ANPR

Protect Cockfosters from Crime – support our community ANPR

Making Cockfosters as safe as possible

Cockfosters is increasingly being targeted by organised crime rather than general opportunists. This results in burglaries, car crime/theft, drug dealing, anti-social behaviour, speeding etc. Most of this crime comes into the area in vehicles.

Whether you are a resident or a business, crime affects you. Together we can help the Police to help us.

The Police can’t be everywhere all of the time and to deter, detect and prosecute criminals the Police need hard evidence such as pictures and videos from CCTV.

Our community ANPR

ANPR cameras (Automatic Number Plate Recognition)/CCTV cameras improve police detection rates and deter criminals from coming into our area. We know this technology has helped Hadley Wood, with criminals being caught and successfully prosecuted using ANPR/CCTV evidence.

The more we can deter, detect and arrest, the better we can reduce the local crime rate.

Our local Police Safer Neighbourhood Team for Cockfosters Ward has worked with Hadley Wood Security, CLARA and other stakeholders on plans to increase crime prevention in Cockfosters. These plans draw on experience from Hadley Wood and are initially focused on that part of Cockfosters lying within the London Borough of Enfield.

Our goal is to instal as many camera sites as possible.

ANPR/CCTV cameras are not cheap, and there is no funding available from either the Police or the Council.

We are therefore supporting the Safer Neighbourhood Team to raise funds across households and businesses in Cockfosters for our community ANPR/CCTV scheme.

The cameras initially started with the outer border of Cockfosters as far as Cat Hill down to Hadley Wood.Additional cameras can be installed as sufficient funds are raised. Further phases will widen the area and increase protection

Hadley Wood Security (a community group of residents) kick-started the campaign by donating the funds for the first two ANPR/CCTV sites in Cockfosters. We continue to work closely Hadley Wood Security on policing and crime.

Click here for a map of the area the scheme will cover and FAQs

How you can help – donate to our ANPR fund

The average cost of an ANPR installation is £3,000 and the initial phase was for 10 sites. However, the scheme should not be limited to just these 10 sites and so there is no proposed cap to the amount we want to raise. Please give what you can afford.

There are two ways of donating:

• Directly into the specific bank account held for ‘Cockfosters ANPR’. Simply email cockfosterscameras@gmail.com for further information and bank details.

• Via the gofundme page: https://www.gofundme.com/f/4ncjn

The money donated on this page will be transferred to the ‘Cockfosters ANPR’ bank account after the gofundme fee is deducted (typically 2.9% plus 25p per transaction). This route was set up as because some people prefer donating through a recognised funding platform.

Unfortunately, the Police/local councils don’t have the funds to instal them, so they need to engage the community for direct support.

Who’s running the scheme?

The cameras will be managed and accessed by the Neighbourhood Police team and their coordinators.

Hadley Wood Security acts as the fundholder and releases funds as they become available for camera purchase and installation on the advice of the Police and NHW team. It has set up a dedicated bank account and together with our Local Policing Team will provide full transparency and audit of the funds spent.

Where will the cameras go?

The cameras are strategically placed on roads that are entry and exit points into Cockfosters. They have created a 'ring of steel' around Cockfosters so that when a vehicle comes into the area it has virtually no way of passing in or out without going past an ANPR/CCTV camera.

You don’t have to have a camera on every road, it’s about placing them at strategic points. 

If criminals know this system is in place, it should deter them from coming here in the first place, our primary goal.

Note that the cameras are located anonymously and inconspicuously to avoid detection/damage. The Police will not provide any mapping or location evidence of these.