The local Police Team have sent through this useful update:
As you are aware, we held online priority setting meetings in January and February of this year. These meetings were attended by many of you, and we received some great feedback to help us understand what is going on in your areas. We also discussed the “Have Your Say” survey data that is compiled based on resident feedback throughout the year. Following these meetings, the Police Priority for February to April 2022 was set as:
• Motor Vehicles – Crime and Anti-Social use
o Crime: Theft from Motor Vehicles & Theft of Motor Vehicles.
o Anti-social use: dangerous parking including at schools, targeted speeding activity at identified repeat problem locations, racing, noise, criminal use & road safety.
At the end of April 2022 a decision was made to continue with this priority and this priority was extended to cover the months of May to July 2022. From the commencement of the priority in February to date, the team have worked extremely hard and have achieved some fantastic results with a summary of this detailed below –
• 115 sessions of speed enforcement in problem areas
• 15 stolen vehicles recovered
• Parking enforcement sessions completed around schools
• An arrest of an individual who was in possession of a stolen motor vehicle.
• 40 road safety & crime prevention advice sessions
• Leaflet drops and education regarding E-scooters
Over this time, 111 crimes relating to motor vehicles took place across all the villages our team cover, with 73 of those being against local residents. All 73 of those residents received either a reassurance visit or letter from the team. This is 22 less vehicles crimes than took place in the same period in 2021.
At Bedfordshire Police we are currently undertaking a review of our Community Engagement Model and this will lead to changes to the way in which we set our priorities in future. Whilst this takes place, I have taken the decision to extend the current Police Priority to cover the period of July to September 2022. This will enable the team to carry on the fantastic work that they have been doing and we know from the “Have Your Say” survey data that these issues are still affecting you and the communities we serve.
We are aware that this time of year can bring around an increase in Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) in part due to the school holidays. As such, in addition to the work the team will be completing around our Motor Vehicle Community Priority, the team and I will have a focus on ASB. This means patrols of areas that have historically been repeat ASB locations as well as looking to identify and proactive deal with anyone involved in ASB.