Door staff could wear bodycams (From Witney Gazette)

Door staff could wear bodycams

7:00am Saturday 2nd May 2009

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Police plan to train door staff in West Oxfordshire to wear body-worn video cameras in a bid to cut down on alcohol-related violent crime and disorder.

Police Community Support Officers in West Oxfordshire already regularly use the equipment which police say acts a deterrent to violent behaviour and also provides evidence for use in court.

‘West Oxfordshire Nightsafe’ involves close working between the Safer Communities Partnership and local licensees to focus on safety and responsible drinking in the night-time economy has been re-launched.

Licensees are invited to join the scheme by signing up to a charter which includes running responsible drinks promotions and ensuring staff are trained on managing alcohol misuse.

Each Witney town centre premise is also provided with a radio that links members to each other and the CCTV control room at the police station.

The re-launch was held to refresh the scheme and widen it out to include late-night restaurants, takeaways and local taxi companies.

Attendees were given presentations on the existing scheme, violent crime and crime reduction, drugs awareness and licensing issues.

Membership packs included premises or taxi stickers to display, the charter, posters and leaflets. Door staff are encouraged to wear high visibility clothing making it easier for people to see who they can go to for help.

Sgt Dave Bishop, of the Witney Neighbourhood Team, said: “Over 60 licensed premises previously signed up to Nightsafe and we now have a dedicated Nightsafe Sergeant who will ensure there is long term resourcing for the night-time economy.

“I am pleased to say that there has been a nine per cent drop in violent crime so far this year compared to 2007/08.

"Criminal damage is often alcohol-related and while there was a 42 per cent increase in vehicles being vandalised last year this has dropped by 25 per cent in the first quarter of this year.

"We are not complacent though and will continue to work on reducing this number of incidents further.”

Jill Dunsmore, cabinet member with responsibility for communities, said: “The turnout for the re-launch was excellent and increased participation in the Nightsafe scheme will raise its awareness to residents and visitors, which can only be a positive move with the predicted increase in footfall when the Marriott’s Close development opens in Witney later this year.

“Nightsafe operates across the district so we encourage all licensed premises to sign up and help us ensure that people have a safe and enjoyable evening out in our towns.”

Many initiatives have been introduced under Nightsafe which include:

• The use of Spikeys - stoppers which go into bottled drinks so that they cannot be spiked. Over 13,000 were distributedto licensed premises
• Displaying posters that promote responsible drinking and anti-drugs messages
• The ‘Wasted Nights’ and ‘Too Wasted’ DVDs - packages used in secondary schools to educate pupils about the consequences of excessive alcohol, covering criminal damage, the effect on communities and personal safety
• The use of polycarbonate glasses – some premises have voluntarily chosen to use this almost unbreakable plastic rather than glass.

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