Women's safety help point installed in city centre

A 24-hour CCTV emergency help point has been installed in Nottingham city centre to help enhance public safety.

The column, which allows anyone in distress to speak directly to city council CCTV control room operators at the touch of a button, has been put up in Angel Row.

Nottinghamshire police and crime commissioner Gary Godden approved the £20,000 funding after more than 3,600 people responded to the Walk In My Shoes survey, which asked women and girls where they wanted extra security.

Bev Turner, from Tara's Angels - an organisation set up in memory of Tara Newbold, who was killed in 2016 - said the help point was "a start".

The 4m (13ft) tall, help point has a rotatable CCTV camera at the top and an intercom.

Control room operators will be able to capture evidence, give guidance or call the police.

Angela Kandola, the deputy police and crime Commissioner said the new help point could "save lives".

"Tackling violence against women and girls is very, very broad and we have to start somewhere," she said.

"If someone is in dire stress and they are in a critical condition, they've got a help point here.

"There will be other initiatives we will be working on but this is the first step."

While saying the help point was particularly important for women and girls, Kandola emphasised it could be used by anyone who needs it.

The survey was supported by Tara's Angels which is a non-profit and voluntary organisation founded in memory of Tara Newbold, a 29-year-old mother from West Bridgford who died following a domestic assault in 2016.

Her aunt Bev Turner said: "It's very limited to that area which is wonderful because from the statistics in survey it does say that was an area where women and girls felt unsafe.

"But feeling scared as a woman or girl on your own doesn't just limit to that area.

"It's not foolproof but I hope it will make a difference. Women and girls are being listened to and that is a massive start.

"We need to be listening all the time and not just a survey every now now and again.

"We need whatever preventative measures can be put in place."

Supt Heather Maelor, a force lead for Violence Against Women and Girls, said the button was another option to get help.

"Violence against women and girls is significantly under reported and one of the reasons for that is for that is people don't want to bother the police or they don't think it's an offence because of how prevalent it is", she said.

"We hear about following, stalking, unwanted comments and cat calling which isn't something people would always call the police for, whereas a push button to an operator feels much more accessible."

She added that she was "not concerned at all" about potential vandalism or misuse of the button.

The force launched its Walk in My Shoes campaign at the end of March 2025 to find out the areas where women and girls felt unsafe.

Five key locations were identified across the city and county, with Angel Row being one of the places where women and girls wanted extra security.

People in Nottingham said they thought the new help point was a good idea.

Katie Mason, 33, said: "Especially on nights out it's important to have somewhere to go rather than feeling like you're on your own."

Eloise Pegg, 22, who recently graduated in Nottingham, said: "It's a good idea and it's in a central place.

"The only thing people might be concerned about is what the parameters are for pressing the button - people might not want to waste resources."

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