On 1 Sep 2010 at 3:23pm Down and Out wrote:
I'm sure it's dumb of me not to have noticed before but I was just coming down Lansdown Place and noticed the CCTV camera on the tall pole on the corner, and then saw the one at the top of Station Street. No idea how long they've been there.
Given that Lewes is a violent hotbed of street crime and urban deprivation I'm sure we all need Plod watching us all the time, but I just wondered how many cameras there are in town. So where else have you seen them?
On 1 Sep 2010 at 3:31pm 'ere be monsters wrote:
They've been there for years. Much used bonfire night!!
On 1 Sep 2010 at 3:55pm top man wrote:
also cctv camera by boots
On 1 Sep 2010 at 4:11pm jonnyboy wrote:
and one opposite Argos
On 1 Sep 2010 at 4:34pm Clifford wrote:
Come on, be fair. Do you really expect the police to come out on the streets when it's much nicer to sit in the station watching a screen in between talking about what a big pension you're going to get when you retire in early middle age? The average police retirement age in England is 51.
On 1 Sep 2010 at 4:41pm kevsy wrote:
Big local news headlines about job losses at Kent Police. Just bring their pensions in line with the rest of us and all their savings will be delivered and some...
On 1 Sep 2010 at 7:57pm Matt Kent wrote:
Maybe someone should think about putting a CCTV camera in the Malling Skate Park to discourage kids from drinking underage, 'skinning up' unusually fragrant tobacco and just generally using it as a massive dust bin!
Then again the police generally don't enforce much around Lewes. People still speed and drink publicly and hardly anything is ever done. Has anyone ever seen someone being stopped for drinking on the streets of Lewes considering it is meant to be an 'alcohol free' town? In a town that brews some of the worlds finest beer. Cheers - Matt
On 1 Sep 2010 at 8:09pm Clifford wrote:
Terrible thing to say Matt, I know, but I don't see anything wrong with young people drinking and skinning up. I used to do it, maybe you used to do it. We have to draw the line about behaviour somewhere; but we also have to let young people have a long leash so they can learn and grow up by developing their own experience.
On 2 Sep 2010 at 7:31am Matt Kent wrote:
Clifford, i'm wondering if you have kids of your own, and also wonder if you think it is acceptable that underage drinking, smoking baccy or weed and littering is generally acceptable these days. These days, its not experimentation, its 'the norm', and some groups of school kids are notoriously getting drunk and being antisocial. Oh, and love swimming in Pells pond.
I look forward to letting my 2 and 3 year olds off their 'long leash' in the future. Cheers - Matt
On 2 Sep 2010 at 7:52am Clifford wrote:
Yes, and my kids went through that phase of pushing at the barriers, as i did. What really amuses me is that you link drinking, smoking and littering altogether as equal evils.
On 2 Sep 2010 at 12:56pm Down and Out wrote:
Is this personal opinion or Green Party social policy? Apparently:
"The lives and liberties of individuals, groups and society as a whole must be protected within a law-based system which strives for justice, including social and economic justice, and fairness. We therefore believe that it is necessary for society to define certain forms of harmful behaviour as crimes, but that the list of crimes should be kept as short as possible."
On 2 Sep 2010 at 1:20pm TAFKAPS wrote:
Why are the kids that hang out by the skatepark such a disgrace to the human race? They litter the place like it's going out of fashion, they leave it disgusting. About 30 of them were sat on the bank there last night surounded by litter. Daren't say anything as the horrible little urchins would pronbably end up giving me a beating or some verbal I can live without, and before BB says anything, yes i was young once, and i used to skate but i never went in for competitive littering as they do. The police should patrol down there and actually enforce some laws. The kids of this town are lawless oiks who's parents clearly don't give a toss where little Johnny and Tarquin are!
On 2 Sep 2010 at 1:54pm QOTSA wrote:
Harsh but fair. It is a state round by the malling fields
On 2 Sep 2010 at 3:15pm Brixtonbelle wrote:
Actually tafkaps I agree with you about the litter, it's bad. What's worse is that I have stood and seen several adults outside Tesco throw their rubbish - cans, food wrappers, receipts etc down without even looking for a bin (not that there was one nearby) on the riverside path. No wonder their offspring follow their example.
On 2 Sep 2010 at 3:51pm williamdyer wrote:
We need a (real) camera down at the Pell's - the noise, damage and mess left by the feral cretins that come down most nights is a pain in the a*se. The pool is frequently raided and damaged/burgled, and I've lost count of the wing mirrors lying on the ground.
I too was a noisy youth once though although as this wasn't in Lewes I assume it doesn't count towards this discussion.
On 2 Sep 2010 at 5:56pm Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:
I misspent much of my youth drinking cheap wine and smoking spliffs in a bus shelter with my mates, but we never went in for vandalism or littering.
I blame the parents tbh - we were brought up to use bins or take it home and bin it, and it never would have occurred to me to smash something up for the sake of it.
On 2 Sep 2010 at 6:49pm jrsussex wrote:
Returning to the original post, the really stupid thing about CCTV cameras is that more often than not defence barristers managed to get them thrown out as evidence on various grounds. In particular those on licensed premises where the police and licensing authorities insist on them but when produced to the police they themselves invariably say they cannot use them as they may not be considered reliable evidence. Total waste of considerable amounts of money
On 3 Sep 2010 at 11:15am Independent thinker wrote:
I've got mixed feelings about CCTV everywhere, but to be fair, I was a juror on a murder trial where CCTV was a key part of the evidence and helped secure a conviction. It's possible I just happened to be part of the only trial where it's done any good, but somehow I doubt it.
On 3 Sep 2010 at 11:41am sashimi wrote:
Good grief, is everyone in this thread a cumudgeonly old fogey. You can find parchments with monks complaining that the 12th century youth of toady are out of control. Give these kids a break. There is little enough for them to do in this town and if all they do is leave a bit of litter and smoke a bit of weed, so what? Maybe like President Clinton they don't inhale.
On 3 Sep 2010 at 11:52am wiliamdyer wrote:
@sashimi - exactly how many car mirrors should they be permitted to smash? what percentage of the working week can they disrupt by screaming abuse at each other from midnight to 3am? how many toddlers can be cut by smashed bottles?
I don't really care what drugs they take, as long as they can handle their high. Current evidence suggests otherwise.
On 3 Sep 2010 at 12:00pm stan wrote:
I saw someone empty their car of rubbish in the gutter outside our house. I challenged them and got a mouthful in return. Does that make me an old fogey£ It is about respect for your fellow citizens and ownership of your own behaviour.
On 3 Sep 2010 at 12:26pm QOTSA wrote:
Sashimi have you seen the amount of litter they leave behind, it's vast! I only wish they'd leave it in your garden then you'd mind. It's people like you that are responsible for the kids of today being badly brought up with no manners and no respect for people or property. Well done!!!!!!!!!
On 3 Sep 2010 at 1:05pm Down and Out wrote:
stan - The number of times I've seen that happen beggars belief. Not long ago I saw the woman in the passenger seat of a car with kids on board open the door just by the Volly and empty no end of plastic bottles and other crap into the road.
Trouble with the skate park is that it becomes learnt behaviour. Once you reach a 'tipping point' (ho ho) kids who would normally stick their litter in a bin, or take it home, start to follow the example set by a few of their peers. It needs a bit of a blitz and a clean-up, a few signs, and it'll probably get quite a bit better. Since Tesco supply a good 99% of the litter down there, it would be public-spirited of them to offer to help, but I won't hold out much hope. It would help, of course, if LDC emptied the bins more than once every 15 years. I can't remember ever seeing the bins on the Precinct anything other than overflowing, and then it's inevitable that litter blows around the street.
On 4 Sep 2010 at 11:35am Matt Kent wrote:
Down and Out. If you walk past the skate park, you'll might see that the bins are NEVER full. They simply aren't used. A private sector groundsman is down there every morning clearing up. I'm sure its costs a significant amount of money to keep litter picking every day. It galls me to say, but its not Tesco's fault that people couldn't give a monkeys about dropping litter along Jenners Way and beyond. There simply are no consequences for doing it. However the Precinct is a disgrace. I've asked for more bins from LDC, and recycling ones in the past. The simple reply is 'Cost'! Cheers - Matt