Thursday 20th February 2025
I always enjoy my community days in Rutland, meeting with residents, businesses and stakeholders across the beautiful county. Sadly, my commitments in London in the afternoon meant that I had to cut things short.
My first stop was to meet with PC Jake Spruce for a Patchwalk in the villages of Whissendine and Langham. I was delighted to hear that, on the whole, the villages were experiencing low levels of crime. PC Spruce updated me on a number of issues, including burglaries, speeding in the villages and parking issues. Residents should be reassured that these issues are being tackled head on by the local team.
I then met with William Cross, a local farmer in Rutland to discuss rural crime. Understandably, there are concerns within the farming community regarding agricultural machinery theft and livestock theft. I will feed these issues back to our Rural Policing Team. Our rural communities across Leicestershire and Rutland are so important, that is why tackling and reducing Rural Crime in rural areas is a key priority of mine. I was also lucky enough to meet some of the lambs on the farm as well, a real treat!
My final meeting was with Melody Ismail from Rutland County Council, who as part of the Community Safety Partnership helps run a weekly targeted support group for young girls. Young girls aged 18 and under at risk of exploitation and disengaging from school are receiving support to navigate the challenges they face thanks to the project I have supported through Rutland County Council.
I invested funding worth £7,750 to Rutland Community Safety Partnership for the delivery of the project which benefits vulnerable young girls in the county who are at increased risk of becoming victims or witnesses of crimes such as domestic violence or have been identified as having behavioural issues. I thanked Melody and the team for their important work, and was interested to learn of some of the new developments happening at the Family Hub including the renovation of the old library storage room to an area where young people can play games and socialise. A valuable endeavour, I will keep my eye on the progress and hope to return to see the finished renovation.
And with that my Community Day in Rutland came to a close. Thank you to everyone who spent time with me and shared their views
Rupert Matthews
Police & Crime Commissioner for Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland
Posted on Tuesday 4th March 2025