Thursday 29th August 2024
Crime is down right across Melton Borough – every single Police Beat has seen crime fall over the past year. The average is around 7.3% less crime now than a year ago. The most welcome fall has been in retail theft, though some crime types have seen an increase – notably alcohol-related crimes and (worryingly) the carrying of weapons. But overall, the picture is positive, so I came find out more for myself.
My first stop was at the police station – always good place to start – where I met one of the staff watering the large flowerpots that front on to the street. A welcome gift from Gates Garden Centre. The Neighbourhood Commander, Inspector Darren Richardson, came to join us, and then Inspector Richardson and I set off on a patchwalk.
We began by turning left towards the Market Place. As we walked, Inspector Richardson pointed out shops that had formerly been subjected to a campaign of theft, intimidation and abuse by a small number of local youths.
“We’re on top of the situation now,” Inspector Richardson told me. “We’ve been working with the CSP (Community Safety Partnership) to divert a lot of the youngsters away from this sort of behaviour and into more productive activities. We’ve also been making more use of Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBO) on the prolific offenders. Once it becomes clear that an individual won’t be diverted from crime, we ask a magistrate to impose a CBO on them. That prohibits them from entering the town centre, or individual shops. If they do, then BANG! An automatic prison sentence. They soon get the message and stop misbehaving.”
We moved on to some residential areas where Inspector Richardson pointed out more work by the CSP – new lighting, mirrors on blind corners and such like. “This sort of low-cost initiative can really reduce crime,” I was told. “A lot of it is removing the fear of crime, which means people are more likely to walk down these alleys. And nothing stops opportunistic crime quite like people walking past.
A lot of this work has been funded by my office using “Safer Streets” funding that we won from the Home Office. We have paid for three CCTV cameras and solar-powered cameras in disguised housing that are set up to catch fly-tippers. There are also a dozen solar-powered lights that provide lighting in dark alleys and other locations at night plus a help point system. We have also provided “target hardening” to 86 houses vulnerable to burglary – and more is to come.
My next stop was the village of Scalford, a few miles to the north. I had not visited this village for a while, so I wanted to see how the people who live there felt about crime and policing. Although this is a low-crime village, there had been a couple of vehicle thefts in recent months.
I parked up by the church which is dedicated to the little-known St Egelwin who lived in Somerset in the 7th century. I knocked on doors in Church Street and in Thorpeside, as well as talking to passersby. Everyone was deeply appreciative of the work done by the police. One lady said her neighbour had a quadbike stolen but that the Rural Policing Unit had dealt with it well. A gentleman was concerned about crime in Melton, where he worked, and again praised the police.
Back in Melton I went walkabout in the town centre. Inspector Richardson had told me that retail crime was down, but it is always worth checking on lived experience, so I popped into a number of shops to talk to staff. With one exception, all agreed that retail crime had fallen over recent months. Several of the shops pointed out to me measures that they had installed themselves on advice from the police or CSP. Every little helps, as they say.
Finally, it was time for a visit to the Skate Park with John and Katie of the CSP. Funded by my office, the Skate Park now boasts fright lights, powered by solar panels. These are on to 10pm every night and have motion sensors that turn them on later at night if anyone uses the area. Also, a CCTV camera captures anything that happens there. The concrete park has been repainted with graffiti-style designs created by the local teenagers themselves. Together these measures have led to a significant drop in the anti-social behaviour that was a problem here last year.
A suitably high note on which to leave Melton and head back to Police HQ.
Rupert Matthews
Police & Crime Commissioner for Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland
Posted on Thursday 5th September 2024