a) Parish Councils and Community groups
b) Community Policing – local issues and priorities
In attendance:
Inspector Pete Sparrow and PC Matt Holland and the Police and Crime Commissioner will also be in attendance.
Minutes:
Parish Councils and Community groups:
Questions:
· With regards to the Area Board security camera used to detect fly tipping, how often is it used, and had anyone been prosecuted over the last 6 months. Did the Board have any statistics, and who sets it up?
Answer: The camera was in constant use in a particular hotspot, 2 arrests had been made quite recently and were being pursued. One small problem was that a court order must be acquired before the camera could be positioned in a new location. There were similar hotspots in many areas, across southern Wiltshire. The Board was keen to see the camera in constant use.
· With regards to flytipping, in Alderbury, we had a couple of large heaps left, and one resident went through and found 3 pieces of evidence, which was then taken away by a Police Officer. We were later told that the person identified in the evidence, could not be traced as they had moved.
· Was there an update on the absence of salt this winter and having it delivered rather than parishes having to collect supplies in cars?
Answer: Salt would be available from the Highpost and we are working on getting salt bins filled up. A letter would be sent out to parishes shortly informing them of the new system.
Community Policing Team
A written update was circulated at the meeting and attached to the minutes.
Inspector John Hutchings and Police and Crime Commissioner Angus Macpherson were in attendance.
There had been a series of attempted burglaries in the South of late, a suspect had been identified and an arrest made, we hope to be in a position to give a proper update at the next Area Board.
Visibility remained a key focus, it was paramount that Officers were out in the communities where possible. Where there were community events if you contact us we will do our best to have an Officer attend where possible.
This time of year, we see an increase in the level of hare coursing in the rural areas. This was something the force was trying to get a grip of, across the whole of the county.
We have 40 Special Constables on the books at present, with the South of the county being the busiest area for our Specials’ activity. These Officers have put in 2329 hrs which equated to £22k saved as a result of that volunteer activity.
Community Speedwatch was regularly supported by Police
Questions:
· Alderbury – We still have not seen our PCSO since he first came. When we had Tina she would try and attend a Parish Council meeting, or she would often just pop in, she was seen to be around. We have not seen our current PCSO.
Answer: You have got one, he is there and he does work on your patch.
· Winterslow – We invited the new PCSO to come to our Parish Council meeting, but he did not attend.
Answer: Unfortunately attending Parish Council meetings has been put on the back burner, staffing issues have meant that we have been under pressure. You will be getting a better service with regards to visibility.
· Winterslow – Could your dog handler, who lives in the village exercise his dog in uniform?
Answer: Lovely idea but not possible.
· The PCC Angus Macpherson noted that he was in attendance to hear how the local teams were interacting with the Parishes and the Area Board. It had been a very troubling time for Wiltshire Police especially in the South of the county. Good to hear about the support the Specials are giving to the provision of cover for the county.
Answer: The Chairman noted that the main issue was the lack of visibility, however the Area Board has a good level of communication with our local Policing Team.
· Could Tina be asked how she managed to get around to us all on the same hours, and how could that good practice be copied?
· Cllr Devine – A couple of years ago there was an outbreak of rural crime and there was not much patrolling at the time. This was at a time when we had rural Police stations in operation. Now we have Salisbury Police station only, we do not see the Officers in the rural locations from one month to the next. The criminals are not stupid, they will pick up on the areas with no Police presence.
Answer: I hear what you are saying, most of our resources at 2am on a Saturday are focused around Salisbury, if we draw our Officers away to rural areas, this could result in an incident where we do not have the Officers where we need them during incidents of crime and disorder. It was a fact of life that we do not have the luxury of having the Community Bobby on your doorstop.
To contact Inspector Hutchings: John.hutchings@wiltshire.police.pnn