The weather forecast had promised a fine day, so it was a summer suit and sunglasses for me as I set out on my community day in North West Leicestershire.
I began in Coalville. After a cracking breakfast in the Coal Scuttle Café, I meet with Cllr Craig Smith in Marlborough Square. As I turned the corner off Belvoir Road I almost stopped in surprise. It had been some months since I’d been to Marlborough Square and the transformation was spectacular. Gone was the old tarmac and dingy benches, replaced by super smart stone paving and impressive seating.
Cllr Smith told me many people were impressed by the change. “It’s wonderful, isn’t it?” he said. “Part of the transformation of Coalville that the council is leading. This is going to be an outdoors venue for local events. We’ve already got a couple booked in for Haloween and Christmas. I’m really excited about it.”
Good stuff, but not why I was there.
Cllr Smith raised with me a number of issues affecting Coalville in general and his ward of Coalville North in particular. Anti-social behaviour [ASB] was high on the list, as was illegal or dangerous parking and shoplifting. I explained to Cllr Smith that crime was down over 7% compared to this time last year, although there had been an upturn in robbery and possession of weapons – see below for full figures.
Then I was off to Castle Donington to meet with PC James Martindale to go on a patchwalk around that small market town. We began at the new community centre, then headed up the hill to the town centre. PC Martindale told me that the town centre was not much bothered by serious crime, but that there was a fair bit of ASB and some minor shoplifting. We then strolled through a housing estate, where PC Martindale pointed out a house that had been burgled, and another where a car had been stolen before we reached Spittal Park and the skatepark, soon to be refurbished by the parish council. Back at the community centre we met with the parish clerk who told me how much she and her councillors appreciated the work done by the police.
Jasmine from the North West Leicestershire Community Partnership was also present. She told me about the work being done by the partnership to curb ASB across the council area. She ws particularly enthusiastic about youth projects designed to keep youngsters out of trouble. There was a scheme coming up in partnership with the National Forrest, plus a new CCTV project.
Of course, it is car cruising that generates the most correspondence for my office from you area. That is why I was so pleased to see the new Community Safety Protection Order [CSPO] signs that will be going up. Once they are displayed the police will be able to start enforcing the CSPO. I hope that this will curb the issue.
I was due to head to Thringstone next, but was running early so I stopped off in Belton. I knocked on a few doors and visited the village shop as well as chatting to passersby. Everyone agreed it was a lovely place to live and appreciated the work the police do. One lady praised the rural police, while another was concerned about street safety in central Coalville where he worked.
Moving on to Thringstone, I visited the primary school at the invitation of head teacher David Chapple. My office team have been working with the school and other local organisations as part of the People Zone project. Among other things they had been pointed in the direction of Community Payback, which provides free labour for community projects. The school had gained a “forest classroom”, with assorted equipment and a huge area of ground covered with woodchips, courtesy of a tree that had been felled.
The school also boasts a Mini Police troop. Mini Police is an innovative and fun police engagement programme, which is delivered in schools with the support of Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) from the local neighbourhood police team.
The aim of Mini Police is to provide school children in Year 5 (age 9 and 10) with a fun and interactive way to introduce children to a positive experience of policing and to get them involved in the local community.
I spoke to the children involved and they were unanimous in saying how much they enjoyed the project, while the teachers praised its educational angles.
I promised you the crime date, so here it is:-
The volume of offences within NW Leicestershire have seen a -13.2% decrease compared to the previous YTD. All Beats have seen a reduction: NN43 Breedon on the Hill (-14.7%), NN44 Coalville Town (-7.3%), NN45 Whitwick & Ibstock (-11.6%), NN46 Ashby de la Zouch (-12.6%), NN47 Measham (-24.4%) and NN48 East Mids Airport (-15.3%). Possession of Weapons Offences have however seen a slight increase compared to the previous YTD. Shoplifting offences have seen a +43.9% increase, aswell as Burglary Offences, up 10.5% compared to the previous YTD.
The Whitwick and Ibstock Beat has created the highest number of occurrences compared to all other beats within NW Leicestershire – that being said, all beats have experienced a significant reduction overall.
The majority of themes have seen a decrease compared to the previous YTD, however Rural Crime, serious violence and Firearm offences have seen increases.
Despite the reduction in the volume of crime, the positive outcome rate has also seen a decrease. The most significant decreases have been seen in Drug Offences, and Possession of Weapons Offences.
