CCTV for Notorious Chelmsford Footpath

CCTV cameras will soon be installed along a Chelmsford footpath following a series of sexual assaults cases.

07:48 09 January 2022

A Chelmsford footpath is set to get twelve CCTV cameras to address safety concerns, particularly for women and girls. 

 

The Bunny Walks area, which connects Springfield and Broomfield, is notorious for its history of assaults and violence. 

 

Thanks to a £550,000 government funding from the Home Office's Safer Streets Fund, the local council is able to install twelve CCTV cameras along the path that runs through the council-owned Chelmer Valley nature reserve. 

 

Councillor Rose Moore, Chelmsford City Council cabinet member for Greener and Safer Chelmsford, said: “Heart of Knowledge Exchange (SHoKE) is one of 16 projects which Chelmsford City Council and our partners are supporting to make the city centre and Bunny Walks safer for all, particularly women and girls.

 

“Arguably, education is the most important strand of the Safer Streets initiative. If we’re to achieve our ambition for a world free of harassment and abuse, we must engage with young people who may be developing unhealthy sexual attitudes and help them understand how their behavior affects others. I look forward to seeing how ARU students address this vital element through the SHoKE project.”

 

Public protection manager at Chelmsford City Council Spencer Clarke said: “Any cameras installed in the vicinity of residential premises will have digital masking to ensure that privacy is maintained.

 

“The funding for these cameras is via a successful bid to the Home Office Safer Streets Fund Round 3 and the full project will include other initiatives to improve the public safety and customer experience of the area such as improved volunteering opportunities in the nature reserve, the production of an interactive progressive web app and nature trail, detached youth work and improved lighting.”