*Page updated 26/01/12*
Welcome to the Safer Neighbourhood Team for Bassett. The team is led by Sergeant Martin Wilkins and he is supported by:
- PC 22125 Gail SALLEY (below)
- PC 20370 Pete SCAMELL
- PC 21097 Richard BAKER
- PC 22288 Gemma FROST
- PC 25204 Jamie SHARP
- SC 98520 Joe SARGENT
- SC 99530 Roald STEPHENS
- SC 99138 Matthew ROBINSON
- SC 99437 Jenny ROBERTSON
- SC 98524 Sophie HEATHER
- PCSO 14582Jack Hayward (below)
PC Gail Salley - Community Engagement Officer (above)
Your local priorities
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.
Police and Community Together (PACT) meetings are currently held quarterly in each of the Portswood police neighbourhoods. The meetings are organised and chaired by officers from your Safer Neighbourhoods team and involve people such as residents, councillors, representatives from local resident associations, neighbourhood groups, local housing associations, care homes, housing societies, school head teachers, Southampton City Council and Southampton University amongst others.
PACT meetings are a formal way to identify areas of concern for the local community. Local issues are discussed and from here we set the community priorities for the next three months. Your Safer Neighbourhoods team will then set action plans to tackle the issues and use multi agency strategies to collectively address the priority with an aim to achieve the objective and resolve the problem.
If you feel you would like to get involved in this process and assist with your local issues, then please contact us. This is your opportunity to have a say on the priorities for your neighbourhood.
If you are interested please send your e-mail to: portswood.snt@hampshire.pnn.police.uk .
Current priorities in your area are:
- To work alongside Neighbourhood Watches, Residents Associations and Residents to raise their awareness in the 'No Cold Calling Zone' scheme operated by Southampton City Council.
- Conduct policing operations to reduce the amount of serious acquisitive crime (domestic burglary, theft of and theft from motor vehicles and robbery) and to identify individuals suspected of committing them.
These priorities were set at the last Police And Community Together (PACT) meeting on Wednesday, January 11. The next PACT meeting is set for Thursday, March 29, commencing at 7:30pm at Portswood police station.
Action taken in relation to your priorities
1. In the near future we hope to turn most of the Bassett area into a ‘No Cold Calling Zone’ as we feel this would be beneficial to residents and local communities. By turning the area into a ‘No Cold Calling Zone’ we hope to reduce the amount of door to door callers and potentially reduce incidents in relation to distraction burglaries.
A distraction burglary is where a burglar engages with their victim under false pretences. For example, pretending to sell services or goods, using fake identification or companies in order to gain access to someone’s home. Once inside the property they steal from the occupant while they distract the unsuspecting victim. This is a terrible crime that unfortunately mostly elderly and vulnerable residents fall victim to.
We believe this is something that the ‘No Cold Calling Scheme’ can help reduce. The scheme doesn’t given the police any more powers in relation to cold callers or makes it illegal for them to door knock, but, it’s intended to raise awareness and empower residents to turn away cold callers by having the support from the rest of their community. In areas that have agreed to the ‘No Cold Calling Scheme’ we will look to install signs on lamp posts and distribute stickers for residents to place in their front doors.
We hope to have the scheme up and running very soon but in the meantime we are asking residents to spread the word to help promote interest in the scheme. The bigger the area the zone covers, the more beneficial and productive the scheme will be.
We hope to provide an update soon in relation to this scheme going live but in the meantime, if you would like any further information or advice you can email us at: portswood.snt@hampshire.pnn.police.uk or contact Rebecca Adams at Trading Standards at Southampton City Council on 023 8083 4929 or by email at: Rebecca.Adam@southampton.gov.uk
2. As a city, Southampton has a number of diverse and geographically defining areas which contribute to the effects the area has in relation to crime and disorder. The Bassett area can be defined as an affluent residential area with few local amenities. Therefore in relation to criminal activity, the area is subjected to more serious acquisitive crime like burglary and theft from motor vehicles rather than anti-social behaviour. In response to this and as part of it being a community priority, we have tied our efforts in dealing with these crimes as part of the successful force wide burglary reduction campaign Operation Nemesis.
Operation Nemesis is widely publicised as Hampshire Constabulary’s campaign to tackle burglary across the whole force, cracking down on perpetrators and bringing them to justice.
As your local Safer Neighbourhoods officers, we have been doing our part and have been conducting high visibility patrols to assist in preventing crime by identifying and reacting to any insecurity we find to an address or motor vehicle. We will then look to engage, giving advice and information which should assist with reducing would be victims of crime.
Also as part of Operation Nemesis there have been both high visibility and plain clothed police officers conducting operations in the area as a means of pro-actively catching perpetrators in local hot spots.
Operation Nemesis has been very much a success, so much so, that it has now been extended until March. The number of arrests has been very promising and this is reflected in the current number of outstanding burglary suspects being the lowest since the operation commenced.
Successes and community initiatives
Operation Batcombe
Operation Batcombe is a police-led multi agency initiative aimed at educating students regarding anti-social behaviour, noise nuisance and criminal damage, as well as providing personal safety information. Regular patrols have taken place with particular emphasis on the Glen Eyre Road area. This has led to environmental changes, the repositioning of taxi ranks and better working relationships with university security staff and the student's union. These operations are ongoing throughout the academic year.
Parking
Parking is at a premium across Bassett beat and drivers should be mindful of residents' rights to park. Do not obstruct people's driveways and make sure you comply with on street parking regulations. Look out for parking signage.
Neighbourhood Watch workshop
This Autumn we led our first Neighbourhood Watch workshop for Bassett and Swaythling Neighbourhood Watch groups and residents associations. We had speakers from Street Watch, Southampton City Council Safer Communities Team, Environmental Health and Radian Housing. The police spoke about The Blue Lamp Trust, Crime Reports, http://crimereports.co.uk and local issues.
The evening was a great success and we hope to make this an annual event.
Crime Prevention
In response to the recent burglary series, our advice is to try and make your home appear to be occupied even if you are out. We advise to leave lights on timer switches and possibly leave a radio on to make intruders think that someone is at home. Make sure all doors and windows are locked when you leave your home and it’s always worth adding to the security of your home where you believe there maybe weaknesses. Look at any points of entry to your back garden from any gates or fencing to neighboring homes. Ensure the doors you have are certified to British Standard PAS-1:1999 'Doors of Enhanced Security', and the frames are strong and in good condition. For windows it’s recommended to have laminated glass as this it is much harder to break. We also recommend that when you're away from your home to lock all windows with the key, remove the key and keep it out of sight in a safe place. Please follow the link for further information and advice from our Safer Homes web page;
http://www.hampshire.police.uk/Internet/news/campaigns/saferhomes.htm
PACT meetings
The next Bassett Pact is scheduled to take place on Thursday, March 29, commencing at 7:30pm at Portswood police station.
Beat Surgeries
Beat surgeries are continuing at the shops in Portswood Broadway - this is an ideal time to pop in and have an informal chat with members of the team. PCs and PCSOs representing the Portswood area will be present. Come and tell us what is important to you in your neighbourhood, and play your part in setting local priorities.
The Safer Neighbourhoods team will be holding beat surgeries at Waitrose in Portswood Road every forthnight from 11am and 1pm on Saturdays.
Times may vary due to operational commitments. This will usually involve changing the hours to 10 am - 12pm. Performance Information
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.
If you would like to speak to someone about policing in your local area, please call 101 or email portswood.snt@hampshire.pnn.police.uk
