RURAL UCKFIELD

Community Contact Wealden Tuesday 19 August to Tuesday 02 September 2008

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Please remember that if you are a victim or witness to a crime please contact Police on either 999 or the non emergency number 0845 6070999 as I can not record crimes or take immediate action.

APPEALS, MESSAGES AND NEWS

Good News

Forest Row – New CCTV Camera Installed

A new CCTV camera has recently been installed in Hartfield Road, Forest Row, and will be monitoring the busiest areas in the village.

The camera, sponsored by the Safer Wealden Partnership, will be in Forest Row for the foreseeable future, and is monitored by staff at Uckfield police station.

North Wealden Inspector Richard Allum said, “I am grateful to the Safer Wealden Partnership for facilitating this equipment. Forest Row has suffered a small but significant increase in antisocial behaviour in recent months, and we have made good progress in dealing with the people responsible. This camera is another tool that will be used to assist us in tackling the small number of people who indulge in the type of behaviour that has such an adverse effect on others in Forest Row.”

Burglary -  Forest Row

Sometime between 11.30pm on Tuesday 26th August and 7am on Wednesday 27th August a burglary occurred at The Brambletye Hotel in Forest Row.

The person gained entry to the premises and then removed money from a fruit machine in the bar area of the hotel.

If anyone has any information re this incident they are asked to contact Pc Julia Turner at Uckfield Police Station on 0845 60 70 999 quoting serial 237 of 27/08/08 or alternatively Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111    

Vehicle Crime – Forest Row

Sometime between 8pm on Monday 25th August and 7am on Tuesday 26th August a tipper truck had its side and tailgate removed, at the same time a Mercedes Vito van was broken into and a Sat Navigation system was stolen.  

If anyone has any information re this incident they are asked to contact PC Julia Turner at Uckfield Police Station on 0845 60 70 999 quoting serial 628 of 26/08/08 alternatively Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Wealden District Commanders Message – August 2008

Chief Inspector Neil Honnor

This month I am going to touch on a couple of issues that are currently at the fore of public interest and discussion. The recent Green paper highlights a number of themes that we, in Sussex Police, have been working towards in recent weeks. I will update you on the provision of local crime statistics, local priority setting, and the greater focus on measuring public confidence. I will also discuss knife crime issues at a local level, and mention a few community projects.

Firstly though I would like to promote our ‘Face the People’ sessions. We will be holding four of these public meetings in September and October. The meetings are; an opportunity for local people to hear about work that the community safety partners are undertaking; and for partners to listen to what the community would like us to prioritise. I would really encourage you to attend one of the meetings - Doors open at 6:45pm, and the meeting starts at 7:15pm - The dates are:

• Wednesday 10^th September Uckfield at the Civic Centre, Civic Approach, Uckfield
• Wednesday 17^th September Crowborough at the Council Offices, Pine Grove, Crowborough
• Wednesday 24^th September Heathfield at the Community Centre, Sheepsetting Lane, Cross in Hand
• Thursday 2^nd October Hailsham at the East Community Centre, Vega Close, Hailsham

You may have seen a number of articles in the local press recently, regarding an initiative that we have launched in local schools. We are undertaking a programme of security marking all the valuable IT equipment in schools, with the ‘Smart Water’ chemical identification system. In addition to marking the specific equipment, we will also be installing smart water spray systems, targeted at anyone breaking into our schools. The invisible Smart Water dye will allow us to identify equipment, and prove an evidential link between the property and the thief. The spray system, further enables us to prove that a suspect has been inside a protected building. We have also installed ultra-violet screening devices at the custody centres across the area, which will help identify anyone who has come in contact with the dye.

Like many public facilities, schools by the very nature of their business need to be accessible to the community, this potentially leaves them difficult to keep secure, the smart water system will now provide further added protection against theft. The scheme has been funded through a Sussex Police initiative, where innovative ideas are considered for small grants.

On the subject of schools, now we are in the middle of summer, the extended holidays have begun. We often experience a slight increase in reports of anti social behaviour incidents during this time of year. It is important to note that the increase is not necessarily attributable to young people, this a popular time for barbeques, garden parties, and other more noisy social activates, which attract complaints. So far this year that increase has not occurred, however we closely monitor reports across the district, through the Joint Action Team process, and when emerging issues arise look to the best partners to respond.

To increase positive youth and community activity, there have been a number of community events recently, e.g. the Wealden Sports Festival in Uckfield on the 26^th July and the National Play Day on 6^th August in Hailsham. These events are a real drive by partners, to get the community active and engaged, and are fully supported by our officers. We are also really looking forward to the benefits from the new mobile play equipment, which district council has purchased. The Joint Action Group are fully engaged in identifying key locations, where the equipment can be taken to help divert young people towards positive activities. For an area such as Wealden, with small centres of populations, the mobility of the play equipment, which includes a skate park, is a real benefit.

Local crime statistics: For some time we have been running the ’Community Contact’ scheme, where we circulate details of crimes, incidents and news to local people. Each week we send messages to 9 ward groups highlighting what is happening in the community, thereby raising awareness about incidents and generating information back from potential witnesses. The community contact scheme focuses on specific crimes, with the aim of getting people involved.

If you would like to become a member of the community contact scheme please go to the following link. http://www.sussex.police.uk/neighbourhood_policing/
downloads/neighbourhoodWatch/comunitycontact.pdf

Building on the community contact scheme, I have for some time been keen to release longer term statistics about the levels of crime in our communities. Which is why I was really please to see the proposals (local crime mapping) set out in the policing green Paper, ‘From the neighbourhood to the national’, and the Cabinet Office report ‘Engaging Communities in Fighting Crime’. The papers discuss the benefits of crime mapping for every community. To develop the work in this area, Sussex Police has launched a data base this week that now provides such ward level crime data. The following address will take you directly to the link for the data, which can also be accessed via the, ‘contact your local officer’ area of our web site.

http://www.sussex.police.uk/neighbourhood_policing/
downloads/total.asp?id=Wealden

Another subject covered by the two government reports, is community involvement in priority setting. I have discussed my plans around priority setting in previous articles,  but by way of an update; we are making good progress with the identification of the top 3 priorities for every ward across the district. The PCSOs together with the neighbourhood Constables, have already identified the priority setting panels in a number of wards, and we are beginning to set the action plans to measure progress against the priorities you identify. There is a lot of work to do under this programme, but it is really important, and we are committed to its delivery.

Finally on the subject of the green paper, there is significant discussion about measuring police activity through surveys of public confidence. As I have discussed previously, we have moved in this direction (as a force) and are focusing even more closely on the quality of our service, in addition to the quantitive statistics.

I said I would make mention of knife crime at the start of my report, the reason for this is to put in to context a couple of incidents we have encountered this month in Crowborough. Nationally there has been a recent increase in concern over knife related incidents. Because of the national nature of such reports, concerns about incidents have extensive and wide spread impact. The effect of such wide coverage is that single incidents or cases from less safe areas, impact on the feeling of well being locally.

In Wealden we have actually seen a decrease in knife related incidents since 2006. Between 2005 and 2008, across Sussex Wealden has recorded the lowest number of incidents per population, and the second lowest actual number of occurrences. This year there have been 8 incidents, 4 of which were in relation to ‘simple’ possession of a ‘knife’.

In relation to the two incidents in Crowborough, I can confirm that they were totally unconnected, and although very serious, involved low level injury. With the second incident a man has been charged, and is currently in custody. With the first incident there are some good lines of enquiry, and the matter is still under investigation. Possessing knives is a serious matter, and we are alert to the national concerns. Where necessary we will stop and search suspects, and use the powers at our disposal to reduce the low risk of incidents, even lower.

Wealden District Commanders Message – August 2008

Chief Inspector Neil Honnor

CRIME REPORT

Vehicle Crime

Contact Information

In an emergency dial 999
For less urgent matters call the Sussex Police Call Handling Centre on 0845 60 70 999 (open 24 x 7).
E-mail Sussex Police to report crime, click on http://www.sussex.police.uk/contact_us.asp
Please quote the relevant serial number and date if you are responding to a reported crime, if not, ask to report a crime and request the serial number.

Information about any type of crime can be given anonymously by calling CRIMESTOPPERS (open 24x7) 0800 555111 or email www.crimestoppers-uk.org/

To find out who your local Police Officers and Police Community Support Officers are and how to contact them go to http://www.sussex.police.uk type in your post code and you’ll now find the names of all your local neighbourhood officers. Click on their pictures and you’ll see their personal profiles and contact details.

Free Home Fire Safety Visits by East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Fire Safety advice available at http://www.esfrs.org/

Other Contacts
Safer Wealden Partnership : Dave Law Anti Social Behaviour Co-ordinator 0845 6070999 ext. 33231 Email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Trading Standards: 01323 418200 Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
British Transport Police: 0800 405040

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