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More CCTV cameras are to be installed in Canterbury's crime-hit Dane John Gardens in an effort to curb anti-social behaviour.
The park has long been seen as a hotspot for illicit activities, with a string of serious attacks in recent years making it a feared location for many people to walk through at night.
Now - as part of a £382,000 project aimed at bolstering safety in the city centre’s Westgate ward - seven extra cameras will be dotted around the gardens.
They will be connected to the council’s CCTV control room, which is staffed 24 hours a day.
The news comes in the same week that the council has reintroduced the night-time closure of the park’s access gates.
Cllr Ashley Clark, a former policeman, says the new cameras will “pay dividends for the people of this district” and provide much-needed safety in the city.
“The Dane John has not been without its problems,” he said.
“Improved CCTV coverage and image quality will help hugely in giving this location the respect it deserves.
“CCTV has proved itself a valuable tool in both prevention of crime and the provision of evidence to deal effectively with the thugs and wastrels that blight our public spaces and the lives of decent people.”
Police are planning on holding events over the summer to engage with communities and “identify every possible method of keeping Canterbury safe and free of anti-social behaviour”.
Inspector Guy Thompson said: “Kent Police is determined to ensure Canterbury remains a wonderful place for people to live and work in, and visit.
“CCTV is a useful tool, both in directing our response teams to scenes of ongoing incidents, and in aiding investigations into offences which have been reported to us.”
While the cameras are hoped to act as a deterrent and way of catching criminals in the act, the council hopes locking up the gardens at night will prevent crimes from taking place.
Five of the eight access gates are to be shut between 10pm and 4am on Friday and Saturday nights.
The trial began in 2019, yet was paused due to the pandemic.
Other initiatives that will be funded by the Home Office grant include digital upgrades to the CCTV system in Whitefriars and bike-marking kits to try to reduce thefts, and property-marking kits. There will also be giveaways of crime prevention products, such as phone cables and purse-dipping bells.
