night

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What we know about Austria school shooting
What we know about Austria school shooting

Yahoo

time13 hours ago

  • Yahoo

What we know about Austria school shooting

Students were sitting in their classrooms at a secondary school in Graz when a 21-year-old Austrian man shot dead nine people, before killing himself. Twelve people were injured in Tuesday morning's violence, with one person dying hours later in hospital from their injuries. The incident was the deadliest mass shooting in Austria's recent history and the country has declared three days of mourning. Police are still investigating why the gunman - a former student who did not graduate - carried out the attack. Here is what we know so far. The first shot echoed through Dreierschützengasse secondary school, in the north-west of Graz, close to the main train station, at about 10:00 local time (09:00 BST), initially sparking confusion as to what was happening. "Was that a shot? That can't be true. Something must have fallen at the construction site across the street," a 17-year-old student, identified as F, said to his friends, according to the Kleine Zeitung newspaper. 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Shortly after, a Cobra tactical unit, which handles attacks and hostage situations, and other specialist units arrived. Police brought the situation under control in 17 minutes. More than 300 police in total were deployed to the school. Nine students - six girls and three boys - between the ages of 14 and 17 were killed in the shooting, police said. A teacher died of her injuries in hospital. All were Austrian citizens, except for one Polish citizen. The victims have not yet been named by the authorities. One woman, Tores, told BBC News in Graz's main square on Wednesday that she knew one of the boys who had died. He was 17. "I've know this family for a long time, including the son of the family, and knew that he attended that school. I rang immediately, to ask if everything is OK. Then they let me know at midday, that the boy was one of those slaughtered," she said. "What happened yesterday is completely awful, the whole of Austria is in mourning," she said. "This is terrible for the whole of Austria." The other eleven injured people are currently out of danger, police said on Wednesday. They are between the ages of 15 and 26. Eight are from Austria, two from Romania and one from Iran. The 21-year-old, who has not yet been named, was an Austrian man from the wider Graz region who acted alone, police said. He lived with his single mother, who is also Austrian, in the Graz-Umgebung district, police said in a press release on Wednesday. His father, who is originally from Armenia, had not lived in the same household since their separation. He was a former Dreierschützengasse student who did not graduate from the school, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner told a news conference on Tuesday. In a statement on Wednesday, police said they found a "farewell letter", "farewell video", a non-functional pipe bomb and apparently abandoned plans for a bomb attack during a search of the suspect's home. He legally owned the pistol and shotgun used in the attack, police added. Police said they are still investigating a possible motive. Austria has one of the most heavily armed civilian populations in Europe, with an estimated 30 firearms per 100 persons, according to the Small Arms Survey, an independent research project. Machine guns and pump action guns are banned, while revolvers, pistols and semi-automatic weapons are allowed only with official authorisation. Rifles and shotguns are permitted with a firearms licence or a valid hunting licence, or for members of traditional shooting clubs. School shootings are rare. There have been a few incidents over the years that have involved far fewer casualties: In 2018, a 19-year-old was shot by another youth in Mistelbach, north of Vienna In 2012 in St Pölten, a pupil was shot dead by his father In 1997, in Zöbern, a 15-year-old killed a teacher and seriously injured another In 1993, a 13-year-old boy in Hausleiten seriously injured the head teacher and then killed himself Austria's most violent gun attack in recent years took place in the heart of Vienna in November 2020. Four people were killed and 22 injured when a convicted jihadist ran through the centre of the city opening fire, before he was eventually shot by police. Fanny Gasser, a journalist for the Austrian daily newspaper Kronen Zeitung, told BBC News the school was likely unprepared for the possibility of an attack. "We are not living in America, we are living in Austria, which seems like a very safe space." Austrians hold vigil to mourn 10 victims of school shooting School shooting leaves Austria's second city in shock and grief

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