Agenda item

To receive a presentation from Hertfordshire Constabulary.

Sergeant Jonathan Vine, Hertfordshire Constabulary, thanked the Chair for the invitation to address the Committee and provided Members with a verbal presentation.

The Chair thanked Sergeant Vine for his presentation.

Audio recording – 6 minutes 40 seconds

Sergeant Jonathan Vine, Hertfordshire Constabulary, thanked the Chair for the invitation to address the Committee and provided Members with a verbal presentation including:

·                Sergeant Vine had returned to Royston after 7 years away;

·                The Covid-19 pandemic had significantly affected policing over the last 12 months;

·                There had initially been an increase in domestic violence but this had levelled out;

·                A decrease in demand for other policing services had been seen and crime levels were low in certain areas of crime;

·                There had been very few Covid breaches in the Royston community;

·                There had been a few issues with anti-social behaviour from youths in the town and an Operation had been set up to target and support this group specifically. Unfortunately some of the group had committed a quite serious offence, been charged and were awaiting court. Anti-social behaviour had now reduced significantly as a result;

·                The Police had tried to be as visible as possible in the town during the pandemic and had maintained the same staffing levels as the last couple of years;

·                There had been a significant reduction in crime in the rural area;

·                There had been a few hare coursing incidents but these were few and far between and rural burglary offences had reduced considerably;

·                Speeding incidents were an issue in Royston and the wider county and had been high on the public’s priority list when consulted;

·                The Office for the Police and Crime Commissioner had supplied the Royston force with a speed van and it was hoped that this would enable a lot more work to be done to tackle speeding in the community;

·                There had been an increase in grafitti around the town recently and the Police looked forward to working closely with NHDC to tackle this and remove the grafitti quickly;

·                The youth provision in the town could be improved in terms of more facilities such as youth clubs which would enable the Police to engage with young people;

·                Crime figures for the past year for the area were as provided as follows (covering the area from Baldock Services to Buntingford and the Cambridgeshire border to the Essex border at Nuthampstead):

·                Burglary (dwelling) in Royston was down from 21 (some of which were domestic-related) to 7, and in the rural area from 59 to 21 as a result of people working from home so homes were less likely to be targeted;

·                Criminal damage was down from 127 the previous year to 112; theft from a motor vehicle was down from 79 to 71 and work was being done to target this, particularly in relation to tradespersons’ vans; violence with an injury involved was down from 127 to 83; a slight increase had been seen in shoplifting; overall crime had gone down from 1089 recorded crimes to 894 (a 17.6% reduction);

·                The front of the station had been restored;

·                Increased visibility in the town was planned over the next 12 months;

·                Royston First BID was looking to fund an additional PCSO post in the town;

·                More engagement work was planned in schools;

·                Preventative work with the elderly in residential homes and care homes was planned to stop the elderly becoming victims of crime, e.g. cybercrime;

·                A monthly youth night at the town cinema was being considered to improve engagement with young people;

·                Overall Royston was a very safe place to live.

The following Members commented and asked questions:

·                Councillor Tony Hunter;

·                Councillor Gerald Morris;

·                Councillor Ruth Brown.

Councillor Ruth Brown advised that Trinity Life Church had recently bought The Old School House in Market Hill to develop as a community hub and would like to work with the Police on improving youth provision in Royston.

Sergeant Vine responded to questions as follows:

·                There were significant delays in the court process as a result of the pandemic. In terms of what the courts were doing to catch up, Sergeant Vine advised that he could check with the Crown Prosecution Service and provide the Committee with further information;

·                Youth clubs and youth facilities such as ‘Viv and Andy’s’ had been very beneficial in the past for 13 to 17 year olds, and provided a way for the Police to engage with young people; the loss of these had led to an increase in anti-social behaviour;

·                He would like to work with the community to see the re-establishment of a youth facility where the young people could go one night per week which would enable the Police to engage;

·                He reminded everyone to get in contact about any problems in their area.

The Chair thanked Sergeant Vine for his presentation.