New mobile CCTV cameras have been installed and switched on in Oxford in a bid to make streets safer.

The new devices have been put up today as part of the £970,000 Safer Streets funding secured in July 2020 by the then Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner Anthony Stansfeld.

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Four new CCTV cameras are now up and running in seven new locations in Cowley Road, Divinity Road, Morrell Avenue and Union Street.

They will be mobile and can be moved amongst the seven new locations.

The cameras will feed into the existing CCTV control room and will be monitored by trained CCTV operators. It is hoped they will help reduce opportunistic crime and will provide extra security and safety for people in the city.

This Safer Streets funding is to tackle specific crime types in Oxford, including bicycle theft, in hotspot areas to stop offences that have a significant impact on local communities and cause considerable inconvenience and distress to many victims.

Local policing area commander for Oxford, Superintendent Bruce Riddell, said: “These new mobile CCTV cameras, which have been obtained thanks to the Safer Streets funding and work with our local partners, will provide valuable extra security to people in Oxford.

“The fact they are mobile will also be extremely useful to our officers and will mean that they can be moved to different areas as and when they are required.

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“I hope that these new cameras provide even more reassurance to members of the public that Oxford is a safe area where any type of criminal activity is not tolerated.”

Police and Crime Commissioner for the Thames Valley, Matthew Barber, said: “It’s exciting to see funding from Safer Streets being applied in a physical way to our communities. We have just been successful in securing nearly a million pounds in funding for the third round of the Safer Streets Fund and we will continue to build upon the good work that is happening from the first and second rounds.”

A further set of Safer Streets funding, announced last week, has also been granted to Oxford which will specifically be used to improve the safety of women and girls.

This £426,000 grant will improve security around clubs and bars at night using measures such as; nightclub 'safe zones' in Park End Street, Hythe Bridge Street and Cornmarket; a total of 20 new CCTV cameras; outdoor phone charging stations and 35 lighting upgrades.

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