Surrey Heath Borough Council, Driving improvements in Camberley town centre in partnership with Surrey Police and Collectively Camberley
Camberley town centre is a safe place that benefits from a great variety of excellent restaurants pubs, leisure facilities, a theatre and a nightclub which draw people to the town in the evenings to enjoy a wonderful night out with family and friends.
This is overwhelmingly positive as this supports these evening businesses and creates vibrancy. However this evening activity can occasionally lead to incidents of antisocial behaviour which need to be addressed promptly.
Following reports of anti-social behaviour (ASB) incidents in 2022 a dispersal order was put on the town by Surrey Police. This took place over the Christmas period and ended in January after a significant improvement was seen – in January 2023 there has been a decrease of 19% of incidents compared to last year.
Surrey Police Borough Commander for Surrey Heath, Inspector Matt Walton said;
“Although we are very pleased that behaviour has improved in Camberley, the dispersal order will be reintroduced if required and I will be ensuring continued evening town centre patrols on Friday and Saturday to help maintain public safety.
Please speak to venue staff if you have concerns if someone or something is making you feel unsafe. Always call 999 in an emergency or if it is not an emergency then please use our online reporting system via our page https://www.surrey.police.uk/contact-us/report-online/(link is external) or via a personal message to any of our social media pages. You can also use the Street Safe app https://www.police.uk/pu/notices/streetsafe/street-safe/(link is external) as this allows you to report anonymously if you aren’t able to report directly to the police who normally require your details.”
Councillor Shaun Garrett, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Economic Development and Transformation added;
“Keeping Camberley a safe place for everyone during the day and evenings is obviously very important.
The town centre is fortunate to be visited by people of all ages enjoying the great range of venues and entertainment and SHBC will continue to work in partnership with establishments, Surrey Police and Collectively Camberley to ensure we are doing all we can to ensure the town centre remains peaceful and welcoming.
The recent improvements to the High Street, Knoll Road and Princess Way have brought much improved street lighting which has helped to reduce incidences of crime and violent in the evenings.”
Collectively Camberley (Business Improvement District) have introduced various initiatives in Camberley venues to keep people safe.
Jodie McAndrew, BID Manager said;
“We will continue to work with the town centre night-time economy businesses and the local Policing team to ensure that these campaigns are fully supported and ongoing. All partners are asking visitors be sure to look out for information when in any of the included venues and be sure to report any incidents or suspicious behaviour to venue staff and the Police.”
- StopTopps. StopTopps are versatile drink-protectors that have been designed to deter drink spikers. They are foil stickers that are suitable for any drinking vessel commonly found in pubs and clubs, including cans, bottles and glasses. Customers can request a StopTopp and easily place this over their drink to make them feel safer.
- Drink Testing Kits. Venues can hand these out to customers whenever someone believes that their drink may have been tampered with. They are simple to use and very effective to combat drink spiking. Customers test a droplet of their drink on the small test card and it will reveal whether the liquid is safe to drink or not.
- Keeping Camberley Safe Posters. These posters have been placed around the venue to ensure that customers are aware of what the business has in place to help support a safer experience.
- Ask For Angela scheme. This national scheme is designed to support anyone who feels unsafe, vulnerable or threatened when out, encouraging them to discreetly seek help by approaching a member of staff and asking them for ‘Angela’. Rolled out across venues in Camberley, this code-phrase should indicate to staff that the customer requires help with their situation and staff should then look to assist them.
- Radio Link Scheme – Camberley Together Against Crime. The radio scheme connects businesses to local security teams and CCTV operators as well as Surrey Police and PCSOs. The scheme allows local businesses to communicate across the town to prevent local crime and disruption and have proved a great success over the years.
For more information please visit:
Collectively Camberley – https://www.collectivelycamberley.co.uk/(link is external) (link is external)
StopTopps – https://stoptopps.com/ (link is external) (link is external)
Drink Test Kits – https://www.checkyourdrink.co.uk/ (link is external) (link is external)
Ask for Angela – https://www.safersounds.org.uk/a4a-resources(link is external) (link is external)
Drink Aware – https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/staying-safe-while-drinking/drink-sp…(link is external) (link is external)