Meet the CCTV operators keeping Mansfield a safe place to live

But one team based in the town’s Civic Centre would beg to differ – the dedicated staff working behind the scenes in our CCTV control room.

Led by Jayne Davis, 51, the team of nine monitors more than 170 cameras across our district, liaising with Nottinghamshire Police to keep our area safe.

And while mostly handling incidents of anti-social behaviour, the team also deal with instances ranging from animal cruelty and drink driving, to kidnappings and incidents on our railways.

In the year to December 1, 2019, Jayne and her team dealt with 8,464 incidents across Mansfield, Woodhouse and Warsop – leading to the arrests of 940 people.

The team, who collectively have more than 200 years experience in the control room, work 24/7 to ensure the town is constantly monitored – with different aspects to look out for depending on the time of day.

When the Chad visited the team for a behind-the-scenes look, staff were hard at work handling a regular, anti-social culprit in the town centre – liaising with the police to get him removed from town.

But they handle a wide range of incidents, and their expertise is often relied upon when serious crimes are committed in our area.

“I can remember one night shift when I had been looking at a group dressed up in superhero costumes”, Jayne said.

“The following day I came back into the office and a colleague said we’d had CID in to look over the group, as it turned out the person wearing a Batman costume had killed Robin later on in the evening.

“They had gone back to a property together, had some kind of argument and he punched him – he then hit his head on a coffee table and died.

“When I was watching them it was all laughing and joking, lads having a good time, but clearly something had happened between then and the incident.

“The footage showed that it was clearly an accident as they were good friends, that the death was a mistake. And that’s why it can be important to have the CCTV.”

PROTECTING VULNERABLE PEOPLE

While dealing with serious crime and anti-social behaviour are their most common tasks, the team also handled more than 150 cases involving vulnerable or missing people last year.

Ranging from elderly people with dementia, to patients who had wandered from hospital, the team have to act fast and notify their partners to protect the peoples’ safety.

“You’d be surprised how many people wander out of King's Mill Hospital in a nightie and with a drip”, Jayne said.

“We’ve seen a lot of people wandering around in slippers, we get people with dementia walking into the bus station or a shop. I've seen elderly people walking around town in their pyjamas.

“In these instances we notify the police first and then try to get either a neighbourhood warden, or a BID ambassador, to make sure they’re okay.

“We’ve had a lot of success when protecting vulnerable and missing people through multi-agency work.”

But the control room doesn’t just protect vulnerable people during the day, with a big emphasis placed on supporting lone women following nights out in Mansfield’s nightclubs.

Jayne says that her team often use speakers on their cameras to warn off “heavy” males who approach often “intoxicated” women.

“I can say with absolute confidence that any lone female walking about alone at night in Mansfield is safe”, she said.

“It’s something all of us target – has she had too much to drink? Has she fallen out with her mates?

“They often take their shoes off, they’re all over the place and we've used speaker cameras to warn off males who are getting heavy with an intoxicated female.

“We will, if we think something potentially could happen, shout over the speaker to stop it from happening.

“Everyone should feel safe in Mansfield, there's no reason not to.”

HANDLING DIFFICULT SITUATIONS

The dedicated staff, while always working to prevent crimes, have to be prepared for all eventualities – and during the 52-week period had to manage 53 cases of actual or potential suicide.

Accounting for an average of one suicide case a week, Jayne and her team have to be “very responsible” and act quickly when they appear on their camera feeds.

Jayne says that the suicide cases often affect staff, but that they have to remain professional throughout to ensure the situation is handled correctly.

“Obviously these cases affect you, we’re human, but you almost have to treat it like you’re looking at a television – you can’t invest everything into it because you wouldn’t be able to do the job”, she said.

“You’ve got to keep something back and be professional, you have to think about potentially what evidence is needed, so you have to get on and do it.

“Unfortunately there’s no other way we can do it. We’re a full witness in these cases, and often we’ve sent footage over to coroner’s courts if someone did take their life.”

They also have to handle high-risk situations, including times where they think a potentially serious incident such as knife crime may take place.

Jayne recalled one instance where her staff intervened to prevent what could have been a fatal stabbing in the middle of town.

“One of my staff had kept a close eye on a man in the town, because he had noticed what appeared to be a knife up his sleeve”, she said.

“He could see that there was something boiling, and after a couple innocently walked past the man he tightened his hood and started moving.

“This is when he clicked into action. He contacted Nottinghamshire Police and alerted them to the incident, and within minutes they were there – where they stopped him minutes before something was about to happen.

“The officer, after arresting him, held up a massive knife to the camera. If we didn’t act, it could have been disastrous.”

‘DON’T BOTHER COMMITTING A CRIME, WE’RE WATCHING YOU’

With more than 170 cameras across the district, Jayne and her team have warned potential criminals that they “will get caught”.

The control room manager says that, because of the hard work and experience of her team, Mansfield is “categorically a safe place” to live.

“To anyone who wants to commit a crime in Mansfield – don’t bother”, she added. “We’ve got 170 cameras, don’t come to Mansfield to commit a crime – you’ll be seen, you’ll be spotted and you will get caught, I promise.

“There’s a lot of power and responsibility that comes with the job, and at particular moments where there might not be immediate police response, CCTV is your best friend.

“We look at clothing, facials, trainers, tattoos, so if the police can’t get someone we’ve got the images, and the description, to help with an investigation.

“All our guys are fully committed and trained, they all know what they’re doing, and Mansfield is categorically a safe place – a safer place because of us and the CCTV.”