On 29 June I spent one of my regular Community Days in the Blaby Council area. My meetings with councillors, residents, organisations and businesses threw up a number of issues, which I have been chasing up since.
In Braunstone, Cllr Amanda Hack asked why the beat officer changes so often and without warning?
The local police commander told that while they endeavour to maintain a consistent beat team, changes are an inevitable part of policing with various aspects coming into play including promotion, career changes and retirement. There is also a need to maintain staffing levels and experience across all 11 beats in the Neighbourhood Policing Area, which on occasion means that policing personnel will change.
A follow up question was what process is followed for the outgoing beat officer to pass on the highly valuable information he has learned to the incoming beat officer.
I was told that each policing area has a handover document with relevant information, pertinent to that particular beat team. This allows for a smooth transition of knowledge. In addition, when staffing changes are made, a handover period is included allowing the incoming officer to receive a handover from their predecessor.
It was also noted that on occasion it can take a long time for 101 calls to be answered and it was said that sometimes there is never any feedback.
This is a complex issue, which I am still pursuing. However, there are other mechanisms for reporting non-emergency incidents, including online via www.leics.police.uk.
I was told that “Night prowlers” are an issue in Braunstone Town. Apparently a group of teenagers go around at night trying front doors and car doors.
I was told that all reports of burglaries and vehicle crime, including attempts, are monitored by the policing area and reviewed on a daily and on a weekly basis to ensure crime hotspots are recognised and responded to. However, there does not seem to be a consistent pattern in incidents reported to the police. I would encourage the public to be report all such incidents at the time they take place so that an appropriate response is achieved by the police. Even if the incidents are reported after the event this will assist local police is building intelligence and identifying vulnerable areas. As ever, if a crime is in progress, dial 999. But it is more appropriate to report online via www.leics.police.uk if reporting an incident in the past.
I was also told that parks in the area [Especially Thorpe Astley Park LE3 3RU & Mossdale Meadows LE3 2TW] suffer from anti-social behaviour [ASB], scramble bikes and other nuisance.
The local policing team are fully sighted on this issue and are committed to reducing this demand. It is not an issue confined to Braunstone Town and Thorpe Astley but is recognised across multiple policing beats. The beat team continue to work with the Blaby District Council ASB team to problem solve this issue. Due to the better weather now upon us, park spaces feature on the local patrol plans for the upcoming summer period.
While in Gilly’s Café, I got chatting to a lady who told me that car crime in the area around Watergate Lane, Braunstone Town has been on the rise recently, especially cars broken into for things to be stolen.
I was told that this may have been the case in the past, but that there have been no reported vehicle crime offences recorded in the proximity of Watergate Lane. In the month prior to that, there were two offences of vehicle crime. There is no current information to suggest this area being a hotspot for vehicle crime, however the concerns have been fed back to the beat supervisor.
I then went out with the local Wombles litter picking team in the Meridian Industrial Estate area. It was an enjoyable and productive hour which produced several sacks of litter – plus one or two much larger items dumped by the roadside. If you want to help control litter in the area, get in touch with the Wombles via their Facebook page. They’d love to have you help out. https://www.facebook.com/groups/604107836721038/
One issue that they brought up was what they should do when they find some more unusual items such as driving licenses, vehicle number plates or knives. The advice I received would hold true for anyone who finds such items. Basically, driving licenses should be returned directly to the DVLA, unless circumstances suggest they are part of a wider crime. Number plates and knives are worth flagging to the police. This can be completed via 101, reporting online or taking into a local police station.
After this I went to a meeting with Glenfield Parish Council, where several issues were raised with me. This included:
Pavement parking. Several streets in Glenfield were built with gardens set back at the corners to allow good sightlines for drivers emerging from a side road. This resulted in wide pavements. However, on several corners the wide pavements are now occupied by parked vehicles which block the sightlines and make pulling out an issue.
The following extract is taken directly from Leicestershire County Council: The parking of vehicles on the pavement or any parking that is considered to be dangerous or that causes an obstruction to the safe and effective use of the highway, is an offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988. Such instances should be reported to the police on their non-emergency number 101. The vehicle(s) must be causing a very real and unnecessary obstruction in order for any action to be taken.
Beat office. The parish council provides the beat time with an office, free of charge. However, when the beat team recently held a surgery in Glenfield they chose to hold it elsewhere. The parish council is wondering why this was so.
Beat surgeries are utilised to capture the thoughts/ opinions of an entire community. It is recognised that different locations within the community attract differing amounts of footfall at different times. The alternative venue selected would have been adopted to broaden the scope/ reach of the beat team and potentially capture the thoughts/ opinions of a community that they had previously not engaged with.
Speeding traffic. This is an issue in Station Road and Elm Tree Avenue. The parish council would like to know what is being done.
Road safety issues are one of the priorities for the local beat team. These are often a work-in-progress with updates highlighted via the main website (www.leics.police.uk), social media (@BlabyPolice), Neighbourhood Link and within the monthly newsletter. These locations have been provided to the beat supervisor who will disseminate the information with the local policing team for further consideration/ action.
Beat Surgeries. Could details of future beat surgeries be given to the parish council in advance so that they can publicise them through their regular magazine, delivered to every letterbox in the parish?
The beat team have a responsibility to advertise future beat surgeries as a minimum, three months in advance. These are often highlighted via the main website (www.leics.police.uk), social media (@BlabyPolice), Neighbourhood Link and within the monthly newsletter. As part of the future contact between the beat team and the parish council, I will encourage these discussions to take place.
