29th September 2009
29th September 2009, Insp Johnny Monks
Hello,
My name is Johnny Monks and I am your local Police Commander. This is my monthly opportunity to update you on crime trends, anti social behavior and Police/Community news.
It has been a whirlwind first eight months since I started here in February getting to know Rutland's community and hearing what high regard the community have for the police and local authority, a recent independent survey evidenced the fact that the majority of Rutland residents have confidence that the police and local authority are successfully dealing with local concerns of crime and ASB.
Burglaries are Down, we have only had forty-nine throughout whole county:
I am also delighted to inform you that Rutland's burglaries are down. During the first six months April-Sept 08 Rutland had sixty two domestic burglaries however this year: April-Sept 09 we have only had forty-nine in the same period. This is a twenty one percent reduction in Burglaries, excellent news. Importantly for my officers and I reducing burglaries down to forty-nine, means there has been thirteen less victims of burglaries, therefore thirteen less homes have been broken into and that is a very rewarding fact. Reducing crime means fewer victims and Rutland's policing team is doing everything they can to achieve this by bringing criminals to justice, locking criminals up and patrolling in the right places at the right time to disrupt and prevent crime.
My community initiative coordinator Karen Thompson would like to announce that she has the latest shed and padlock alarms. (I have seen and heard Karen testing these and they are very good!). These are being offered for sale at a reduced price to Rutland residents. She would be delighted in receiving your phone calls to buy these crime prevention units on 01162 222222 ext 4760 or voice mail 01162485675 id 7396 or email karen.thompson@leicestershire.pnn.police.uk
Anti Social Behavior (ASB) is also down
I hold a joint action group (JAG) meeting every two weeks, this meeting focuses on local concerns identified in the previous two weeks and how to resolve ASB issues, the JAG also identifies possible emerging ASB issues within Rutland.
Over recent months the JAG group has successfully reduced ASB within many communities.
Anti-social behaviour in Rutland has dropped during the summer months, thanks to a combined campaign by police and partner agencies.
The 'Safer Summer' campaign saw a wide range of tactics and initiatives used to tackle anti-social behaviour specific to neighbourhoods, including seventeen police and trading standards test purchases, within Oakham and Uppingham towns and rural villages.
Last month we had good and bad news for our local off licenses:-
Positive news for Oakham and Uppingham towns, in that all ten test purchases done at off licenses passed by refusing to sell to a minor. Unfortunately this is not replicated out in our rural villages, six out of the seven test purchases failed and sold alcohol to a minor. These six off licenses have now been issued a £80 fixed penalty ticket and informed that this conduct will not be tolerated in the future. I will have no hesitation in seeking revocation of their licenses if they fail future test purchases.
Other tactics included:
Youth awareness / school visits prior to the end of term, including Bluetooth messages sent to young people
Weeks of action and targeted enforcement operations linked to neighbourhood problem profiles
Managing problematic families
Management of the night time economy to promote safer and responsible drinking
The Safer Summer campaign was developed following analysis of seasonal trends which concluded that the months of June, July and August, traditionally see notable increase in anti-social behaviour reported across Rutland. I remain positive that Rutland's joint action group (JAG) in partnership working with the police our community and local authority by pooling resources and ideas we will reduce ASB.
Reducing ASB in October:
During the school break in October and leading up to Halloween we have historically had numerous calls from members of the public regarding children causing ASB, I would continue to requests that genuine concerns of ASB being caused should be called into the police, however may I suggest that on occasions there is a need to be more tolerant and many calls to the police are not ASB but just a perception of ASB. I have had to record numerous calls as ASB where children are gathering together on street corners or on park benches doing nothing more than socializing and certainly not committing ASB. Most of the young adults I have come into contact in Rutland are very polite and respectful. So to re emphasize there may be a need for us all to spread the word (my email community contacts, police and partners) that ASB is very low in Rutland and to re-educate some of our friends and neighbours to be a little more tolerant towards our young community when they are gathered together.
Robberies
There has still not been a single robbery on our streets in over eighteen months since March 2008. This is great news and evidences the fact that the streets of Rutland are truly safe place to live and work.
Community/Police News
It gives me great pleasure to tell you about an incident last week in which a disabled woman has praised Rutland police officers in the local papers after they came to her rescue when her wheel chair broke losing one of her wheels.
Marjorie Odell 66 years of Derwent Drive Oakham was fund raising for air ambulance when her wheel chair broke near to Tesco's in Oakham. The ambulance and fire brigade could not help her, so her husband called in at Oakham police station. One of my Sergeants Helen Lodge and PC Mark Barlow said they would be glad to help, both officers assisting Marjorie in getting home safely in a new wheel chair. Both officers have received my praise and a personal reward for providing an excellent service.
I hope you agree with me that the way these two police officers helped Marjorie is a fine example of the level of service that is expected and provided by the police in Rutland. I believe policing is not all about arresting criminals and dealing with emergency incidents, we are also here to help and provide a service to our community and this is a fine example of that service.
Also during this month I have held Leicestershire and Rutland's first ever 'Street Briefing'. This was held at Lyddington on the village green on Friday 25th September. Thirty one residents came to meet their local South Rutland beat team, listening to local successes in crime reduction and ask questions of my policing of Rutland. It really was a good meeting which I now intend to repeat 'Street Briefings' around the county.
If you wish to meet your Neighbourhood Policing Team then please feel free to drop into any of the surgeries which are regularly held. You can find the details above by clicking on the "Meet Us" tab on your local neighbourhood pages. To view previous months' updates click on the archive links at the top right of this page.
Inspector Johnny Monks
Rutland Local Policing Commander
