To receive an update from Inspector Bob Darkens, Surrey Police on policing and community safety matters in Surrey Heath.
Minutes:
Inspector Bob Darkens, Surrey Heath Area Commander, Surrey Police, gave an update in respect of the crime figures in Surrey Heath.
The Committee was informed that when compared against the other 42 County Forces in England and Wales Surrey County was, when looking at the number of crimes committed per 1000 of the population, considered to be the 8th safest county area in England and Wales with 57.82 crimes per 1000 of the population. It was noted that the seven safest counties were predominantly rural areas with Dyffed Powys police area in first place with 41.64 crimes per 1000 of the population. Within the Surrey Police area, Surrey Heath was categorised as being part of the Surrey West Policing Division and Surrey Heath currently had the lowest recorded crime rates of the three policing areas within this division.
Over the past seven days police in Surrey heath had been notified of 3800 incidents. In addition to reports of simple theft, for example shoplifting, and anti-social behaviour there had been:
· 3 sexual offences
· 13 child protection incidents
· 17 domestic incidents
· 10 violent crimes
· 4 non dwelling burglaries
· 5 drugs offences
· 6 criminal damage incidents
Safeguarding was a key priority for the police and the force worked closely with other agencies through the Community Harm and Risk Management (CHaRMM) Meeting in order to identify vulnerable people at risk of or experiencing exploitation so that appropriate mitigating steps could be taken to help and support them.
Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) would, when they came in to force in Surrey Heath in October, provide a further tool to support the police’s work. It was stressed that PSPOs were not intended to be used to impose punitive sanctions on people instead they would be used to help signpost people to alternative sources of action and help instead of using the police as their first port of call. The intelligence gathered as part of the PSPO work would be used to by the police to help target patrols and engagement activity more effectively.
Arising from Members’ questions and comments the following points were noted:
· The number of police officers allocated to an area was decided by a number of factors including recorded crime levels and demographics. In Surrey Heath, an average shift had 5 police officers on duty.
· The County Council’s decision to switch off street lights at night had had no noticeable impact on crime levels in the County.
· Community policing was considered to be a key factor in tackling radicalisation.
· The majority of burglaries took place during the day when people were out of their homes. Raising awareness of people’s need to take action to help themselves keep their property safe was a key part of the police’s approach to reducing the number of burglaries committed.
· A recent operation to tackle modern day slavery had resulted in the arrest of 5 people and 2 vulnerable adults being safeguarded. It was stressed that the public should be vigilant to what is going on around them and report anything that ‘did not feel right’.
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The Committee thanked Inspector Bob Darkens for his update.