Agenda item

An update on policing within the ward and an opportunity for residents to raise issues and ask questions.

Sgt Andy Haigh gave an update on Crime and Community Safety issues in the ward.  The following points were noted:

4.1             Overall in Bishopthorpe crime was up, actual figures a rise from 90 crimes to 111.

4.2             Auto crime has risen from 4 to 21, this was due to one man breaking into 7/8 cars in one night. He has subsequently been arrested and sentenced.

4.3             Burglary dwelling is down from 6 to 4.

4.4             Burglary other is down from 13 to 12.

4.5             Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) is up from 100 to 108.

4.6             Overall Bishopthorpe and Wheldrake are low crime and ASB in comparison with the majority of York.

Sgt. Haigh then went on to talk to the residents about making official statements and reporting crime to the Police. Sgt. Haigh used a recent example from Bishopthorpe where a woman agreed to give a statement and the suspects were arrested charged and prosecuted. Sgt. Haigh stressed the importance of being willing to stand up to ASB and petty criminals and giving evidence against them.

Q. Was there an arrest over the fire on Ferry Lane?

A. No, sadly there was not enough evidence.

Cllr. Galvin: At the end of the day unless there is real and strong evidence nothing  will happen, you must be prepared to stand up and give statements.

Sgt. Haigh: We can impose strong conditions on bail and convictions i.e. banning someone from the area, putting them on curfew etc.

Q. What progress is there with policing speeding and using speed cameras?

A. None, filling the 95 alive forms and send them in.

Q. We have been told to stop sending them in because they have too many, who are we supposed to listen to?

A. Head Quarters prioritise areas for speed enforcement. We are only allowed to use our speed guns in those areas and Bishopthorpe is not one of them. The only way this can be influenced is through the forms.

Residents asked Sgt. Haigh to pass on their concerns.

It was also noted that in some towns and villages the road markings are  selectively not painted back on the roads. This creates uncertainty for the driver and they automatically slow down.

Q. In the paper it mentioned responsible citizens being trained to use speed guns and record number plates. Would that happen in this ward?

A. We are not aware of this and from personal experience know there is a great deal of bureaucracy and red tape around being trained to use speed guns.

Q. Re you not allowed to pull into lay-bys and do random speed checks anymore then?

A. No we’re not, we can only police speed in areas designated by HQ.

Q. Following on from the article in the newspaper we were asked quite a while ago to forward names of responsible citizens to the Parish Councils and then onto the Police for training in the use of speed guns, what is happening with that process?

A. It has been put on hold and is to be evaluated. There have been a number of issues and complexities that need addressing. This process won’t be restarting in the near future.

Q. Has the Ring Master system been shut down?

A. No, it should still be operational. However they have changed the system so that the PCSO’s have to submit their own message to the system where previously they had a control room to do that.