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Islington Council unveils crime fighting on-street service

22 January 2007

iPlus kiosk equipped with 24-hour help button, VoIP and CCTV launched to tackled crime hotspot - pilot proved a success in Christmas mugging

Monday, 22nd January 2007 - Islington Council and Cityspace, the UK 's leading provider of urban digital networks, have installed a new generation iPlus 'Help Point' information kiosk in Holloway, which goes live on 24 January 2006.

The first of its kind in London and the South East, the kiosk is fitted with a help button which allows the user to speak to staff in the council's 24-hour CCTV control room using VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). When the button is pressed, CCTV staff are alerted to focus the cameras on the kiosk. They can immediately see what's happening and can talk to users via the internet to get more details before deciding the right course of action. The help point demonstrates how the council is harnessing cutting edge technology to help fight crime in Islington.

Cllr Marisha Ray, Islington Council's Executive Member for Community Safety, said: "We are excited by this kiosk, which offers help on a level not available anywhere else in London - the potential for future development is great.

"Our staff will do everything possible to assist anyone who uses the help point - this may include notifying the police or transferring images to the police monitor so they can quickly view the scene.

"Crime in Islington is falling and we remain committed to doing everything necessary to help it to continue to fall. We hope that the help point will be a reassuring presence to help people feel safer, especially vulnerable people, whilst acting as a deterrent for criminals."

While the kiosk was still being tested, three women used it on 24 December 2006. They called for help alleging that they were robbed of their mobile phones by a man on a bus. The women had contacted the police earlier but were not able to say where they were. As soon as they used the help point, council CCTV staff immediately contacted the police who met them within a couple of minutes.

Marc Meyohas, Cityspace Chief Executive, said: "Once again Islington Council is pioneering new technologies to provide the community with valuable information and services. We believe that tackling crime is of growing concern to local authorities and Islington's help point initiative will inspire others to consider such innovative on-street security solutions. It's a pleasure to work with such a progressive local authority."

Islington Council is not new to technological innovation; last year saw the expansion of the 'Technology Mile', taking it from The Angel down to Highbury Corner and along Holloway Road, making it the largest municipal wireless broadband network in London. The network provides residents with free internet access as well as access to information about council services.

In addition, Islington was an early pioneer of iPlus Points, with a network of eight kiosks in the borough - they offer residents a simple way of getting information on local council services, at the point of need - particularly those who may not have access to a computer or the internet at home. The kiosks have easy to use, touch screen navigation.

As with the iPlus network, the new Holloway help point allows users to access to internet based services, send and receive emails, find out about council services and look at and print off street maps. Residents and visitors in Islington can use the kiosks and the wireless network free of charge, 24x7.

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