Police Report – 12/07/2017

We would like to begin this report by updating you all on some changes to the Community Policing Team model.

On Monday 17th July 2017 the Swindon Policing Hub will change from three Community Policing Teams (CPT) namely North, West and South, to two - North and South.

When we launched the CPT model in November 2016 I was sure that maintaining three teams offered better resilience than two, however I was wrong. As a result, our presence in the town centre has been affected and partners have given us feedback accordingly. For this reason I have worked with the Project Team to merge the current structures.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing; having had the chance to see how the current three team model is working I have decided that consolidating what we have into two CPTs is the best way forward for the maintenance of flexibility and to continue to deliver policing services to our communities. Additionally, we expect larger teams to provide duty supervisors with greater flexibility to enable us to proactively target areas of crime or anti-social behaviour.

Operational policing structures will continue to evolve as we develop our understanding of service demand. This is not a whole-sale change or departure from CPT; instead it is a small adjustment to the existing model.

One further benefit of the change is the fact that this consolidation will allow us to align our existing beat areas with the new Parish structure.

To reassure you, the change will not involve a reduction in front-line staff; we will be removing middle managers in the form of one Inspector (Barry Reed) and one Sergeant (Ben Huggins). Swindon continues to benefit from 24/7 Duty Inspector coverage and this level of supervision will remain unchanged.

Wherever possible we are working to maintain operational resilience. You will, however, continue to see the changeover of Police Officer posts to PCSOs and other types of Police Staff where we can do so without affecting our ability to respond to in-coming demand. Our Recruitment Team continues to work hard to respond to the business requirement for all worker types, including attracting new Call Handlers for our Crime and Communications Teams to improve our 101 call-answer rates.

In conclusion, I see this evolution of our CPT model as being at the core of our values; a Police Service which is fit for the 21st century by being flexible and adaptive, embracing technology and constantly reviewing and assessing our structures to ensure that we are as effective and efficient as we can be in delivering the high quality of service that our public expects.

Yours sincerely,

Supt. Charlie Armstrong

Swindon Borough Policing Commander

In regard to ASB in the area we continue to have regular patrols to offer some high visibility crime prevention and reassurance whenever operationally possible. Police are limited in their capacity to deal with motorbike and mopeds however if residents do note any registration numbers that would be very useful in helping us to tackle anti-social behaviour on bikes. I would ask residents to continue to call police via 101 when the issue is occurring. It is important incidents are recorded so that police can task their resources appropriately targeting where there are issues.We are fully aware of the concerns and frustrations felt by local residents regarding the process for reporting criminal or anti-social activity in your area. The 101 system is something that we, as local Officers, do not have any control or influence over. The system is under review by Senior Officers at this time. What we do ask though is that whilst the process may sometimes feel very difficult or ‘pointless’, we passionately urge all residents to please be as patient as you can and continue to report incidents to us. The more that we as an Organisation are told, the greater power we will have in solving any local issues with the support of Partner Agencies.

You maynot be aware that local officershold regular surgeries to speak with any residents who wish to discuss any matters affecting them. The nearest surgery for St Andrews Parish is held on the last Saturday of the month at the Orbital Retail Park between 10am and 12pm. We welcome all members of the community to come and say hello, including members of the town council.

Concerning the incidents close to Isambard Community School, in regard to the incident on the 7th July 2017 police would like to reassure residents there was no knife involved. The parties concerned are known to the police and the matter is being dealt with. The incident this Sunday was not connected to the incident on the 7th July and matter is being dealt with by detectives in Swindon CID. The parties were known to one another and there is nothing to indicate this was more than an isolated incident.

Many Thanks

Community Coordinators

North Swindon Community Policing Team