Cheltenham Town Centre Safer Community Team

St Gregory The Great School Tag Rugby Team Set For Regionals

The tag rugby team from The Catholic School of St Gregory the Great are thrilled to be heading to a regional competition following their success in the countywide tournament, organised by Gloucestershire Constabulary and partners, on Friday May 21.

The team, who are supported by officers from the Cheltenham Town Centre Safer Community Team, came second in the Gloucestershire tournament having been undefeated in all of their matches until the final. Their success means that in June they will be heading to Taunton to play in the regional competition.  

Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Lynda Price is one of the officers involved, she said; “We’re so proud of all of our players, they played incredibly well and we’re thrilled to be through to the next stage of the competition.

“The tag rugby tournament is a brilliant opportunity for the local policing team to build relations with these young people and we hope that from this children realise police officers are approachable people who are there to help.”

The St Gregory the Great team are supported not only by PCSO Price, PCSO Steve Benbow, Sergeant Andy Miller and Sergeant Alistair Hammett but have also been sponsored by the Brewery Complex in the town centre.

Over 200 pupils from 18 primary schools across the county competed at the event at Hartpury College on Friday, May 21and Gloucester rugby player Jack Adams was there to give a few pointers and present the children with their awards at the end of the competition.

The annual tournament, which has been running since 2008, was organised by police with the UK Child Victims of Crime charity, Rugby Football Union and Hartpury College and is part of a national scheme.

Community Engagement Report 13/5/10 Inspector 658 Roberts

As you will all probably be aware from my previous reports the focus of policing in Gloucestershire is changing from that of judging our performance solely on statistics around crime reduction and crime detection, to measuring our success against levels of public confidence. As of 1st April this year 'detection rates' effectively became a thing of the past and the only measure of performance in the future will be around ‘confidence’ which will be reflected through various surveys conducted by the Constabulary and the British Crime Survey.

From my point of view the irony of this change in direction is that for the first time in its history the Town Centre INA was the best performing INA in Gloucestershire Constabulary for the year 2009/10 in terms of 'detections', or in other words bringing offenders to justice. Not only that, the team has provided the best set of overall figures ever recorded by the INA against the backdrop of crime reduction of 9.5%, another significant drop in crime. Now, whilst it is still too early to judge the impact of these efforts on public confidence these results support the changes we have made on the INA that ensure all our crimes are dealt with and managed efficiently, and our victims are given the best service possible.

This is particularly relevant in relation to crimes of violence which despite seeing significant reductions of 20% compared to last year have only been subject to an 8% reduction in detections, the only INA with such a significant 'swing' in the County.

As I have stated in previous reports these figures mean nothing if they do nothing to tackle the public's perception of the 'fear of crime' and the main focus of my Safer Communities Team going forward will be to raise public confidence by addressing this 'fear factor'. This will be done through a number of Operations looking to tackle anti-social behaviour, alcohol related violence, drugs and the acquisitive crime associated with it. There will also be increased activity around community engagement, giving residents and visitors the opportunity to get to know and engage with their local police so that they can tell us what they want rather than the police deciding what is best for them. 

As I have stated, going forward the main the focus of the Constabulary will be to keep people from harm and to build confidence in their local police.

Most of you will have heard of the term Policing Pledge and some of you may have heard of the People First agenda which effectively sets out the way we will now try and deliver our services to ensure that they are delivered according to the needs and requirements of our communities and the individuals we may deal with.

One example of this new era is the recent introduction of two new methods of dealing with crime, Community Orientated Policing (otherwise known as COPS) and Restorative Justice.

These initiatives are being rolled out to all our staff over the coming weeks and it is already having a dramatic impact on things like customer satisfaction and public confidence. They also relieve staff from the unnecessary burden of bureaucracy and paperwork enabling them to deal with incidents more effectively and efficiently and allowing them to get out of the station and provide more proactive visible patrols.

COPS

Firstly COPS or in other words 'common sense' policing. I am sure when I have finished explaining this a number of you, especially the some of the older generation will reminisce about their old local bobby and say "well that's what it used to be like". Well I would have to agree, although as you will see the old 'clip round the ear' resolution isn't part of this new process.

In effect this process gives back the discretion police officers lost under the 'detection' culture to deal with a crime whilst taking into consideration a number of things, including the victim's wishes, the 'harm' involved, the offender’s history and good old fashioned common sense.

Now whilst this discretion applies to most crimes it does not apply to domestic violence, hate crime, drugs and road traffic offences although refreshingly the new Chief Constable has made it clear that all staff should be empowered to deal with any other matters using a 'value based' cycle the main thrust of which is to 'deliver a service you would be proud for your family and friends to receive'.

Example of COPS resolutions may be.

A shoplifter is detained for stealing some low value items and the victim states that they do not want to pursue a prosecution in light of the value of the goods and the detainee’s lack of previous convictions.  Historically the police would have made an arrest, persuaded the victim to provide a statement of complaint, conducted a house search and then looked to prosecute either through a disposal such a  Fixed Penalty Notice, a caution or a charge. Under COPS this can be resolved immediately using various mechanisms to satisfy the victim, such as a verbal or written apology, payment for the goods, the provision of a service so long as it is agreed with the offender and is not degrading (such as collecting trolleys or litter picking), and even making a donation to a charity of the victims choice.

In this way the victim restores some sort of control over the offender and justice is delivered with a meaningful sacrifice from the offender. If the offender refuses to agree to these conditions or they renege on the agreement they are processed formally anyway.

However I must make it clear that this process is victim focussed and not victim led and the discretion will always remain with the officer dealing to resolve this in a way they see fit. Take the scenario I have already described but replace the victim with an individual who is adamant they want the offender prosecuted. In the circumstances outlined the officer can determine that this resolution is not appropriate and impose their own sanction using their discretion and common sense.

Other scenarios which may fall under this process are where persons who are responsible for graffiti agree to clean it up or victims of damage have the damage repaired and some gardening done by the offender as well!

As you can see there are a number of possibilities with this but essentially it is about giving back discretion and involving victims in the process of resolving their crime.

Restorative Justice

Unlike COPS, Restorative Justice is victim led and is all about putting the victim back in control. As with COPS, if the offender refuses to engage with this process then they may be dealt with formally, but unlike COPS this gives the victim the opportunity to meet with an offender to get them to explain their actions and make them understand the impact these actions have had on them and their families. As with COPS a number of sanctions can be attached to this process but essentially it is about giving victims some answers and some closure.

Examples of this may be where a group of youths engaged in acts of asb meet with their victim or victims or where the perpetrator of a theft sits down with the person they have harmed to explain their act, apologise and agree to some sort of resolution. Clearly this will be done in a structured and sterile environment to ensure that the victim is in control and a number of officers have been especially trained to facilitate or advise on these meetings.

I am sure these new processes will raise a number of issues for many of you but I am fully supportive of it and believe it will not only bring back some common sense in the way that we meet our victim’s needs but it will go some way to putting resources back where the public want to see them, on the streets.

More Cheltenham Addresses To Benefit From New Crime Fighting Technology And Crime Prevention Advice

Residents in two more town centre streets are set to benefit from the latest crime-fighting technology as police deliver state-of-the-art forensic equipment to help them protect their homes and property this weekend.

 Read more information here.  

New Crime Fighting Technology Comes To Cheltenham

Residents in a Cheltenham street are set to benefit from the latest crime-fighting technology as police deliver state-of-the-art forensic equipment to help them protect their homes and property.

On Sunday, April 25, officers from the Cheltenham Town Centre Safer Community Team (SCT) will be visiting residents in Winstonian Road. The visits form part of their work to reduce crime and increase confidence in the local policing team by working with the community to encourage the use of simple crime prevention measures. To read more click here.  

Cheltenham Town Centre SCT Asks “What Do You Want From Your Policing Team?”

Officers from Cheltenham Town Centre’s Safer Community Team (SCT) have been involved in an initiative to find out what people want from their local policing team. Read more here.  

Introducing Your Local Policing Team - PCSO James Holyoake

  Police Officers and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) from across the Cheltenham area are keen to encourage the public to get to know who their local policing team are.

Based at your local police station Safer Community Teams (SCTs) are dedicated to working with the community and local agencies to introduce new ways of tackling crime and anti-social behavior. They also provide high-visibility policing in local areas, as well as being a first point of contact for local residents with non emergency issues.

To encourage residents to familiarise themselves with their local policing team officers from the Cheltenham Town Centre SCT would like to introduce themselves to you and let you know how you can contact themPCSO James Holyoake has worked for Gloucestershire Police for almost seven years. He started working for the service as an operator in the Contact Management department answering calls from the public. He has also been a Special Constable within the Cheltenham Road East SCT. In May 2008 he became a PCSO based within Cheltenham Town Centre SCT.

James said; “I am responsible for the St James, Royal Well and St Georges road areas where I do regular patrols meeting and talking to the community.

“I also regularly attend the police information police (PIPs) at Waitrose supermarket and the Council offices. This is an opportunity for you to come and have a chat with me about any issues you have or to pick up crime prevention tips. You can find out when I’m next at the PIP by checking the events diary on our SCT webpage on the Gloucestershire Police website.

“I am particularly focused on working with local people to reduce car crime and keep the area safe for people who park there before shopping in the town centre. In order to help reduce vehicle crime I regularly patrol the car parks and if I see any vehicles with items on display a letter is sent to the owner offering advice about preventing thefts by keeping high value items out of site.

“I have also used a Bluetooth message sending device that sends a text message to people’s mobile phones advising them not to leave high value items on display in their cars.”

You can contact the SCT in the following ways:-
Telephone: 0845 090 1234 and ask for Cheltenham Town Centre SCT

Via Post: Cheltenham Town Centre SCT, Talbot House
Lansdown Rd, Cheltenham, GL51 6QT
Or by email here to CheltTownCentre-SCT@gloucestershire.police.uk

Cheltenham SCT Targets Troublemakers at the Brewery

Officers from the SCT are cracking down on anti-social behaviour at the Brewery site and the surrounding area - to find out more read the full story here

Town Centre Police Get Tough On Zig Zag Parking

The Cheltenham Town Centre’s Safer Community Team are starting an operation to stop people parking on white zig zag lines. The operation follows complaints from shoppers and local businesses that motorists are parking on these lines on the lower High Street. For more information about the operation click here .

Cheltenham Officers Get Fundraising For Colleague’s Child

 Police in Cheltenham have been supporting one of their colleagues by raising money for Acorns Children’s Hospice.The hospice cares for children and young people who have life limiting and life threatening conditions across the heart of England.

Officers decided to focus their efforts on this particular charity as one of their colleagues has first hand experience of the wonderful facilities the hospice has to offer.

In June last year over 40 officers and staff took park in the Acorns Children’s Hospice fun run to raise money.

Their latest venture was to hold a raffle at Christmas.

Staff from Cheltenham Town Centre contacted local shops and businesses to see if they would be willing to donate prizes for the draw.

Cavendish House, Venture, Karate World, Debenhams, Dakota, Liquid, Ann Summers and Thorntons all made donations.

They raised over £215, which thanks to a company called Konfidence, which is based in Cornwall, can be spent on floatation jackets and other items for the pool.

They offered the jackets at trade prices so a full range of sizes can be purchased.

Olivia was born in April 2008 and was rushed into hospital in June 2008 suffering with severe epileptic fits.

She has been diagnosed with a number of very complex conditions but as a result will not survive.

Her mum PC Anita Barlow and her dad PC Phill Collins are both serving police officers with Gloucestershire Constabulary.

PC Anita Barlow is based in Cheltenham and says her colleagues’ support has been astounding: “We have been so incredibly touched by everyone’s desire to do all they can to help Olivia.

“I find it difficult to find the words to thank them as it is such an emotional situation.”

The floatation jackets should give those children who use the hydrotherapy pool more freedom during their visit.

PC Barlow added; “Just giving the ability to someone like my Olivia, to have enjoyment out of a world of suffering and pain should be something my colleagues, the local businesses and Konfidence should all be proud of.

“The gift of the floatation jackets will be enjoyed by all that use the services at Acorns hydrotherapy pool.

“My daughter is severely disabled and the hydrotherapy pool is a lifeline for us.

“Olivia has no muscle tone and the water helps to stop tightening in the muscles and ligaments and to stop bed sores.”

For further information on the Acorns Children’s Hospice you can visit their website at www.acorns.org.uk or you can call 01564 825000.

Cheltenham SCT - Police Tackle Burglaries

Officers from the Cheltenham Town Centre  Safer Community Team (SCT), which covers the Town Centre, Lansdown and Fairview communities, are cracking down on burglaries in the area following a number of reports from residents in the neighbourhood.

Police have arrested a number of people in connection with these offences, and investigations are continuing, but they are eager to encourage residents to follow crime prevention advice to minimise the risk of becoming a victim.

PC Mark LOVE from the SCT said, “By remaining vigilant and reporting any suspicious activityin your local area to the police and through the use of Neighbourhood Watch schemes we can help combat crime together and make Cheltenham a safe place to live. If you’re not currently a member of your Neighbourhood Watch Scheme, then please consider joining it.”

Details of your local Neighbourhood Watch Scheme can be obtained from the Cheltenham co-ordinator, Jean White, on 01242 276256.

For further Crime Reduction advice please visit the Crime Reduction pages.

Police Officers and Police Community Support Officers have increased their visible presence within the community and in addition covert police operations are on going within the Cheltenham and Tewkesbury areas to target such offences.

To have a Crime Reduction Survey done on your home e-mail - kim.graham@gloucestershire.police.uk

Meet Your Local Policing Teams

Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) from the Cheltenham Town Centre Safer Community Team (SCT) will be at the Police Information Points (PIP) across Cheltenham at various times and dates throughout this month.  This enables members of the community the chance to ask any questions and discuss any local policing issues.  

PIPs are a two-way communication point between the Police and the public, which enable residents to keep themselves up to date with local Police initiatives and appeals by displaying posters, leaflets and information.

For more information on Police information Points in your area please click on your relevant community ward page below - 

Fairview - Click here

Town Centre - Click here

Lansdown - Click here

Parking Enforcement