Thursday 3rd October 2024
Tur Langton is one of those charming little villages where the residents pay their taxes, but which I have not visited officially before. So I thought I’d have breakfast there on my Harborough Community Day.
Then it was on to Market Harborough itself to learn more about a new system being introduced there so shops can share intelligence and information on key offenders. This will allow shop staff to be on the lookout and keep one another informed. The information could also be used by the police for potential prosecutions of sorts or the council by way of civil procedures.
I met Cllr Jim Knight and the council staff involved by the fish stall in the covered market. By chance the owner of the stall is the mother of a police officer, so we had a little chat. Cllr Knight and I then moved around the stalls to learn about issues regarding theft and anti-social behaviour and how the new system would help. Everyone seemed pleased and enthusiastic for the new system. I’ll be back in a few months to see how it has settled down.
Next, I headed to the village of Welham. I chose this place because I’ve never had a letter, email nor phone call from anyone who lives here. So, I thought I’d come and have a look for myself. I stopped at the pub and chatted to the landlady, then knocked on every door in the village. I caught a few people in. There were not serious problems to report, but at least the good residents have had the chance to talk to me.
Husbands Bosworth was next. I’ve had a lot of communications from this village about road safety on the A4304 that runs straight through. Traffic off the M1 speeds down the road, and all too often drivers don’t slow down when they enter the village. Sure enough I found plenty of people with a view on the subject – and one lady who had nearly been run down a few days earlier. I spoke to one kind gent who put a box of apples outside his front door as the trees in his back garden produced more than he could eat.
Moving on the Lutterworth I went for a patchwalk with beat Sergeant Jelbert. We met outside the new beat office. We couldn’t go inside as a member of the public was inside meeting with the PCSO. One of the key objectives of opening the new beat office was to provide a venue for such meetings. So the plan is working!
Sergeant Jelbert and I then set off to walk around the town centre. We chatted to shop staff, the man running the fruit and veg stall and dropped in on the Town Council. There had been a few instances of anti social behaviour recently – such as lighting campfires on the playground – but the police seemed to be admirably on top of the situation.
I finished my day in Lutterworth having a chat with the Revd Byard, the vicar of St Mary’s. He showed me some of the valuable community work being done by the church in the town and discussed how we could work together.
Rupert Matthews
Police & Crime Commissioner for Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland
Posted on Tuesday 15th October 2024