Councillors concerned after a sharp rise in vandalism and anti social behaviour are looking at increasing the number of CCTV cameras and calling on residents to report all incidents.

Members of Bedale Town Council are considering installing a new camera costing £3,000 covering the town’s park with an extra £850 for monitoring fees after a spate of incidents including vandals setting fire to part of the playground.

They are hoping crime prevention experts from the police can help, but there is mounting concern that not enough reports are being made to demonstrate how serious the problem is. They are asking people to call 101 but also to fill out an online form https://www.police.uk/pu/contact-the-police/report-a-crime-incident/

If it is an emergency, people should call 999.

Mayor councillor Amanda Coates said she did not see how the police did not have enough reports of issues as she had put in six one weekend.

She added: “And I was not the only one that weekend. It is a poorly designed system. We have to encourage people to report it, to get a camera in there we need the information.

“People think the police monitor (social media page) grumbler but they don’t. I understand the frustration, I have sat on the phone for 20 minutes trying to get through to 101, it was an absolute nightmare.

"But then the call handlers have to put up with stupid calls, how these people maintain their composure when they get some of these callers I don’t know, people phoning up because they can’t get a taxi, it is true and it happens more often than you would think. Staffing is also a complete nightmare, everyone is low on staff.”

Councillor Pamela Hallett said people are frustrated with ringing 101 and getting nothing and people not answering the phones.

Cllr Coates said the police had advised that any new camera would need to be further into the park, but there was no electricity and it would need to be on a high pole.

Councillor Andrew Hallett said it would be beneficial to have a look round the CCTV control room to see how it ran and how the cameras operated and monitored.

Councillor Mike Barningham said the police were struggling to solve anything and getting evidence was one of the main problems, but a person was more of a deterrent than a camera.