Horsham District Monthly Update - What we did in August!
Serving Sussex - how we will deliver policing to Horsham District - is broken down into three pillars; namely Keeping People Safe, Neighbourhood Policing and Best Use of Resources. To reflect this my update will be structured alongside the three key themes supporting each pillar.
Keeping People Safe
Catching criminals -
A male Crawley offender was charged with 3 burglary dwellings following gate arrest by PCT.
Two males appeared in court in relation to the burglary at Roffey and subsequent sale of the loot in Crawley. One pleaded guilty to the burglary before the jury was sworn and was been sentenced to 15 months custody. The second male pleaded guilty to handling and 3 fraud offences and will be sentenced in one month’s time.
Cutting crime -
PC Nat Stoner issued a youth caution to an offender who committed the arson in Bennett’s Field. The youth also completed a day with the council in the holidays picking up litter/dealing with any graffiti etc and will be attending a Firebreak course. The youth’s friends have also taken on board the severity of the caution received which demonstrates we are serious at dealing with issues arising and will not tolerate any untoward behaviour.
Dealing with critical incidents -
A fatal road traffic collision occurred on the A24 at Ashington. A large ISU Traffic Management vehicle was stationary for the purpose of collecting in cones and signs, one of the workers emerged from the works vehicle and was struck by a vehicle passing in the outside lane. The workman sadly died as a result of his injuries at the scene.
Neighbourhood Policing
Being Visible and Accessible -
I am pleased to welcome to our Team:-
PCSO Chandler, PCSO Griffey and PCSO Dunning - Training has commenced at HQ and they will be on district by the end of October.
PC Katy Bonner and PC Stuart Clough who will be joining us as NRT Probationers on 23rd September.
Hazel Fraser, NPT Co-ordinator who commenced her role on 1st August.
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Four NRT officers were assaulted during an arrest of a male and his girlfriend. I am pleased to report that all officers are fine and that both offenders were arrested for affray and assault.
Providing a Quality Response -
Street Drinkers (Op Aden)
A lot of work has been carried out in the last month with regard to the group of street drinkers in the town centre, focusing particularly on the impact being caused to businesses in the Bishopric and the churches in the vicinity. There has been a directed patrol activity in place.
Over recent weeks there has also appeared to be an increase in the street drinkers fighting amongst themselves.
PCSO’s HULL and ANDERSON have been regularly patrolling the area, and ensuring serials are created when complaints are made, ensuring details are taken of people drinking and causing issues of ASB. PC Munden and PC Algar have issued Section 27 notices when possible. PS Macnab has been collating the number of CADs/Complaints received over a 3 month period this year compared to the same period in 2012 as part of the problem profile. Currently we have had 105 compared to 32 last year.
As a result of this a number of multi-agency meetings have taken place with Neil Worth and Greg Charman from the Community Safety Partnership, Kirsty Lindgren from the ASB team, PS Macnab, PC Munden and PCSO Hull along with two district councillors to discuss a proposed DPPO (Designated Public Place Order). In addition, we are currently applying for a Dispersal Order for the Town Centre which will help alleviate this issue.
A formal e-mail of thanks was sent to PCSO Hull and PCSO Anderson from Horsham Unitarian Church to thank them for their efforts in solving the problem of vagrancy and drinking in their church gardens… ‘I would like to stress our gratitude for your high, and highly successful, standard of policing…..’
Working With Communities -
Crack House Closure and ASBI
On Thursday 1 August 2013, members of Horsham NPT, Horsham District Council Anti-Social Behaviour Team, the registered social landlord, London & Quadrant attended Brighton Magistrates' Court seeking a Closure Order under the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 for 71 Sough Holmes Road, Roffey. This was occupied by a male tenant. A Closure Order allows a premises to be closed by a court for a period of up to three months, denying access to any person for the duration of the Order and therefore providing immediate relief from the problems to the local community.
This was the culmination of a number of weeks of intense partnership work by these agencies as a result of a marked increase in crime and disorder, including the use and supply of Class A drugs, on the South Holmes Road Estate centred around a particular premises. The address in question had become a focal point for crime on the estate and was regularly being used by individuals to use heroin. There was also a large Affray in April involving machetes and several people have been charged and will attend court shortly. This included the tenant. On a number of occasions disorder erupted from the address and, it is fair to say that the evidence that was put before the Court was enough to convince the tenant not to contest the Closure Order. Instead he offered to leave the property voluntarily and the Magistrates' made a Consent Order to this effect. The Court directed that he leave the property no later than 6pm that evening, from which time the property was secured. In addition to this the tenant is appeared before Horsham County Court the following day where London & Quadrant obtained an injunction (ASBI) to prevent him returning to the estate.
Work on the South Holmes Road Estate remains ongoing and there are a number of other individuals and addresses that we are gathering evidence for similar action where appropriate.
This is the first time in Horsham District that the legislation has been used to close a residential premises in this way and sends a very clear message to the community that we will not tolerate this type of behaviour, that we will take their complaints seriously and will use all of the powers available to us to deal with crime and anti-social behaviour.
Best Use of Resources
With Motivated and Capable People -
PSCO Harriet Evans carried out reassurance checks to elderly victims living at Three Acres and Ridgehurst Drive who had been targeted by bogus phone calls stating that they are coming around to check the loft. On both occasions no one turned up at the address after they had received the calls. PCSO Evans will monitor and visit in the future to continue to check their welfare.
Horsham District Council's Neighbourhood Warden Team has just been successfully re-accredited under the Sussex Police Community Safety Accreditation Scheme (CSAS), for a further three years.
The wardens play an important part in improving community safety by tackling anti-social behaviour, and have been granted five additional powers under the CSAS to help then carry out this work. These are:
- Power to stop cycles when accredited person has reason to believe that a person has committed the offence of riding on a footpath
- Power to require the name and address of a person whom an accredited person has reason to believe has committed a relevant offence
- Power to require name and address of a person acting in an anti-social manner
- Power to require persons aged under 18 to surrender alcohol and to dispose of any alcohol surrendered
- Power to seize tobacco from a person aged under 16 and to dispose of it
Being Productive and Effective -
Shop watch currently has 16 offenders that have been circulated to relevant stores and up loaded to the shop watch website. PC Munden and PCSO Hull are producing a ‘Permanent’ Shop Watch list of offenders and a secondary list that will be amended each month. The current document has been well received by security at Wilkinson, Beales, TK Maxx and Swan Walk Security in particular.
