Derry community safety schemes facing cuts

Derry's CCTV and community safety warden schemes could be scaled back as PSNI won't provide its part of the funding for either scheme due to cuts to its budget.

The schemes are managed by the region's Policing and Community Safety Partnership (PCSP) which receives funding from a range of contributors.

Most of the funding for the PCSP comes from the Department for Justice with councils, PSNI and Department for Communities also chipping in.

It had been expected that the PSNI would provide £50k to each scheme.

PCSP Chair Darren Guy said they face a battle to try and plug that funding gap from elsewhere.

“We're going to have to search now to retrieve that money from some other source or rather than making cuts, maybe looking at not doing [maintenance] work that needed done on the CCTV equipment this year and putting it off until next year,” he said.

“I don't think any of the jobs of the people who man the cameras will be in question.

“The wardens are okay for now but as the year progresses we may have to look at some options. Hopefully, nothing will come of that and we'll be able to get funding and keep all the wardens in place.”

The CCTV system in Derry has about 85 cameras placed around the city and the council currently employs about 12 community safety wardens.

Mr Guy said the PCSP is planning to write to the policing board and the Assistant Chief Constable to outline just how important they believe it is to the city.

“CCTV is a lifeline to this area. It has saved many lives over the last number of years with mental health being a huge issue in this town and high suicide rates. It has made it possible to get help to people where - had there been no cameras there - we might have been looking at another person taking their own life.

“We actually recently ordered the setup of wardens in the sperrins-castlederg area so they're working really well up there and we would hate to have to cut that service back again.”

CCTV is unanimously supported by councillors according to Mr Guy and they are determined to keep it up and running it to the highest calibre they can afford.

However, it is difficult to plan anything too far ahead this year without a working government in the North.

“Everywhere is working in quarters this year. Unfortunately that's the way all bodies are working because Stormont is down and the government has issued a really bad budget here in Northern Ireland.”

PSNI was contacted for comment.

PSNI chief operating officer Pamela McCreedy recently told the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee the PSNI’s allocation from the Department of Justice was down £12m on last year.

“Combined with rising costs and pay inflation, we are now facing a substantial funding gap of around £107m,” she said.