BLOG: My Community Day in Oadby and Wigston

Visiting Safe Families in Wigston

Thursday 13th March 2025

Whereas my last Community started with bright sunshine, luring me in to thinking Spring was near, this week’s Community Day in Oadby and Wigston started under the cover of clouds with the threat of rain in the air.

Thankfully, my first meeting with Deputy Mayor of Oadby and Wigston Councillor Jasvir Chohan took place under cover at the Tigers Roll Cafe in Oadby. It was good to catch up with the Deputy Mayor and discuss any pressing matters across the Borough.

After our meeting concluded I headed over to Manor Road to meet with Oadby and Wigston Borough Councillor Naveed Alam. The student halls of residence are located on Manor Road, and in the past, there had been regular reports of anti-social behaviour from students coming back from the City late at night. I was delighted to hear that instances of anti-social behaviour over the last year have decreased, in part due to the University of Leicester setting up shuttle busses from the accommodation to the City. Cllr Alam also raised concerns regarding shoplifting on the Parade in Oadby, which I will pass on to the NPA Commander.

I then headed over to Wigston to meet with the team at Safer Families. Safer Families have received £10k from my Commissioners Safety Fund to fund a number of services, including a Family Support Manager who will support 5 care leavers across the year. The team were incredibly enthusiastic about their work, and I look forward to seeing the results from their services seeing as this is the first project they are undertaking in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

You may have seen last year that I secured over £250k of funding from the Government as part of Safer Streets 5. Utilising this funding, alongside partners including Oadby and Wigston Borough Council and Leicestershire Police, my Office rolled out free security upgrades in hotspot crime areas, to help reduce the risk of burglary. I went out in one of the hotspot areas on Hidcote Road and spoke to people on the doorstep about how safe they feel since receiving the equipment.

I am utterly delighted to report that people felt safe in their homes and that the area was experiencing low levels of crime. To date over 1300 homes have received security upgrades to tackle and prevent repeat burglaries across Oadby and Wigston which is an outstanding achievement by all partners.

Unfortunately, the cloud cover turned in to heavy rain so my door knocking had to be curtailed. For my last meeting of the day I met with the team at Oadby Youth Centre to learn about the work they do for young people in the local area. The centre provides access to youth provision for young people in the area, as well as targeted youth-based work around emotional wellbeing. I was mightily impressed by the services offered by the centre, and it was clear to see how much the organisation cares about the local community. Concerns were raised regarding knife carrying in the local area and across Oadby and Wigston, which I will share with the local policing team and report back on once I have an update.

Despite the best efforts of the weather, it was another highly productive and enjoyable Community Day in Oadby and Wigston.

Rupert Matthews
Police & Crime Commissioner for Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland