‘Safer Roads Team’ launched at police headquarters

News, ,

Leicestershire Police has introduced a new team of special constables and volunteers dedicated to improving road safety and law enforcement on the roads of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

The ‘Safer Roads Team’ was launched at force headquarters in Enderby on Thursday 28th June, where 18 Special Constables and four Police Support Volunteers received an input from the force’s Roads Policing Unit (RPU) before officially joining the new team.

PC Tony Bunker works with the RPU and said: “I’m really looking forward to working with the new team to combat anti-social driving behaviour and make our roads safer, in collaboration with the city and county councils, the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and TISPOL: the European Traffic Police Network.

“Our colleagues in Northamptonshire and Lincolnshire Police already have well-established Safer Roads Teams staffed by special constables, and we aim to utilise our team in a similar manner.

“The team will be deployed to areas across the force as required, and will carry out a variety of traffic operations targeting a wide range of traffic offences, including FATAL 4.”

FATAL 4 offences are those most likely to cause death or serious injury and include drink/drug driving, excessive speeding, using a mobile phone behind the wheel and the non-wearing of seatbelts.

Fellow RPU officer PC Sean Stone added: “An average of 70 drink drug drivers are arrested across the Leicestershire Police force area each month, over the last three years we have seen a worrying fourfold increase in the number of drug drive arrests, rising from 23 in 2016 to 56 in 2016 and 93 last year.

“In 2016 officers also issued 543 speeding, 698 seatbelt and 533 mobile phone notices.

“We hope the new team will cover a wide expanse of traffic related offences, which we hope will in turn improve the safety of our roads and reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured due to traffic offences.”

The team will be primarily staffed by special constables and police support volunteers, supported by various regular officers and the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Road Safety Partnership.

Richard Smith, a Police Support Volunteer on the Safer Roads Team, said: “My main role will be “spotting” for the team. For example I’ll be looking out for drivers using their mobile phones, driving without their seatbelt, or any vehicles that appear un-roadworthy.

“I’ll then radio the details through to the officers who will make attempts to stop and check the vehicle.”

Special Constable Alison Rudkin also signed up to the new team. She said: “After being a special constable for 2 years I feel this is a huge opportunity and something I really want to get involved in. Not only to further my skills, knowledge and experience within the force but equally to be part of an initiative that is making roads safer. It was an opportunity I couldn’t let pass.”

Anyone who has concerns about traffic offences in their community is advised to contact their local policing team

[Source/Photo: Leicestershire Constabulary]

‘Road safety improvement work’ at Foxhunter Roundabout

Civic, News

Image: Google Streetview

Leicestershire County Council Highways has agreed to an accident
reduction scheme to be put in place at the ‘notorious’ Foxhunter Roundabout.

In order to improve road safety at this location, the Blaby Road access with
the Foxhunter roundabout will be fully signalled and will no longer operate
as a give-way arm.

Enderby Parish Council have long identified the current give-way arm, coupled with the location of the pedestrian crossing, as a potential hazard.

The works will involve moving the existing toucan signal crossing closer to
the roundabout; installing a safety traffic island to locate a signal head
within the City bound side of the roundabout; and other associated works
including signing and lining alterations to compliment the new layout.

The works are anticipated to commence on 16th July, 2018 and are
expected to last 3 to 4 weeks.

Leicestershire County Council apologises for any inconvenience caused
during these works.

Police ethics committee to consider stop and search and areas of police responsibility

News

Leics. Police helmet facing

Stop and search police powers will be under scrutiny when members of Leicestershire’s independent ethics panel meet later this week.

Leicestershire Police and Crime Commissioner Lord Willy Bach’s Ethics, Integrity and Complaints Committee will meet on Friday (22 June) to review the data on stop and searches carried out in the past few months and the impact they’ve had on detecting crime.

The Committee will consider a report showing the Force’s positive outcome rates have increased month on month from around 20% to 32% in December 2017. This means the number of arrests, cautions and penalty notices issued following a stop and search is rising which indicates greater legitimacy of the tactics.

It goes on to show how use of stop and searches have fallen considerably during the past three years, with 50 to 100 fewer searches per month. Members will discuss whether increased national and local scrutiny rightly placed on stop and search is a reason for the decline and will also consider the impact of a reduced frontline on use of the powers.

Also on the agenda for the meeting will be a series of ethical scenarios requiring discussion and views by the panel including Leicestershire Police’s plans to explore ways of delivering some services online. Such a move could see the Force directing demand to the most appropriate agency where it falls outside the scope of their services and thus releasing valuable resources to frontline threats including cybercrime.

The Ethics, Integrity and Complaints Committee was set up to provide greater accountability to the public of policing processes including the complaints system and hold the Force to account for its decisions.

Meetings are held in public and residents are able to attend and observe proceedings. Minutes are also available on the PCC’s website at: http://www.leics.pcc.police.uk/Transparency/Meetings/Ethics-Integrity-and-Complaints-Meetings/Agenda-and-Papers-Ethics-Committee.aspx

The meeting will take place at 2.00pm on Friday 22 June in the Main Conference Room at Force HQ in Enderby.
Please note that due to the capacity of the room and for health and safety requirements all potential attendees are requested to notify Nisha Pabari of the Police and Crime Commissioners Office (email nisha.pabari@leics.pcc.pnn.gov.uk).

Refuse and Recycling service changes

Civic, News

Residents can view information about the new refuse and recycling collections, beginning on 02 July 2018.

The information includes ‘bin options’ and a form to order new bin(s).

The information is outlined within a section of the District Council website.

 

Could YOU fill these shoes?

News, , ,

The search is on for people interested in becoming a Parish Councillor as Enderby Parish Council advertise two vacancies in the St. John’s Ward.

Enderby Parish Council is the first tier of local government for the area and it makes decisions on behalf of the people resident in the civil parish of Enderby.

The Parish Council is the level of local government closest to the community. The Parish Council works in conjunction with Blaby District Council and Leicestershire County Council.

A parish councillor is someone to whom the community can look to for help, guidance and support and someone in a position to influence decisions for the benefit of the community they serve.

The Parish Council meets in the Council Chamber, Enderby Civic Centre, King St, Enderby

The main purpose of the role is to represent the views of residents within the parish.

• The Council has responsibility for running some local services including open spaces, play areas, Community Library and village halls.

• Deciding on how much to raise through the Precept (part of your Council Tax) in order to deliver the council’s services.

• Influencing and shaping the long term development policy for the parish, and (as part of the planning process), comment on planning applications in the parish.

• Work to try and improve the quality of life and the environment in the local area.

• Work to identify issues which are important to the lives of the residents they represent.

• Working to bring about improvements through local projects, lobbying other service providers and working in partnership with other parishes and agencies.

Enderby Parish Council makes all kinds of decisions on issues that affect the local community. Probably the most common topics that parish councils get involved with are planning matters (they are statutory consultees), crime prevention and roads & highways.

Parish councils have limited powers to make decisions but they do have the ability to negotiate with, and the power to influence, those other organisations that do make the final decisions (such as the District or County Council, health authorities, Police etc.). Organisations that make the final decisions know that a parish council gives the best reflection of how a community feels about something and as a consequence, its views are taken seriously.

The Full Council usually meets once a month for its Council Meeting to which members of the public are also invited. Meetings may last one or two hours, depending on what’s on the list of items to discuss (Agenda). Sub-committees deal with specific subjects, Policy & Finance, Recreation & Amenities and Planning.

In addition to the regular meetings Councillors may be required to give time for ‘ad-hoc’ meetings – for example with architects or agents to discuss planning applications that the Council must give its opinions on.

Parish councillors serve for a maximum of four years. If they then want to stay in the post they can stand for re-election.

This does not mean that they have to stay for four years. If they find it’s not for them, or they can no longer meet the commitment, they can ‘stand down’.

To stand for election to a parish council, a person must:
be a UK or Commonwealth citizen; or
be a citizen of the Republic of Ireland; or
be a citizen of another Member state of the European Union; and
be at least 18 years old.
To be eligible to stand for an election for a particular parish, you must:
be an elector of the parish; or
in the past 12 months have occupied (as owner or tenant) land or other premises in the parish; or
work in the parish (as your principal or only place of work); or
live within three miles of the parish boundary.
A person doesn’t have to be connected to a political party.

Anyone who is interested in becoming a Parish Councillor in Enderby can talk to an existing Councillor at one of the Councillor ‘Surgeries’ (held in the Community Library, Enderby Civic Centre) or contact them – details are here on the Parish Council website, or contact the Clerk to the Council, Civic Centre, King Street, Enderby, Leicester LE19 4NT. Tel: 0116 275 3711.