Inspector W Hornigold has been invited to attend to give an update to the Committee on Policing in King’s Lynn.
Minutes:
The Chairman welcomed Inspector Wes Hornigold to the meeting to talk about Policing in King’s Lynn.
Inspector Hornigold provided the Committee with crime figures for the area. He hoped that the Committee were starting to receive the Parish Newsletters on a monthly basis. He asked that if there was any feedback then to let him know.
Inspector Hornigold then outlined the Police Operations which had taken place within the town centre, one of which centred upon retail theft and the other related to antisocial behaviour at the bus station.
In addition to the above, the Police was trying to engage with the community using different methods, eg Special Constables on horseback and local media.
In relation to the anti-social behaviour in the town centre, Inspector Hornigold explained that the measures to combat this was being carried out within the existing Police teams and by the use of special constables and cadets. He explained that 86 interventions had been made at the bus station.
Inspector Hornigold further explained that the Police had been working with the Operational Partnership Team (OPT) at the Council and people who worked within the bus station and had seen an up lift in calls to the Police.
There had also been another successful operation carried out at Fairstead.
Inspector Hornigold concluded that overall it had been a good six months and would continue to work in partnership with the OPT and other organisations.
The Chairman thanked Inspector Hornigold for his update and invited questions/comments summarised below:
· Speedwatch programme at Fairstead – could anything be done to speed that up?
· Was there any sort of customer feedback regarding the service people had received from the Police? In response, Inspector Hornigold explained that there used to be something that the Police carried out but not anymore. He further explained that one of the challenges facing the Police was crime prevention and gaining the public trust and confidence.
· When did the anti-social behaviour happen at the bus station? In response it was explained that this happened at all times during the day. The peak times for antisocial behaviour had been analysed and PCSO’s and Cadets were used to visit the bus station. In addition, Council staff were also gathering information at the bus station.
In relation to whether there was anything that the Council could do to help the situation, Inspector Hornigold explained that the loss of the discovery centre had not helped the situation, and a meeting had been held with stakeholders in relation to where to divert these people to.
Inspector Hornigold explained that playing classical music and turning off the free wi-fi had been looked at. He explained that there were a lot of good ideas out there and work had been done without the need to call the Police.
· Inspector Hornigold outlined the other areas of work which the Police had been involved in King’s Lynn.
· Councillor Joyce referred to the collection of syringes which was carried out by Council officers and whether the syringes were DNA tested. He stated that this was reported to the Police but nothing happened. Inspector Hornigold stated that he believed that the Police did work well with the Council and other partners. The syringes were not DNA tested as the Police did not have the resources/finances available to do this.
· In relation to technology crime, it was explained that this was not dealt with at a local level.
· It was also pointed out that the Police and PCSO’s were working at King’s Lynn Academy and PCSO’s working with Springwood School.
The Chairman thanked Inspector Hornigold for attending the meeting and an interesting update.