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Crime prevention a talking point in North Tyneside

Talking signs are set to spread crime prevention messages as part of a pilot project in North Tyneside. Eight solar-powered signs, which activate when people walk past them, are to be erected in Whitley Bay. The scheme will be piloted in the town for three months and, if it proves successful, more may be purchased for locations across the borough. Talking signs are already being used successfully in other parts of the country to deliver advice or warnings to a targeted audience in a specific area.

Sergeant Dave Foy, of Whitley Bay Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “We think this innovative scheme of talking signs will prove a useful tool in helping us deliver timely information to passers-by. “We can place these signs in a variety of locations at short notice to help us tackle local problems and remind people to take sensible crime prevention measures to keep themselves and their property safe.”

Cllr Eddie Darke, chairman of the North Tyneside Crime and Disorder Reduction and Misuse of Drugs Partnership, said: “North Tyneside is already an extremely safe place to live, work and visit. “This is the first time that signs such as these have been used in the borough. We believe that they could reduce crime and disorder even further, as well as providing added reassurance to the public.”

It is proposed that the talking signs will be used in a variety of ways, such as warning people about the dangers of purchasing alcohol for youths, and reminding motorists to remove valuable items from display when leaving their vehicles.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .