CCTV at Kirkwall Travel Centre will aid police in latest vandalism

Kirkwall Police are using CCTV installed at the Kirkwall Travel Centre to assist in catching the culprits responsible for damaging seating within the centre recently.

Police say they are in the process of downloading and viewing the footage which shows two seats being deliberately damaged on Friday afternoon (4 June).

The Council had closed the Travel Centre at the start of September 2020 following a spate of nuisance and unacceptable behaviour by groups of youths congregating at the area over a period of several months. This included inappropriate and abusive language and disrespect to genuine users of the facility, a failure to respect the wearing of masks when required, littering and the verbal abuse of a member of staff.

A CCTV system was installed within the centre in November in a bid to stamp out the anti-social behaviour which had plagued the facility.

Four cameras monitor the bus waiting area – two placed within the facility and two externally – at an installed cost of around £1,750, excluding ongoing maintenance and operational costs.

OIC Transportation Manager Laura Cromarty said the latest act of vandalism was caught on camera.

“While it was unfortunate that we had to install the CCTV in the first place, we are hopeful now that it will enable the Police to identify the vandals and lead to prosecution. This may act as a deterrent to others.

“Additional chairs were purchased last year under the Town Centre Fund to provide comfortable seating for the travel centre area. These are priority seats for elderly and disabled passengers. The seating was cut in a number of places last Friday when a number of youths were using the area.

“We have asked the Police to monitor this area more closely on a Friday afternoon if possible. However, if anti-social behaviour of this type continues, we may be forced to close the doors at times, such as a Friday afternoon, which appears to be problematic.”