Agenda item

Verbal Updates

To receive any verbal updates from representatives, with an opportunity to ask questions:

·       Neighbourhood Policing Team – Inspector Tina Osborn

·       Dorset & Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service (DWFRS) - Station Manager Warren Hathaway

·       Parish Councils and Community groups

Written Updates

The Board is asked to note the following written and online updates attached to the agenda:

·       Neighbourhood Police Team

The Board noted the written updates attached to the agenda and received the following verbal updates:

Police & Crime Commissioner (PCC) – Philip Wilkinson OBE  

Since in role as PCC Philip had introduced significant changes to the force which had included a new Chief Constable, a deputy and a Chief of Corporate Services and a revised chain of command. In addition, resources had been realigned and there had been improvements in all of the priority crime areas identified through consultation.

Other areas of work included:

·       The creation of Operation Scorpion, a multi force initiative to target all aspects of the drug trade.

·       Disruption to County Lines, with Wiltshire rated as the top force.

·       Improvements in tackling knife crime and violence against women and girls.

·       Policing Teams engaging more proactively to tackle antisocial behaviour, driven by the drug trade.

·       Improved speeding statistics, with over 14,000 speed enforcement sanctions last year.

·       Updated Police & Crime Plan to include additional support for rural crime and retail crime and shoplifting.

Questions and comments included:

·       The Community Speedwatch (CSW) group in Alderbury had a percentage of 8% of speeders, which may be because the group carried out multiple shifts. The parish would like to have a dedicated device it could use more frequently, but currently had to share a device with another area and therefore could not carry out as many shifts as it would like.  Could this be arranged?

Answer: CSW was one of the first things the PCC invigorated when elected in post. Data from the devices could now be collated and run through the ANPR system to try and identify hot spots and persistent offenders. The PCC agreed to look into the request and feedback to Alderbury CSW in due course.

·       A recent CSW volunteer had found the website not to be especially user friendly when registering for the training course and had not been able to confirm when the next available course was, or if he was booked as an attendee.

Answer: This was the first time that this issue had been raised. The PCC agreed to take the matter back for discussion with the Road Safety Officer, to see what could be done.

·       Winterslow PC – There was an issue with a location on the edge of Wiltshire, bordering Hampshire at the Lopcome settlement. Residents raised concerns regarding speeding, WC installed a speed radar system and after one week the average speed at this section of the A343 was noted as being 57mph. Did Wiltshire work in collaboration with neighbouring Police forces in regard to road safety?

Answer: Yes, in Wiltshire there are lots of roads which cross the border, so we do work with neighbouring forces to tackle road safety issues. The PCC asked the matter to be emailed to his office so he could raise it with the Road Safety Officer.

Neighbourhood Police Team – Inspector Tina Osborn

Inspector Osborn reported that the summer period had not been as busy as was anticipated, which enabled the team to carry out additional proactive work across the wider southern and Salisbury areas.

A targeted operation was carried out in Wilton on County Lines properties, where 5 arrests were made. An investigation was ongoing, and weapons, drugs, money and phones had been ceased.

A bike operation was also carried out, targeting off road bikes riding antisocially and causing danger to other road users. Working with a Wiltshire Council Section 59 warning notice, some signs had been produced and erected in hotspot areas, which acted as a first stage warning, enabling officers to use their powers to cease a vehicle and prosecute the rider.

The Southern Area was subject to rural crime and work was ongoing which included rural proactive patrols in vulnerable locations which regularly got hit. A number of people and targeted vehicles we believed were associated with these crimes had been stopped.

Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) signs regarding antisocial drinking had been put up in town and were already having a huge impact. A catapult PSPO had also been extended across the whole of Salisbury.

A recent series of distraction burglaries had taken place, with one in  Bishopdown, at a sheltered accommodation with someone pretending to check windows, gaining access to the accommodation and stealing cash. People were urged to be vigilant and to report any crime so that it could be investigated.

Other events included a bike marking and the Emergency Services weekend coming up in collaboration with the Fire Service.

The team went on a tour of the Southern Wiltshire community area during August and hoped to do it again soon. Inspector Osborn would circulate the locations and dates for visits in due course.  

Questions and comments included:

We had someone knock on the door a while ago, supposedly having been made redundant, he was going around with a bag of cleaning items for sale. Was this sort of thing legitimate?

Answer: These are people that are known as ‘Nottingham knockers’ they usually focus on a rural area and have a black holdall filled with cleaning supplies, which they then attempt to try and sell at your doorstep at high prices. They sometimes have a copy of a peddler’s license, which are not valid. We recommend that anyone encountering this should call us to check it out.

Clearly the PCPOs are starting to have an impact, it was great to see that the joined up working between the police and the council was achieving positive results.

Parish Councils & Community Groups

No updates this time.