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  POLICE & CRIME 2008

 

Who needs an 18 point Action plan?
I saw a big poster advertising the Chippy News saying "18-point Police Action Plan". I then get through my letter box a copy of the said Action Plan which announces..."The following agencies ....have agreed to adopt an Action Plan". The list includes Chipping Norton Town Council. I'm a member of the Town Council and I'm seeing this Action Plan for the very first time. How can we possibly have adopted it? What the hell is going on? Have the Police usurped our democratic procedures now? Who has actually produced this Plan? What sort of legitimacy does this so-called Stakeholders Group have? Who appointed them ? Looks a bit like local political control of the Police to me. This Plan is presumably what was hatched up at the secret meeting recently - supposedly chaired by D.Cameron (except I'm told he wasn't there for very long). The Action Plan is full of education workshops and Action days and events and newsletters and "What's my Bobby" and reviews and stakeholder meetings and drives. There's even a mention for the Neighbourhood Action Group (remember that organisation anyone?) There's one event (Action No 8) which is a Community Action Day to take place in Chipping Norton to deal with Environmental Crime. Who on earth knows what Environmental Crime means....and how do you sort it out in a day. I have a terrible feeling that this probably means we all go out and pick up dog poo. Inspector Evernden has got the wrong end of the stick. What we have all been asking for is some reassurance that we would be getting more real policemen on our streets - particularly after dark. Not a single word about that in the Action Plan. The second thing we wanted was for the Inspector to come to a Public Meeting to answer our questions. That's not happening either. Looks as if the Inspector is avoiding us. Instead Action No 1 says that Gina Burrows will be organising a Public Community Safety Workshop - THIS MONTH!. The Inspector obviously believes we are all delusional and everyone is just imagining the vandalism, the broken shop windows, the fires, the stolen cars, the gangs of kids marauding the streets, the rowdyism, the fights in the Market Square every Saturday night. Whatever anyone says about Chipping Norton being safe I don't know any woman who would feel happy walking alone from the Town Centre to Cornish Road late in the evening! And I don't think any workshop is going to convince them otherwise. If anyone has actually agreed to this Action Plan as any sort of answer to people's anxieties they have been well and truly conned.

Remember Threshers - the off-licence in West Street - who had their window smashed three weeks running recently. The Managing Director of Threshers just received a letter from our local police telling him that it was not surprising this happened if the shop would persist in leaving alcohol on display overnight in the shop window. Can you credit that? Last we heard is that the shop is closing down. Looks like retailers may be baling out now.

 

SOME NEWS TO REALLY CHEER ABOUT
A Police Spokesman has told us this morning (Nov 7th) that for the foreseeable future Chippy Town Centre will have two dedicated Policemen on patrol on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights until the early hours. This is really good news and its great that Chief Inspector Evernden has listened to people's anxieties and has responded so positively. That is much appreciated.  With this major move forward in place surely the Chief Inspector can now risk a Public Meeting in the town to hear about and answer people's other concerns directly. He needs to hear these straight from townspeople not the politicians. We can promise him that it won't be a slanging match.

This welcome announcement comes following a strong protest on Monday by the members of the "Chippy First" Group to the publication of an 18-point Police Action Plan which completely failed to respond to local residents' demands for an increased police presence - particularly at weekends. Following a Press Release from the group and with increasing media interest (including a couple of press articles and a radio interview) the Chief Inspector  seems to have been persuaded - after all - to meet the townspeople's most important concern.  Town Councillor Keith Greenwell warmly welcomed today's news on behalf of Chippy First and hoped that the 18 - point Action Plan could now be consigned to where it belongs - the dustbin!

Presumably in response to the above, the Chief Inspector has now written this morning (November 8th) as follows:

Dear Mayor Gina Burrows and Town Councillors.

I just thought it important that I reaffirm my full commitment to the Stakeholder plan and my full support to the Town Council in fulfilling the pledges made in that plan by Mayor Gina Burrows who was representing the Town Council at the Stakeholder Group Meeting. As you will remember at the Stakeholders Group Meeting I confirmed that the additional weekend evening police foot patrols that I put in place immediately after this year’s fair would remain for the foreseeable future and I have kept that promise every weekend since the meeting. Any claims made by any individual or group since the. Stakeholders Group Meeting that they have secured policing resource over and above that which I confirmed at the meeting are not correct. In addition the pledges I made to the 18 point plan that was agreed I look forward to being held to account for achieving. Will you please pass on this information to all the other Stakeholders involved as I wish to offer whatever support my staff and I can to enable and support them in achieving their pledges made in the plan. I remain convinced that the plan as agreed offers the best opportunity for the development of better partnership working to improve the quality of life in the neighbourhoods of Chipping Norton.  Regards
Dennis Evernden

How was anyone supposed to know? The only trouble with the Chief Inspector's account from the point of view of anyone not present at the "secret" meeting is that there were no published minutes and nobody has publicly reported this offer from the Chief Inspector to increase police presence. It was not mentioned by the Mayor in her informal report to the Town Council. Indeed it was not even mentioned in a Press Release from the Police yesterday. If this was said it was really strange for it not to have been mentioned when the Action Plan was published. It would, in any case, be nice to get this offer in writing so we all know what is being guaranteed. Why wasn't it a "pledge" in the Action Plan? It remains the view of the "Chippy First" group  that with a firm commitment to additional late night policing most of the 18-point Plan is irrelevant.

 

Here's the 18-point Plan

I Hold a public Community Safety workshop
2 Chipping Norton Town Council to consider appointing a Member with specific responsibility for community safety and police liaison
3 Complete an alcohol seizure operation and parents education workshop
4 Complete a CCTV review
5 Produce and publish a Neighbourhood Action Group newsletter
6 'Not in my Neighbourhood' event to be held to raise awareness of distraction burglary and neighbourhood watch
7 All Chipping Norton media outlets to be provided with 24/7 journalistic support by TVP
8 Community Action Day to take place in Chipping Norton to deal with environmental crime
9 Continue to carry out covert test purchase operations.
10 Review of ASB Cases to be completed every week and distribution of information
11 Issue crime and incident information every month
12 Neighbourhood Police Officers will attend Town Council AGM and meetings to report exceptional issues and or incidents
13 All members of the group to sign up to receive monthly neighbourhood updates from Whosmybobby.co.uk
14 Witney Custody to be opened between 7pm on Fridays and 7pm on Sunday to deal with prisoners
15 Complete a review of the Neighbourhood Action Group
16 Arrange a stakeholders meeting to review the action plan
17 Specific local recruitment drive for Special Constables
I 8 Explore the potential for a Police/community contact point in the Town Centre and volunteers to assist in that provision

 

Police action plan under fire  
By Matt Wilkinson
 A POLICE action plan to bring calm to an Oxfordshire town has been criticised because it fails to promise extra officers on the streets. The 18-point 'policing action plan' for Chipping Norton - backed by Witney MP David Cameron - was created after a rise in anti-social behaviour in the town. The plan promises community workshops, action days, and newsletters, and said to be agreed by police, councils, and the Chipping Norton neighbourhood action group.

But a group of independent Chipping Norton councillors, called Chippy First, has criticised the plan, and claim it has not yet been adopted by the town council. Councillor Gerry Alcock said the town had been plagued by drinkers, causing trouble on their way back from pubs at the weekends, and was pleading for more officers. Please can we have a couple of policemen between 11pm and 2am, because at the moment, the perception is the town has been abandoned by police. What we have all been asking for is some reassurance that we would be getting more real policemen on our streets - particularly after dark. Not a single word about that in the action plan."

Councillor Keith Greenwell said: "Nowhere does it refer to increased policing, and the people of Chipping Norton are no longer interested in initiatives that do not address the fundamental concerns that more proper police are needed on the streets of the town, particularly overnight at the weekend." In September, police received 61 reports of crime in Chipping Norton - or two crimes every day. Figures show among the crimes there were 17 reports of criminal damage and six assaults, and on one weekend, there were three assaults, including a youth with a BB gun, one domestic incident, four thefts, and two reports for criminal damage.

But the policing plan has been backed by Mr Cameron. He said: "We all have a responsibility - politicians, police, neighbours, businesses - to strengthen our communities and create a society that is safe. The most effective way of achieving this is to work in partnership, and I welcome this 18-point action plan." The area police commander, Chief Inspector Dennis Evernden said: "The Chipping Norton area has seen a six per cent reduction in crime in the past six months, compared to the same period last year. "There has been an increase in the number of police officers and police community support officers, and the neighbourhood team also has the additional resources of CID, roads policing, scenes of crime, and the police support staff, who, for example, deal with phone calls, coordinate the Neighbourhood Watch schemes, and give crime reduction advice." A monthly report issued by Chipping Norton's Sgt Rosemary Dilsaver in October promises extra officers on patrol at weekends to deal with anti-social behaviour up to the new year.

 

Burglaries in West Oxfordshire down 25%
Latest figures show the number of burglaries taking place in West Oxfordshire is down 25 per cent compared to last year, leading police to urge residents to do all they can to help them drive them down further.  So far since 1 April, 2007, there have been 98 burglaries in the district; that compares to 130 for the same period in 2006. In West Oxfordshire the detection rate for this same period is currently 39%, four times that of last year.

Throughout November, Thames Valley Police is focussing on burglary as this time of year traditionally sees a rise in the number of burglaries. Thieves take advantage of the clocks going back and the longer, darker evenings, and they also know people are starting to store presents in their homes in the run up to Christmas.

Det Sgt Craig Kirby, who leads West Oxfordshire’s burglary team, said: “These figures are really encouraging and our officers are doing all they can to clamp down on burglaries in our area. We have taken a robust stance to domestic burglary offences. A dedicated team of officers, made up of experienced detectives and police constables, has been established. It is ensuring a consistently high level of investigation as well as the targeting of key suspects, and it is producing excellent results. More impressively the team has achieved such a good detection rate. In reality this means four times as many offenders are facing arrest and prosecution, a clear deterrent to those committing burglaries in this area. We have also been establishing strong cross border links with neighbouring forces such as Gloucestershire, West Mercia, Warwickshire and Wiltshire. Regular meetings and the sharing of intelligence means cross border offenders are quickly identified and can no longer hide in neighbouring counties. An equally important strategy has been our commitment to crime reduction. West Oxfordshire benefits from excellent partnership work between the police and other agencies, including West Oxfordshire District Council, the fire service, housing associations and private care agencies. This has enabled us to conduct high profile crime reduction campaigns such as the ‘Bogus Caller awareness days’, which have received support from Mr David Cameron, MP. This has enabled us to provide support to the more vulnerable areas of our community and reduce the number of victims here. The police or residents can not become complacent, and working together, we must do all we can beat the burglars; not just during this vulnerable period, but permanently.”

Security tips for this time of year include: Fit five-lever deadlocks on all external doors and fit locks to the top and bottom of patio doors. Fit door chains or door bars to be used when strangers call. Install locks on all windows that are easy to reach from outside. Keep house and car keys well away from external doors and windows. Consider motion-activated external lighting - this can be a deterrent for criminals and will also enhance the personal safety of occupants. Trim trees, shrubs and hedges that might hide an intruder from neighbours or passers-by. When away from home set lamps on timer switches to come on at dusk.

If you would like specific crime prevention advice, contact your local Crime Reduction Office via 0845 8 505 505, or log on to the Thames Valley Police website at www.thamesvalley.police.uk .
 

 

CHIPPY "SPECIALS" RIDE AGAIN?
Special Constables are in the news at the moment. Recruitment is set to get underway soon for a 2008 intake.  Thanks to Pauline Watkins at the Museum, who has sent us this picture of Special Constables after being sworn in in1914. There are 46 people in this photograph. And Chippy was a much smaller place in those days. Reckon we might need sixty or so this time round.



 

 

Quad bike wrecks Chippy bowls club green
A QUAD bike is believed to have been ridden around the Chipping Norton bowls club green, churning the turf into mud. Club president John Quinn said: "It's deliberate, malicious damage. It looks as if the whole green has been run over by someone on a quad bike. Fortunately, it's winter, when we play indoors and we've got time to see to it."  Police are investigating the incident at the club in Burford Road.

 

NEW YEAR VANDALISM

Somebody from the Rugby Club writes in the Forum : If any one was around Greystones this evening (Tuesday Jan 1st) at about 5.00pm did they notice anything suspicous? The Rugby Club, Bowls Club, and the main Greystones building were all broken into. Fortunately the Rugby Club alarm scared them off but not before a large amount of damage was done to the club. It would appear that the police tracker dogs that turned up might have found the culprits.

Claire Jarvis from the Lido writes: "Sadly, we've also had more vandalism over New Year at The Lido with windows smashed in. It's just so depressing. Like all the other individuals, businesses and voluntary organisations who are dealing on a regular basis with the aftermath of vandalism, we are again counting the cost - not just in terms of making immediate repairs or initiating yet another insurance claim, but also in terms of our time and energy".

 

YET MORE MINDLESS VANDALISM

Claire Jarvis writes: The Lido was targeted by arsonists this afternoon (January 3rd). Following the window breakages earlier this week, this is another utterly pointless and mindless piece of vandalism.  One of our neighbours called the Fire Brigade when he saw smoke coming over the wall mid-afternoon.  The disabled loo had been broken into, paper taken and a fire had been started in one of the skimmers – these are the outlets from the pool into the filtration and pumping system.  The lid on the poolside had been lifted and the fire started in the cavity. The fire crew were great (as ever) and put the fire out very quickly, but the damage will be significant as the plastic piping is burnt out not only in the skimmer and on the side of the toddler pool, but also all along the piping under the paving stones where the fire was spreading. The police have attended and collected some evidence left by the culprits. Another grim and dispiriting episode …The Rugby Club, the Bowls Club and The Lido – all places run by local volunteers for the benefit of the wider community and all targeted by vandals in the past week alone. I feel outrage and despair in equal measure.

 


 
Thanks to Jemma Callow and the Banbury Guardian for their coverage of the latest spate of vandalism in the town. Jemma's piece captures exactly the real sense of anger which now exists in Chippy. After the pre-Christmas sequence of attacks involving shop windows, arson attacks, vandalising buses, breaking windows at Holy Trinity School and thefts from the allotments, some arrests were made and there was a real feeling that perhaps we were getting somewhere. Now the problem seems to be starting all over again. Is it the same people? Do the Police know who is responsible? Have any arrests been made?  As we have said often enough before on this website, lack of information is one of the main frustrations which people feel. Earlier this week a group of councillors asked the Mayor to propose a meeting with the Police to discuss the latest turn of events and see what steps might be taken to avoid continuing problems and how the public could help. No response so far!



Pictured above are Clubhouse manager Francis Moreton
and Rugby Club president Ian Rumble


 

 

FIVE TONNES OF LEAD AND COPPER PIPING STOLEN FROM TRAVIS PERKINS

Police are appealing for witnesses after a break in at the Travis Perkins site in Station Road, Chipping Norton during the night of 16th /17th January. At some time between 5pm on Wednesday and 7am Thursday, thieves broke into the site by cutting through its gates and broke into the main building. From here they stole £9,000 worth of lead and copp