Sandwell cemeteries to get CCTV after thieves target mourners
CCTV cameras will be installed at Sandwell cemeteries after mourners were targeted by thieves.
The move comes after reports of bags being snatched from people visiting to tend graves at Fallings Heath Cemetery in Wednesbury.
Bereaved families raised concerns with Sandwell Council and called on bosses to improve security.
The scheme is set to cost £40,000 and will see cameras installed at Fallings Heath, Heath Lane Cemetery in West Bromwich, Tipton Cemetery in Tipton and Oldbury Cemetery in Smethwick.
Deputy council leader Syeda Khatun said: “This is another example of the council listening to its residents and responding.
“The council recognizes the importance families place on a service such as the bereavement service and as such supports ongoing investment in what can already be described as excellent facilities.”
Over the moon
Some remembrance sites in the borough already have CCTV.
Councillor Peter Hughes, who chairs the local authority’s scrutiny board, revealed that two incidents of bag-snatching had taken place at Fallings Heath Cemetery.
He said police ‘caught the person and are going through the process’.
The site, on Beebee Road, will be the first to have CCTV installed.
Councillor Hughes added: “As local ward councillors we welcome this move.
“We are over the moon that Fallings Park will be first before all the others. It was that cemetery that brought the concerns to our attention in the first place.
“The scheme will address some real concerns we had in relation to security.”
A Council spokesman said work to install CCTV will start at Falling Heath Cemetery ‘in the next few months’.
Investment
Mark Satchwell, registration services manager at the local authority, said: “In response to a number of requests from bereaved families the council will be commencing a roll-out of CCTV across its cemeteries.
“Recent investment in its crematoria has seen the introduction of CCTV at those sites.
“Similar investment will now be made at a number of it cemeteries to ensure those families who choose burial have a similar level of service from the council.”
There are eight cemeteries across the borough.
