Doorbell camera campaign adds protection for elderly and domestic abuse victims

Wiltshire Bobby Van Trust Director Jennie Shaw and Bobby Van operative Vincent Logue, who will be working with Neighbourhood Policing Teams

ELDERLY and vulnerable victims of crime and people at risk of domestic abuse will be given doorbell cameras by the Wiltshire Bobby Van Trust to help keep them safe in their homes.

The charity, which works with Wiltshire Police to protect over 60s and people aged 18 and over with a disability, wants to add the cameras to the range of security measures it provides in the wake of burglaries or to victims of domestic abuse.

Director Jennie Shaw said: “This technology is there to make people feel safer and we want to be able to give them that extra sense of security,” she said. “The future isn’t just locking the door, it is having the means of gathering evidence of a crime. Criminals carry out crimes because they think they won’t get caught.”

The charity has received funding for the project from parish councils in Corsham, Calne Without, Box, Malmesbury Without, Durnford, Devizes, Lyneham and Bradenstoke. It will be working with Neighbourhood Policing teams covering those areas to supply and fit the cameras free of charge to burglary victims and those at risk of domestic abuse they identify.

The project has also received £5,000 from the Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioner’s Action Fund, £5,000 from Wiltshire Community Foundation’s Older Peoples’ Fund and £6,500 from the South Cotswolds branch of insurer NFU Mutual from its Agency Giving Fund.

Doorbell cameras allow householders see and communicate with visitors via a smartphone or tablet, no matter where they are. They send alerts when someone approaches their door and often feature motion detection and night vision and store footage remotely to for potential evidence.

Recipients will need access to Wi-Fi and a smartphone and must agree to pay a £4.99 monthly subscription to the manufacturer, as well as allow the Bobby Van to review evidence of how they have used the cameras.

“We want to see how the cameras change behaviours, such as whether people approach their doorstep, see the cameras and leave,” said Mrs Shaw. “It’s really key for us to be able to demonstrate they are an effective deterrent so we can persuade more funders to back us.”

Bobby Van operative Vincent Logue, who spent 22 years with Wiltshire Police, will be working with the Neighbourhood Policing Teams. “He has a good relationship with them and it will allow us to identify people who really need this protection,” said Mrs Shaw.

The charity will also offer the doorbell cameras to the more than 1,500 people its three operatives visit each year. “We can supply and fit them for £120, which is cost price,” said Mrs Shaw. “They usually cost £180 to supply and fit from commercial retailers so that’s a considerable saving.

“We already offer key safes for just £85 to the people we visit, especially the elderly. The codes are obviously shared with carers and family but the advantage of getting the safes from us is that the codes are also kept by the police so that if an officer needs to get in in an emergency they can quickly call in to get it.”

She said the funding the charity has received has been essential to getting the project of the ground in February. “We are deeply grateful to the councils, the PCC, Wiltshire Community Foundation and NFU Mutual for their invaluable support, we could not do this without them,” she said. “I believe in my heart that technology is the way forward but it is not easy to convince people so I am delighted they have all backed this initiative.”