Minutes:
a) Wild Fowl Feeding Awareness Campaign
FIELD_SUMMARY
Paul Barker, (from Leicester City Council’s Parks Service), explained that Watermead Park had become overrun with geese, largely due to the amount of food that was being left for them. This caused various problems:-
· The geese could be intimidating to some people;
· There was a large volume of droppings in the car parks, which could be slippery;
· The grass at the park was being destroyed by the geese;
· The water was becoming polluted with goose droppings and uneaten food;
· There had been a big increase in the rat population, due to the amount of uneaten food there; and
· Other wildlife was being pushed out.
Paul Barker explained that much of the food being left for the geese was not good for them. For example, bread could be given in small amounts, but it did not contain any nutrients. Cooked food was sometimes left, which was poisonous to the geese, as it contained salt, which they could not metabolise.
As a result of these problems, staff would be on site for four weeks in June to talk to people to encourage them to use the right food. Temporary and permanent notices giving advice about this also would be put up.
The Meeting welcomed this initiative, but questioned how it would be monitored. In reply, it was noted that staff would be on site from about 7.00 am and then for most of the rest of the day. Parks Wardens and the City Wardens could issue fines to people who continued to feed the geese inappropriately.
b) Police Update
The Meeting welcomed Inspector Ed McBryde-Wilding, who had replaced Steve Rowley as the Keyham Lane Local Policing Unit Commander. He introduced himself and encouraged anyone who had a problem to contact the Police, as this helped them analyse where problems were occurring.
PC Rob Poutney advised that Operation Sapphire had seen a significant reduction in the number of burglaries in the Ward. For this operation, two marked vehicles had been parked, or used for patrols, in high visibility areas. As a result, there had been five burglaries in the last month, compared to twelve in the month before. In the same month in the previous year there had been eleven.
PC Poutney explained that overall there had been a slight reduction in the number of crimes recorded. The number of thefts from cars had reduced from ten to seven and theft from shops was down. However, there had been an increase of one in the number of bike thefts.
Residents noted that not many people were aware of the 101 telephone number that could be used to report problems. Suggested places for publicising this included local radio stations and putting posters on the front gates of schools and community centres, or at local shops, such as those on Nicklaus Road.
PC Poutney explained that he was passing on information about this when he could, but the scheme was run by the Council. He encouraged people to report all crimes to the Police, including if they were being intimidated for doing so. The 0116 222 2222 telephone number for the Police was still operational.
Residents explained that they did not know what they could do to help reduce crime. PC Poutney noted that community relations had more impact on crime than anything else. For example, it had been found that, when residents discussed crime together, such as through Neighbourhood Watch schemes, crime figures reduced significantly.
It was noted that the Police did not always have the resources to have a significant presence at large events, such as Diwali celebrations, but the number of officers on the streets was increased to cover such events. Some of these officers were drawn from areas less affected by such events, but as they were spread across the whole City it was not always obvious they were there. In addition, dedicated patrols were put in to certain areas. Inspector McBryde-Wilding undertook to ensure that such information was communicated better, to reassure residents that measures were being taken.
Concern was expressed that banks were reducing the availability of safety deposit boxes. This meant that people could be keeping more gold at home. Inspector McBryde-Wilding offered to speak to local banks to see how this situation could be addressed.
c) Dates of Future Meetings
Thursday, 12 July 2012
Thursday, 11 October 2012
Thursday, 10 January 2013
Thursday, 14 March 2013