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Policing and Safer Neighbourhoods

Meeting: 24/06/2021 - East Area Committee (Item 42)

42 Policing and Safer Neighbourhoods pdf icon PDF 308 KB

Minutes:

Sergeant Stevenson presented a report which outlined the policing and safer neighbourhood trends and outlined actions taken since the last reporting period.

 

Local areas for concern were as follows:

 

      i.         Anti-social driving

    ii.         Cycle theft, and

   iii.         Drug dealing and the protection of local young people – child criminal exploitation.

 

In response to questions and comments from the Committee Sergeant Stevenson said the following:

 

      i.         If an electric scooter was not part of a hire scheme they should not be used on the public highways. Legally, private owned electric scooters are not approved to be on the public highway. Those scooters part of a hire scheme were GPS monitored and tracked.

    ii.         Mobility scooters were permissible on the highways. 

   iii.         The road safety operations undertaken each month did police electric scooters.

  iv.         Technically, cycling on a pavement which had not been identified as a cycle path was not allowed but there was a level of tolerance from some members of the public.

    v.         Electric mopeds which had pedals should be on the highways and not the path.

  vi.         The 20mph enforcement was taken very seriously by Police.

 vii.         There was varying enforcements which could be used when dealing with anti-social driving such as section 59, which could be issued to both vehicle and users. If more than one section 59 was issued to either the vehicle or the user then the vehicle could be seized.

viii.         Had received reports of anti-social driving regarding mopeds in one of the East Area wards and would be sending Police Officers out to try to witness those committing the crimes.

  ix.         All information reported to the Police was valuable and would be investigated; details of vehicles recently reported for anti-social driving had links to organised crime and one should not be on the road so would be seized when found.

    x.         Noted the comments regarding speeding on Riverside particularly around Beche Road.

  xi.         Would continue to observe roads in Abbey ward such as Wadloe Road, Whitehall Road, Ditton Road, Davey Road etc as highlighted in the report.

 xii.         Confirmed that Newmarket Road roundabout was on the road safety operation list; regarding stationary vehicles in this area keeping their engines idling particularly when the ques built up around the primary school, this was more of a highways issues rather than enforcement.

xiii.         A fixed penalty notice could be issued when dealing with speeding.

xiv.         There was a number of issues which could be classed as anti-social driving such as constant over revving of engines, ‘donuts’ on public green spaces, vehicles on pathways that should be on the highway.

xv.         Verified there was separate legislation regarding noise.

xvi.         Confirmed that as the Police had objected to the recently considered and approved premises licence application on Mill Road that they would support an appeal. 

xvii.         Details of the public who reported incidents direct to the control room were logged. 

xviii.         Street surgeries had been on hold due to the pandemic. These had been an opportunity for the public to talk to directly to the Police on a range of issues. These also provided opportunities for the Police to provide feedback on the work that had been undertaken. It was hoped that these street surgeries would be able to start again when restrictions had been lifted.

xix.         Noted the comment that the Dudley Road recreation ground was a hotspot for drug dealing.

 

The Chair thanked Sergeant Stevenson for his report and advised that the Committee had noted the content and the continued priorities.