POLICE: HI-TECH SIGNS IN CITY

by John Roberts

Police are putting the word out on the streets in a new anti-crime move which could encourage shoppers to Buy It In Bradford.

New talking signs, aimed at keeping the city centre crime free, is another boost to the Telegraph & Argus campaign, which has the full support of the police.

The hi-tech signs - which speak to passers by with crime prevention information and specific crime witness appeals - have been put up at strategic points around the city centre.

Police hope that the keep crime free message will strike a chord with shoppers and continue to make Bradford a safer place for people to come and shop.

The Buy It In Bradford campaign has been given the full personal support of Inspector Steve Baker, who is head of the police's city centre beat team, which has dramatically cut crime in the last year.

The initiative has been launched to encourage shoppers to continue using the city centre as Bradford undergoes massive regeneration with the new retail development being built at Rawson Market and the creation of the Broadway complex.

Insp Baker's pledge that "if you come into Bradford to commit a crime, you will be seen, caught and arrested" is borne out by the latest crime figures.

They show that robberies in the city centre have plunged by 70 per cent, burglaries have been slashed by 55 per cent, vehicle crime has been cut by 68 per cent and shoplifting is down by 24 per cent.

The new talking sign initiative was launched this week as part of West Yorkshire Police's major Steer Clear campaign, which focuses on vehicle crime across the county and is run by the Target team.

The signs are fitted with tamper alarms and covered by CCTV, which has more than 100 cameras trained on the city's streets.

The signs, which have been introduced in Bradford for the first time, give shoppers spoken messages, such as "Do not leave valuables in your car, " as well as making the witness appeals.

Detective Chief Inspector Roger Gasson, of Bradford South Police, said: "The signs are an excellent way of getting crime prevention messages across at the right time. If, for example, you've just parked up your car, the signs give a timely reminder to make sure you haven't left any property on view.

"The signs are changeable, so if there is a specific type of crime occurring in a particular area, such as mobile phone theft, we can re-record the message to cover that. We will also be using them to appeal for information about specific incidents."

e-mail: john.roberts @bradford.newsquest.co.uk