The site in the city’s Broughton Lane has been awarded the coveted Park Mark certificate for the fifth time. Park Mark is a national initiative run by the Association of Chief Police Officers as part of its Safer Parking Scheme to reduce crime and the fear of crime at parking facilities.
The award – which is managed by the British Parking Association (BPA) – is granted only after a stringent police inspection is carried out to ensure key measures are in place that render a given car park as safe as it can possibly be for use by members of the general public.
Round-the-clock CCTV monitoring
For customers of Valley Centertainment, the Park Mark sign means that the area has been vetted by the police and has measures in place to create a safe environment.
At Valley Centertainment, members of a dedicated security team monitor CCTV camera images 24-hours per day (a process covered in detail during one of our Panasonic Premier Integrator features concerning this particular scheme) and regularly patrol the car park.
Inspector Stewart Edwards of the South Yorkshire Police officially presented Valley Centertainment’s manager Mike Jeffries with the Park Mark Award. Jeffries told SMT Online: “We’re delighted to have won the Park Mark Award for a fifth time. The award, which is granted only after a stringent police inspection, is well earned recognition of the hard work put in by our security team and the measures we use, such as CCTV, to monitor the park day and night.”
Jeffries also pointed out: “Having Park Mark status gives our customers the confidence of knowing that they and their cars are as safe as possible, which is vital if people are to relax in a leisure environment.”
Going from strength to strength
Phil Taylor, the area development officer for the Safer Parking Scheme, explained: “Valley Centertainment should be congratulated for its efforts to reduce crime and the fear of crime, which is what Park Mark is designed to recognise. The leisure park has been very successful in helping to keep crime in the car park at almost zero over the last 12 months.”
Taylor outlined that the Park Mark Award is “going from strength to strength”, and is now bestowed upon 3,900 car parks across the UK.
