|
Denmead, Hambledon, Southwick and Widley
Safer Neighbourhood Panel
NOTES OF THE Denmead, Hambledon, Southwick and Widley Safer Neighbourhood Panel
MEETING HELD ON Thursday 22 July 2010 IN THE BARN GREEN ROOM,
THE OLD SCHOOL, SCHOOL LANE, DENMEAD, COMMENCING AT 2.00 PM.
Present: Cllr I Reed Denmead PC
Cllr R Hallett Denmead PC
Cllr N Lander-Brinkley Denmead PC
Cllr C Browton Denmead PC
Cllr M Coates Hambledon PC Cllr G Hartridge Hambledon PC
Sgt C Stanton Hampshire Constabulary
Ms S Tuddenham Community Safety Manager, WCC
Mr B Turner Neighbourhood Watch
Apologies: D/Cllr Stallard Winchester City Council
D/Cllr T Coates Winchester City Council
In Attendance: T Daniells Clerk, Denmead PC
043/10SNP Welcome: Cllr Reed opened the meeting and welcomed those attending, including the guest speaker, Dave Kerrigan.
044/10SNP Police: Sgt Stanton provided graphs which detailed Rowdy and Inconsiderate behaviour over the last 3 years for the areas represented at the meeting. There had been a slight rise in incidents during June and this was attributed to the fine weather and the World Cup. He stated that Operation Bounce continued to be implemented during school holidays to good effect with hotspots being targeted by high visibility patrols.
Sgt Stanton referred to attention being given to reducing incidents of criminal damage. This activity was easy to commit but difficult to detect. He stressed the need to have community intelligence passed to them to assist with detection.
Sgt Stanton then compared figures for other crimes. All were below targets except for those of violence against the person. These were attributed to incidents of domestic violence.
A new tenant at The Willows, Denmead had resulted in a number of calls but this had now been resolved. Similarly, parking issues and calls related to one particular family had affected crime statistics for Hambledon.
Sgt Stanton said his leaving date was still unknown, and he did not know who would be replacing him. He ran through the officers in his teams including those new to the team
Mr Turner asked whether the Police had received any intelligence regarding travellers moving in on the Denmead Show site. Sgt Stanton had not received any information regarding this but would alert the teams.
Cllr Hallett thanked Sgt Stanton for all of his hard work and effectiveness of the Safer Neighbourhood Teams. Cllr Lander-Brinkley thanked the local beat officers for tackling pavement parking in Denmead Centre.
045/10SNP Community Safety Manager – WCC: Ms Tuddenham referred to changes in Government and the need for budget cuts. This would affect the Community Safety Partnership. Whilst the team had met its targets in the past year, she expected the cuts to affect staffing levels and this would have some impact on the team and its work. On a more positive note, she reported that her team were going out to fetes and carnivals and being high profile to encourage people to report incidents. The work surrounding the Strategic Assessment was coming to a close and a report would follow soon. She also reminded those present of the pointers she send out to the Partnership website, which contained details of the latest campaigns and much more information.
046/10SNP Presentation by Dave Kerrigan, Special Branch Contact Unit
Dave Kerrigan first gave the role of the Special Branch. This unit had the responsibility for counter terrorism, national security and domestic extremism. The Hampshire Constabulary Contact Unit was set up in 2006 in the wake of the terrorist bombings in London in July 2005 where 52 people lost their lives. The unit consists of two Special Branch officers, Neil Bloomfield and Dave Kerrigan. Both officers wear plain clothes but are completely open in their activity, unlike some other areas of Special Branch, which are secret and operate covertly.
The unit engages with all communities, local authorities, higher education and universities, as well as many other local bodies. It was established to improve the channels of communication between Special Branch and all our communities, increasing dialogue in an effort to improve the two way flow of information between the community, Special Branch and the police in general.
Dave Kerrigan outlined the current situation. The terrorism threat level was Substantial meaning that a terrorist attack was a strong possibility. He referred to the operations of the IRA compared to extremists who carry out attacks, without warning, on crowded places with the intention of causing maximum loss of life. Many attacks failed because of technical ineptitude.
Dave then outlined what to look out for within your community. To prevent further attacks it was important to spot changes, note concerns and to recognise and report suspicious behaviour within the community and to report this to Special Branch or the Police.
The Chairman thanked Dave Kerrigan for his entertaining and informative talk, and the Panel expressed their appreciation also.
047/10SNP Matters Arising and Outstanding from Previous Meetings
1. Youth Provision in Hambledon: Cllr Coates made the Panel aware that the Youth Worker they had identified was no longer available. On a positive note, funding had been made available and they were now able to use the youth hut.
2. Departure of Sgt Stanton from SNP: As previously reported, Sgt Stanton knew where he was being posted to but the date of his departure, or details of his replacement were unknown.
048/10SNP Neighbourhood Watch: Mr Turner informed those present that the NHW schemes remained quiet at present. He paid tribute to the co-ordinators in the scheme. He was disappointed that his email distribution list to alert residents of issues only had 200 names on it and more could be added. A ‘no cold calling’ zone was planned for Anmore Road but he did not have a date for when this was to be implemented. Neighbourhood Watch planned to have a stand at both of the Denmead and Hambledon Shows. He referred to a recent incident of traffic congestion at the Lawns car boot sale, possibly caused by only have the one gate open for people coming to and leaving the sale.
049/10SNP Questions: Cllr Browton asked about policing of the speed limit along Forest Road. Sgt Stanton responded by saying that the Police did have speed cameras in operation along this stretch of road and PC Port was to be trained in the use of a portable monitor.
Cllr Hallett was concerned that the Speed Limit Reminder sign was not working. Cllr Hartridge related the experience Hambledon had with using Amey and how they now used their own Lengthsman to maintain and move their sign. He regarded this as better value than using Amey and offered the service to Denmead.
Mr Turner asked when street lighting columns were to be replaced as it was often the case that the Neighbourhood Watch signs were not moved to the new columns.
The Clerk asked Sgt Stanton if anything could be done to encourage cyclists to use the new cycleway between Denmead and Waterlooville. Cyclists still used the road to the frustration of motorists.
050/10SNP Next Meeting: The next meeting would be held on Thursday 21 October 2010 at 2.00 pm.
There being no further business the meeting closed at 3.50 pm
|
|
