A hastily arranged public meeting went ahead on the evening of Wednesday 30th January in Enderby Civic Centre.
During the month of January, the main issue affecting the community was the spate of vehicle crime and the perceived effect of the County Council’s policy of overnight ‘switching off’ of street lighting columns on local roads.
A number of residents were present at what was described as “a positive meeting” to hear from Inspector Emma Maxwell (Commander of the Neighbourhood Policing Area) who was joined by Sgt Ian Burton and Pcso Leigh Flannery from the Local Beat Team.
Inspector Maxwell opened the meeting with a detailed overview of policing issues in the area and how they were being addressed.
The recent spate of vehicle crime was discussed including an observation of how this is not just a problem specific to Narborough.
Following Insp. Maxwell’s introduction the meeting was opened up and questions were posed regarding the actions being taken.
The meeting heard the area in question is not being specifically targeted and whilst specifics could not be discussed people were to be reassured that lots of work is being done around this and investigations are continuing.
Over the previous year the car crime numbers for the area are low. Figures for the area can be found on the force website. (https://www.police.uk/leicestershire/NH20/)
Social Media
The meeting was told that posting footage on social media could and does make the evidence inadmissible. It is important to ensure material gathered as evidence is given directly to the police who will, if necessary, collect it.
Crime prevention
Crime prevention information was given concerning (amongst other things), reducing the risk of become a victim of vehicle crime by ensuring ‘keyless-car-entry’ fobs are kept in signal blocker pouches.
Other car crime prevention measures mentioned were:
- do not leave items on show in the vehicle.
- importantly – make sure the vehicle is securely locked. (Double check!)
- if your vehicle has a tracker fitted, make sure it’s operational.
- if you have a garage and can use it to store your car then do so. This helps lessen the risk of theft.
These measures, and more besides, are all about reducing the risk of becoming a victim of car crime. Such measures as these will not completely stop car crime but as it was stressed during the meeting, the police were not inferring victims were to blame but rather they were trying to make sure everyone had the information to help reduce the risk.
More information on car crime prevention can be found here on the Force website.
(https://leics.police.uk/…/crime-preventi…/vehicle-crime/cars)
Street lighting
Street lighting was discussed and County Councillor Terry Richardson explained the process of how residents could request street lighting to be kept on overnight.
It would be reviewed by the County Council, following an application made by a single resident or group of concerned residents. The County Council would consider representations/evidence from the Parish Council and the Neighbourhood Police Team in support of such an application.
During the discussion the matter of “would it reduce crime?” surfaced.
The meeting heard there has not been a study conducted specifically to the Nh20 area, so it would be impossible to say. However, the ‘reassurance’ [lighting remaining on overnight] may give people, whilst a factor, has not been accurately measured.
Lots of positive discussion took place and points raised from the meeting have been taken on-board by the Local Beat Team.
Police volunteers were discussed and how residents may further assist their community. Information on police Support Volunteers can be found here on the Force website.
(https://leics.police.uk/join-us/police-support-volunteers)
Any information people may want to pass to the police and but remain anonymous – this can be done by contacting crime stoppers
(https://crimestoppers-uk.org/)
The stats…
From the 1st of January 2019 to the 31st of January 2019 the team received 243 calls for the Narborough, Littlethorpe, Enderby, Lubbesthorpe and Fosse Park beat. An increase of 12 on the previous month.
(Figures in [ ] are the variance from figures reported the previous month:)
Serious Acquisitive Crime (SAC)
– Burglaries (dwellings, garages, garden sheds and business)
Enderby 2 [+1]
Narborough 2 [-1]
Littlethorpe 0 [-]
Fosse Park 0 [-]
Lubbesthorpe 0 [-3]
Vehicle Crime
(Theft of/from and criminal damage to motor vehicles)
Enderby 12 [+8]
Narborough 15 [+12]
Littlethorpe 2 [+1]
Fosse Park 0 [-1]
Lubbesthorpe 1 [+1]
Figures from 1st Jan 2019 to 31st of Jan 2019
Variance figures calculated from 1st Dec to 31st of Dec, 2018
As usual, anybody can contact CrimeStoppers to anonymously report a crime or suspicious behaviour by visiting the Crimestoppers website – https://crimestoppers-uk.org or calling Tel: 0800 555 111.
The Local Beat Team page on the Force website can be accessed here.
https://leics.police.uk/…/enderby-narborough-littlethorpe-a…
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