Last updated on: Monday, August 15
The Safer Neighbourhoods Team for Baughurst, Wolverton, Ramsdell, Charter Alley, Monk Sherborne and Sherborne St. John is:
PC Miriam Edwards, PCSO Geoffrey Fermor-Dunman and Special Constable Chris Round
We are based out of Tadley Police Station
Locally, we work with your community to find out what matters most where you live. We will work with you and our partner agencies to agree the main priorities for the area and how we will work together to tackle them.
The main policing priorities for the area are:
- Anti-social behaviour
- Speeding
- Engagement
These are the priorities that people in your local area have agreed with the Safer Neighbourhoods team. You can influence these priorities by contacting your team, attending a meeting or speaking to members of the team when you see them out and about.
Country Watch
Please click here for more information about the Country Watch scheme in this area.
Watch schemes, such as Neighbourhood Watch, Horse Watch, Business Watch, etc, are set up with a view to increasing the appropriate communities’ awareness to crime and suspicious activity.
Over the last few years, we have seen a marked increase in the theft of gardening equipment, both domestic and commercial, from vehicles, private and commercial premises. Although these incidents prove costly to any victim, they have a great impact on those who rely on the items for their income.
We have introduced Landscape Watch to circulate information specifically to those involved in gardening and landscaping-type businesses, so they are aware not only of where crimes are occurring, but also if any suspicious vehicles are sighted in the area which are believed to be involved.
Membership costs nothing, and all that is required is an email contact and if desired, a mobile number on which to receive text alerts. Crime prevention advice can also be offered, including a reduced price on the security-marking fluid called Smartwater, to those who join the scheme.
Action we have taken in relation to your priorities
You said: Anti-social behaviour
We did:
We have been looking into complaints about cyclists using the footpaths in Long Grove, Baughurst, and causing problems for car drivers. A letter has been delivered to the local residents and approaches made to The Hurst Community College to assist with improving the students' behaviour when outside school.
The parking at Sherborne St John Primary School has begun to get a little out of hand again on occasions - leading to one complaint by a resident whose driveway was completely blocked by a parent's car, which also completely blocked Dark Lane, and when spoken to by the resident, the driver refused to move it. They have been advised by me about future behaviour, and at the start of the autumn term, the school will reiterate to parents in the school newsletter the importance of parking safely and lawfully.
You said: Speeding
We did:
My colleagues in the Roads Policing Unit have been active on the beat, as always. I accompanied them to Ramsdell on July 15, and they had spent several occasions before this at various sites - their presence appears to be having the desired effect, as they had very few occasions to stop speeding vehicles.
On July 1, the Safety Camera Partnership van was monitoring the speed of passing vehicles in the 30mph limit at West End, Sherborne St John. The results were that he captured 13 speeding vehicles, the fastest being 45mph.
On July 22 at Sherborne St John, 11 vehicles were captured, the fastest again being 45mph, but one was a mobile crane weighing in at about 40 tonnes!
You said: Engagement
We did:
On Tuesday July 12, PCSO Pete Coe and PC Steve Rogerson attended Sherborne St John Primary School, where they gave a Firearms And Knife Education (FAKE) presentation to year six students. The aim is to highlight the dangers of using or messing with weapons, real or imitation, and the possible consequences when the police become involved. The students loved it, although there is a serious message which they all seemed to understand. Across the county, this is proving to be an excellent method of reducing firearm and knife crime and reducing injuries.
Two new Neighbourhood Watch schemes have recently been registered - Crabs Hill, Wolverton, and Wolverton Townsend.
On June 23, there was a draw at the Baughurst Parish Council for the results of the Your Voice Counts questionnaire return.
The winners were as follows:
- Family tickets to The Vyne - Mrs Garrett, Baughurst
- Meal for two at The Swan, Sherborne St John - Mrs Simpson, Charter Alley
- Tickets to A Midsummer's Night Dream at The Vyne - Mr Leonard, Wolverton
- Lunch for two at The Wellington Arms - Mr Hoyles, Baughurst
- £25 voucher for Elm Park Garden Centre - Mrs Evans, Baughurst
Offenders brought to justice
To be updated soon.
General
A cattle trailer stolen from just over the county border into West Berkshire was found in a ditch near Stoney Heath, and swiftly reported in by a resident who found it whilst walking in a wooded area. We were able to identify the owner and it was successfully recovered.
Lead has been stolen from the roof of Heath End Village Hall - this is a crime which is unfortunately on the increase, but please report if you have any lead or other metal stolen from buildings. With regards to intelligence which has been gathered from the community, a man was searched for drugs in Shyshack Lane after information was received that he was selling drugs to local youths. He had nothing on him when he was searched, but this is a good example of how we can disrupt and detect such activity, when members of the public report this type of person to us.
There was a large open-air charity event held on Saturday, July 9 at a private premises in Baughurst. We had prior knowledge and were in contact with the organisers, the owners of the land, and the licensing department of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council. Through joint working and good communication, which included the organisers leaflet-dropping to all local residents, and us sending a report via the Neighbourhood Watch distribution list, we only had a handful of complaints about the noise, the majority of which were some distance away, as the music was carried on the prevailing wind, and they weren't aware of the function. Everyone locally accepted the disruption that evening for its purpose - to raise lots of money for a very worthy cause.
Churches - there has been a spate of burglaries to rural churches in the Basingstoke rural area and beyond, mainly breaking into locked rooms (vestries, etc) within where safes and money boxes are kept. We have informed all churches, but please be vigilant if you see any unusual vehicles, people or activity near your local church, day or night, and report immediately, obtaining registration numbers if possible.
Long Grove garage break-ins - during June, there was a spate of garage burglaries to the blocks in Woodlands/Long Grove, Baughurst. Tools, electrical items, etc, stolen. These areas are very vulnerable, particularly at night when there is little or no lighting in the vicinity. If you own or rent a garage in a block, and have any valuable items stored within, please consider further security measures.
As the good weather hopefully continues, vehicle break-ins at beauty spots and dog walking areas will increase – if you leave your vehicle unattended in an isolated location (ie whilst walking the dog) or even outside your house overnight, please do not leave any valuables on show, including accessories for mobile phones and sat navs. We can provide you with a card to place on your dashboard to deter thieves, if you would like one, please contact us.
Also, please ensure that you security mark any valuable electrical items, and also machinery, plant and tools (such as gardening equipment). Marking your property makes it much more likely to be returned, should it be stolen and come back into the police’s possession. We also have a useful form, which can be emailed to you, if required.
Community events
On Saturday, July 16, we attended The Hurst Community College in Baughurst, where an event was being held called 'Tadley Top That'. The Local Childrens Partnership (lLCP) arranged the event to bring together various partner agencies and local groups to improve communications and engage with harder to reach families. The LCP's aims are to improve engagement with parents and cut truancy.
Although the day started badly, with torrential rain throughout the morning, the sun came out at lunchtime, and lots of people turned up to enjoy what was on offer. We took the Mobile Police Office (handy for shelter during the showers - it was a bit like camping! and the 4x4 Navarra.
PCSO Pete Coe had arranged a display of (replica) guns through the Firearms And Knife Education (FAKE) department, which visitors found very interesting. We had lots of 'goodies' to give out - pens, badges and balloons - and the kids could try on our 'riot' gear. We also had Hampshire Horsewatch information and leaflets about joining the Special Constabulary.
I must thank Pete and Steve for their hard work in organising our attendance at the event.
Pictured (from left): PCSO Pete Coe, three local children from the Tadley area, PCSO Jim Rickaby, PC Steve Rogerson and Special Constable Stewart Packham.
How you can take action
Look out for your local beat team and the vehicle for your chance to discuss any concerns you have, or even just come and say hello. We want to meet as many of the local residents as possible.
Your Voice Counts - community priorities
Your Safer Neighbourhoods team wants to hear from you.
Have your say on what the policing priorities should be for your area, by clicking here to download a copy of the form and send it back to your local team.
Come and tell us what is important to you in your neighbourhood, and play your part in setting local priorities. You could also volunteer to help the teams working in your local area and make a real difference to your neighbourhood. Click here for more information about police support volunteers.
Crime mapping and local performance information
Hampshire Constabulary has joined with partner agencies in the two counties to provide you with local information about crime and disorder, using a system called CADDIE. On the bottom left hand side of this page, you can enter your postcode into CADDIE to view information about your local area.
You can also view details of how we are performing against certain key criteria in your local area. Click here to see your local performance information.
Please click here for the Baughurst Parish Council website.
Please click here for the Monk Sherborne Parish Council website
Please click here for the Sherborne St. John Parish Council website
Please note Hampshire Constabulary is not responsible for external websites.
How to contact us
If you would like to speak to the officers responsible for your local area please call 101 or email the team.
