A growing concern for authorities across the UK is how to clamp down on underage drinking and general youth nuisance, particularly during the school holidays, when boredom can lead some individuals to drift towards anti-social behaviour and petty crime, which can have a detrimental impact on their lives and that of the whole community.
As a result of an escalation in this type of behaviour we are starting to see multi-agency Safer Neighbourhood Teams turning to high profile CCTV equipped patrol vehicles to address this problem in a way that is proportional, acts as a visible deterrent, makes the best use of available resources and, most importantly, actually reassures the local community that real action is being taken on the ground.
Such vehicles - which feature low light CCTV cameras, on-board monitors, digital recording and increasingly microphones - allow the effective management and integration of police officers, support officers and other team members tasked with community policing and the gathering of vital evidence. Being mobile, they can be readily positioned close to potential hot spots as an overt deterrent - in full view of potential offenders - and rapidly redeployed to other incidents should the need arise.
A typical situation could involve the monitoring of a field adjacent to housing where a large group of youths are drinking alcohol and being disruptive. Rather than simply sending community support officers into the field to confiscate the drinks - which could cause the culprits to scatter and cause more problems - it is now possible to manage the situation and using the zoom capability of the roof mounted camera to take targeted action against the ring leaders. The presence of a vehicle can also help to deter criminal damage when youths are dispersing and the microphone capability is invaluable in confirming the identity of individuals.
