Verbal update on local Policing issues
Minutes:
Nottinghamshire Police Inspector Donna Busuttil, informed the Committee that following members’ concerns at proposed changes to the local policing structure, she and Councillors had met with Lillian Greenwood MP.
Inspector Busuttil highlighted the following points and responded to the Committee’s questions:
(a) within the restructure, Inspector Busuttil now has responsibility for Policing in St Anne’s, Sneinton, the Meadows and Clifton;
(b) whilst the officers at Clifton generally remained the same, there had been a reduction of Meadows officers and ‘beats’ have been replaced by ‘areas’ with all officer contact details listed on the Neighbourhood Policing section of the Police website;
(c) the restructure has presented the opportunity for further flexibility with regard to plain-clothes operations as officers from other areas who are not known within the local area can more easily be deployed;
(d) the Committee and citizens were urged to contact either Inspector Busuttil or the Area Sergeants if there were any issues or concerns regarding the changed structure;
(e) Inspector Busuttil was not able to confirm how long she would remain in her current role as she is currently covering the post during the maternity leave of a colleague, but assured the Committee that she was wholly dedicated to the area and would gladly remain;
(f) with regard to processes around burglaries, cases were considered on an individual basis on the type of incident and the amount and type of evidence available. It is harder to identify the burglar if there is not physical, CCTV or forensic evidence and so cases may be ‘closed’ within days where there is no evidence or proof, even if there is a suspect. However, if relevant evidence later appears, the case can be re-activated;
(g) resident of the Wilford Area who have experienced repeated incidents of ‘non forced entry’ car security tampering’, were assured that the crimes had been taken very seriously and, acting on a raft of intelligence, plain clothes officers had been present in the area over six nights, stopping and challenging people who did not appear to have good reason for being in the area. As a result, five people were arrested and charged, two of whom were remanded;
(h) although ideal, within the current staffing resource restraints, it was not possible to allocate Police Officer time to entering and publishing the new structure on the Police Alert system as other policing issues have to take priority. Providing such information on line or via leaflet drops would require additional resources which are not available, however, there is a greater emphasis on social media communications which are proving very successful although it is recognised that this does not reach all sections of the community.
Representatives of the ‘Nott’s-Watch’ Neighbourhood Watch group were disappointed that although providing plenty of notice they had been unable to secure police officer attendance at any of their meetings, and requested that this be addressed.
Councillor Edwards expressed frustration that he had been made aware of three physical attack hate crimes which had taken place within the Meadows Area, but not all had been reported to the Police and emphasised that it was vital that criminal behaviour is always reported to ensure that the Police are aware of what is happening and can collate intelligence to focus resources on addressing issues. Inspector Busuttil was also very disappointed that the incidents had not been reported to the Police, adding that good quality local intelligence was vital as nothing can be done if the Police are not aware.
The Committee welcomed the success of the Wilford anti-car crime operation and acknowledged that in enforcing the law, Police Officers were amongst the community, and not necessarily as a visible presence always in uniform.