Police in Bristol have confirmed they did suggest a school install secret wildlife cameras to catch a man vandalising a controversial fence around their playing fields - but only if the school already had clear signs telling people there were cameras in use.
Avon and Somerset police have finally spoken out about the row over the hidden cameras between residents living around the Stoke Lodge playing fields in Stoke Bishop, and Cotham School - and said they only suggested using hidden cameras 'on the basis there was already overt CCTV in operation and signs to make the public aware'.
There were no signs warning the public that hidden cameras were in use at that part of the playing fields, but the cameras did their job, and recorded one man, who has not been named, repeatedly damaging the school playing field fence. He then received a caution for criminal damage after the school took the video evidence to the police. He wasn't technically arrested, just interviewed and cautioned by police.
Read more: Bristol school installed covert cameras in ongoing row over fence
But the statement from Avon and Somerset Police raises further questions of Cotham School and how they went about installing the hidden cameras, which were reported by Bristol Live on October 5, when we were the first to reveal how the We Love Stoke Lodge campaign group discovered the cameras hidden in an electricity junction box on the green space.
The Stoke Lodge playing fields have been something of a battleground for more than a decade between local residents and Cotham School, which erected a fence around much of the open space in 2019 to create a secure playing field for its students - much to the fury of local residents.
That fence kept on being damaged, so Bristol Live revealed how the school said it installed two covert cameras in January this year to catch whoever was doing the damage on camera. After the existence of the cameras was exposed on October 5, Cotham School issued a statement, saying they had done so 'with the support of the police'.
After the presence of the cameras caused outrage among local residents, Cotham School's statement on October 5 said: "“In January 2022, we met with representatives of Avon and Somerset police following an influx of incidents and were advised to consider the use of covert CCTV monitoring to try and catch the perpetrators of these crimes. Avon and Somerset Police were highly supportive that we try to draw these ongoing issues to a close and suggested the use of either wildlife cameras or covert CCTV monitoring of the crime hotspots."
But now, Avon and Somerset police's statement appears at odds with Cotham School's version of events. A police spokesperson did confirm that a man received an out-of-court conditional caution in June this year following 'inquiries into criminal damage at the site between December 2021 and February 2022'. The police spokesperson clarified that he was never technically arrested, as the school had claimed.
But it is the nature of the advice given about setting up the covert camera that differs from the statement given by the school. The police said they did advise the school to consider installing CCTV cameras, with all the relevant signage informing the public of their presence. And in a further conversation between the local police and the school, the possibility of covert cameras was raised.
"We have worked with Cotham School over a period of time due to a significant number of reports of criminal damage and antisocial behaviour at the Stoke Lodge Playing Fields," the police statement said. "As part of our ongoing conversations with staff at the school, we provided information around possible security measures they could consider and crime prevention advice.
"Recently, the school in a statement made refence to the use of covert camera technology citing advice reportedly given by Avon and Somerset Police. We fully understand the community's concern and have subsequently spent a significant amount of time reviewing and analysing communication we have had with the school so we can be open and transparent with the public about our actions.
"In 2020 we advised the school considered the use of CCTV cameras to deter offenders from committing further crimes and to assist with identifying anyone responsible. Our records show we advised clear signs should be placed on fencing to make people aware cameras were in use," the police said.
In April 2020, more than a year after the fence was put up, Cotham School applied for planning permission to install a pole with a CCTV camera on it, much to the fury of local residents, who objected in their hundreds. The application is still yet to be decided by Bristol City Council, and no CCTV or pole has been erected. There are CCTV cameras in place around the adult learning centre building at Stoke Lodge and signs notifying people entering every gate into Stoke Lodge that CCTV cameras are in operation.
It now appears that, pending the go-ahead for obvious overt CCTV cameras covering the fence, the school then talked to the police about covert cameras. Avon and Somerset police said their advice that covert cameras could be used was done 'on the basis there was already overt CCTV in operation and signs to make the public aware'.
"Due to continued problems at the site, at the start of this year a PC and PCSO had a further conversation with school staff around the use of cameras," the police statement continued. "Within that discussion we did reference the potential use of wildlife cameras which could be used as a cost-effective way of supplementing the school's crime prevention efforts, on the basis there was already overt CCTV in operation and signs to make the public aware.
"It is the responsibility of the organisation operating the cameras to ensure they are compliant with the necessary regulations. We will continue to work with the local community and the school to try to alleviate the issues around criminal damage and antisocial behaviour. We'd ask people report incidents to police or contact the neighbourhood police team with any concerns they have," the statement added.
Bristol Live contacted Cotham School on October 5 about the cameras, and is yet to receive a response.
The saga of Cotham School and the fence inside the Stoke Lodge open space in Stoke Bishop dates back more than 12 years, and began when the council-owned land was given to Cotham School to use as a playing field on a 125 year lease. In January 2019, local residents tried and ultimately failed to physically stop Cotham School erecting a fence around most of the park, to enclose the area used as school playing fields, and since then a bitter battle over the fence and the status of the land has continued.
There have been claims and counter-claims, legal battles, appeals and applications to the council, and in the park itself - ongoing issues with the fence and the signs put up by the school being repeatedly damaged.
Read more: Stoke Lodge Playing Fields, a timeline
Dec 2018 - Hundreds protest on Stoke Lodge playing fields over fence plan
Dec 2018 - Playing field signs repeatedly damaged
Dec 2018 - School told to take down ‘offensive’ sign
Dec 2018 - Eight year legal battle has cost school £100,000 in legal fees
Jan 2019 - Local residents physically stop contractors erecting fence
Jan 2019 - Mayor Marvin Rees says he ‘doesn’t have the power’ to stop fence
Mar 2019 - Fence around playing fields is completed
Apr 2020 - Damage to Stoke Lodge fence will cost "thousands of pounds" to fix
Mar 2021 - Inspector recommends Town Green applications are rejected
Follow the latest updates on this story and others like it here.
