Officers from Leicestershire Constabulary will be at the meeting to provide an update on police issues in Westcotes Ward
Minutes:
Sergeant Simon Barnes of Leicestershire Constabulary updated the Meeting as follows:-
· He thanked Jamie Stubbs, City Warden for the Westcotes Ward, for her work getting graffiti removed in the Ward;
· The Westcotes Neighbourhood Police could be found on the Twitter and Facebook social network sites as Westcotes Cops. It was hoped that information could be provided through these sources, along with things such as positive news stories and reminders about events;
· There was little the police could do to influence planning applications, although where appropriate they provided comments on their concerns and possible issues arising from the applications. For example, a large development could lead to a large increase in population, which in turn could lead to an increase in drink and drug related activities and vulnerable people;
· The Police felt that there should be no more massage parlours on Narborough Road. However, there were concerns about the safety of the women working there, because if there were no parlours the women could work out of sight, making them more vulnerable, but consideration had to be given to the whole area;
· Progress had been made in getting an arm added to the CCTV camera on Wilberforce Road, so that the range of the camera could be improved;
· The Police would continue to work with the housing association to improve the situation for residents on the “herbs estate” in relation to anti-social behaviour in Bede Park;
· No particular problems had been reported since the last meeting. It was known from anecdotal evidence that problems had been experienced, but they could not be dealt with by the Police unless they were reported. However, the street pastors had been very helpful in reporting incidents they had seen;
· Crime statistics were as follows:-
o 26 burglaries of dwellings, which was an increase of 6 over the same period last year;
o 15 burglaries other than dwellings, an increase of 4 over the same period last year;
o 10 robberies, a reduction from 13 over the same period last year;
o 12 thefts from persons. This was an increase from 7 over the same period last year and was being looked at closely, but some appeared to be due to carelessness by the victims;
o 32 thefts from motor vehicles, a decrease from 34 over the same period last year. Arrests had been made after various vehicles had been damaged. The advice to keep the vehicle locked and valuables out of site was reiterated; and
o 21 anti-social behaviour incidents, which was a decrease from 23 over the same period last year. This was seen as a static position. Work was needed to encourage people to report these incidents, as many reports were generated by the Police through work on other issues; and
· On Saturday, 1 October, from 2.00 – 4.00 pm the Police would be at the Iceland car park on Narborough Road with a “How many valuables are in the car?” event. This would be publicised widely.
Residents reported that there appeared to be broken glass in the windows of shops on Narborough Road. In addition, cyclists were cycling on the pavements there and ringing their bells to get people to move out of their way. Sergeant Barnes advised that he was aware that some windows in Narborough Road had not been repaired, but was unaware of any recent problems with cyclists on pavements.
PC Matt Green of Leicestershire Constabulary advised the meeting that cyclists were challenged when seen riding on pavements and that the Police tried to educate them that it was against the law to do so, as road users from other countries could be unaware of this. He undertook to pass on the concerns raised at this meeting to the Neighbourhood Policing Team. The Chair advised that the Ward Councillors regularly received complaints about people cycling on pavements. It was recognised that it was difficult to take action against people who did this, especially as Police resources were very stretched.
The Chair reported that, when the recent application for a massage parlour on Narborough Road had been considered by the Council’s Planning and Development Control Committee, assurances had been given by the applicant and their solicitor that it was a genuine parlour. The Committee could only act on the information it was given and could not guess at activities that could take place at a venue. The possibility of giving temporary permission was considered, but this could only be approved on planning grounds.
It was noted that, once planning permission had been given to use premises for a particular purpose, it could not be withdrawn. The Police also advised that they could only take action against premises on the basis of evidence. However, they made enforcement visits and checked that no-one was working in the establishments against their wishes, or had been smuggled in. If people needed rescuing from the establishment, this was arranged.