On Friday I went to Anstey to meet with Cllr Deborah Taylor and Cllr Paul Baines. We met in the Nook Corner Café where we had a fine full English breakfast, served with aplomb by the café’s owner Sharon.
After brekkie, I had a chat with Sharon about crime and policing in Anstey. She told me that anti-social behaviour and minor crime were the major problems. “The CCTV outside the shops seems to have made a difference,” she said. “And I’ve installed two cameras in here. One covers the till area. It is there to deter any crime by people walking in, but mostly it is there for the protection of the staff. And the other is round the back,” she pointed to the rear of the café. “We found that people going to the toilets were swiping stuff from our displays. Jam mostly for some reason. But the new camera we put in stopped all that.”
So crime prevention measures can make a real difference? I asked. She agreed.
“You’d better come with me,” chipped in Deborah. She led me out of the café and round the back to the car park. She stopped by a brick structure, which I quickly realised were public toilets.
“These toilets are run by the parish council,” explained Deborarh, “and they’ve been vandalised twice in the past few months. The parish council claimed on insurance and got them repaired, but it’s not right.” I noted that the council had taken steps to stop vandalism. The drainpipe had been boxed in to stop people climbing up and the roof was securely covered with metal sheeting.
“The problem is,” she explained, “that this car park is quiet and dark once you get into the evening. Youths come round here to chat and socialise. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but they do chuck their chip wrappers around. A bit of a nuisance to clear them up all the time. But the real problem is that this area attracts those with nothing to do but cause trouble. What we need is some CCTV here, or a patrol every now and then. Not all the time but just enough to disrupt the troublemakers.”
“Yes,” agreed Paul. “But there’s more. Come on.” I followed Paul back to Cropston Road. We’ve got a real problem with speeding traffic here. Especially with quad bikes and bikes. Getting the mobile speeding camera here would help, but what I really want to see is the Community Speed Watch Scheme get up and running properly again.”
I could not agree more. Along with Neighbourhood Watch, Speed Watch can make a real difference to a community. There is much that local residents and workers can do. But it needs leadership to make a real difference and show the volunteers that their work is really appreciated. That is where a Police and Crime Commissioner can come in.
We then went into the Anstey Shoe Repairs and Engravers shop to meet with Steve, the business owner. He'd not had any problems in the shop, he said, but he did see crime going on. He too thinks that having more CCTV around the village would be great.
Back outside, Deborah had one final point to make. This time about the very same QD Shop. “That store stood empty for ages,” she said. It was covered in posters and was a real eyesore. Attracted rubbish and gave the whole street a run down air. We councillors put a lot of effort into getting a new tenant. We spent a lot of time talking to the letting agent and other interested parties. Finally we got QD here. It’s made a real difference.”
And so it has. The bright frontage looks smart, while the increased footfall cannot help but improve security and safety. Miscreants don’t like passersby who might see what they are up to. Deborah and Paul are to be congratulated on the hard work they are putting in to improve life for the residents of Anstey. Just think what they could do with the help of a supportive Police and Crime Commissioner!
