03/09/12….Thame area Community Policing up-date

HERE is the latest Thame neighbourhood update from Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Lucy Thorne, PCSO Diane Jackson, PCSO Chris Hollis and PCSO Richard Howard.

Anti-social behaviour

During August we received numerous reports of ASB in the Queen Elizabeth Circle where young people were creating a noise nuisance. This area is on our patrol plan and will be monitored regularly.

We have been informed that visitors to the Queen Elizabeth Circle park area have been parking in Harrison Place and on occasion they have caused an obstruction to resident?s driveways. We would like to remind everyone to be considerate in their parking.

We have received complaints about anti-social use of vehicles through the town centre, mainly in the evening and at night. We have developed a good rapport with the young people in the town, and combine suitable advice regarding noise levels and gathering in public areas, together with enforcement where appropriate. We will continue to monitor this and should we identify vehicles and drivers causing vehicle related ASB, we will be issuing Section 59 warnings, which can lead to the seizure of vehicles constantly coming to note.

All of these community concerns continue to be addressed through our current patrol plan.

Offenders brought to justice

In August, 18 offenders were brought to justice for the following;

2 x drunk and disorderly
1 x assault without injury on a Police Officer
1 x theft not classified
2 x drug possession ? cannabis
8 x shoplifting
1 x harassment
1 x assault without injury
1 x drug possession ? excluding cannabis
1 x public order

Priorities

Our Local Priority for Thame is anti-social behaviour (ASB). To deter any ASB we conduct high visibility patrols in and around the town, engaging with members of the public and listening to local people?s community concerns/issues. Where problems are brought to our attention, we conduct home visits with parents present (if appropriate), issue warning letters and work with offenders to encourage them to move forward. As well as ASB warning letters we can also issue acceptable behaviour contracts (ABCs), anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs), Section 27 orders ? direction to leave locality, and Section 59 orders – contracts issued for using a vehicle in an anti-social manner.

Partnership activity

We continue to work with our partners, ensuring that we liaise on a regular basis with the schools on our sector to maintain our good rapport.

Non partnership activity

Following reports of people illegally occupying a premise in Thame, we have been working closely with the relevant agencies and local residents to reduce/deter criminal activity. The premise has now been secured and we are conducting regular site inspections to monitor the premise and surrounding area. We have also conducted reassurance patrols, which local residents have appreciated.

Planned activity

We have participated in the following operations during August:

Maginot – this operation continues to run, tackling travelling criminals entering and leaving our area.

Due to an increase in thefts from vehicles in the Thame area and surrounding villages, we have been deploying the Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) device at dedicated times and providing a highly visible police presence aimed at deterring and preventing offences taking place, offering reassurance and assisting in the capture and prosecution of offenders.

ANPR is a powerful tool that can help prevent crime by identifying flagged vehicles.

Benefits of ANPR

ANPR identifies suspect vehicles that may not normally attract police attention.
Unlicensed or uninsured vehicles are likely to be seized on the spot by ANPR equipped officers.
It can be used to gather intelligence on known criminals, and for running pro-active operations using dedicated Roads Policing intercept teams.
ANPR cameras are not safety cameras – they are not used by Thames Valley Police to catch speeding or otherwise law abiding motorists. ANPR cameras are not used to generate money for the Government or other agencies.

Magpie – this operation involves checking parked vehicles in local car parks for valuables left on display. We also conduct these checks on our general patrols.

Mangrove ? this operation has been set up as a result of fuel thefts from heavy goods vehicles in our area. This operation involves us carrying out static patrols in key areas at key times in marked vehicles.

Moonlight – this operation will be running continuously and is working to protect the night time economy of Thame town centre by preventing and detecting ASB/violent assaults and managing licensed premises. PCSOs are working with police officers to conduct high visibility patrols in the town centre and are liaising with the pubs, carrying out licence checks.