Photo: (Left to right) Inspector James Wyatt - Runnymede Borough Commander, Ellie Vesey-Thompson - Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey, Lisa Townsend - Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey, Councillor Jonathan Hulley, Councillor Linda Gillham
Lisa Townsend, Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey, recently joined residents in Thorpe to hear about their concerns in relation to policing and crime in the local area.
The meeting took place at St Mary’s Church and was also attended by Councillors Jonathan Hulley and Linda Gillham, and Runnymede Borough Commander Inspector James Wyatt.
Opening the meeting, Lisa spoke about Surrey’s new Chief Constable, Tim De Meyer, who will be starting on April 3rd, and the importance of fresh eyes and a new perspective. Lisa explained that she has challenged Mr De Meyer to retain Surrey’s outstanding work at preventing crime, whilst also making improvements in other key areas.
Welcoming the audience, Inspector Wyatt explained that total crime across the Runnymede Borough is down 3.5% this year, with 199 fewer offences, and solved outcomes are the highest across the county at 14.5%. There have been 90 fewer burglaries this year, bringing the crime down by 39%. Inspector Wyatt explained that the local team, and the wider force, work hard to prevent burglaries and also look to tackle and pursue offenders whenever possible.
There has, however, been an increase in keyless car theft, both across the Borough and nationally, and residents were urged by both Inspector Wyatt and the Commissioner to purchase a Faraday bag if they own a keyless entry car.
Residents were also informed about the work the local policing team is doing to protect those vulnerable to fraud, victims of which often have their details sold on and then receive up to 20 calls per day. Prevention work by the local team includes installing free TrueCall devices which either only allows trusted numbers through or alerts the recipient to unknown numbers and allows them to decline unrecognised calls.
Concerns raised by residents included speeding, particularly along Coldharbour Lane where the limit changes from 30mph to 60mph and back to 30mph. Residents were told that the Surrey Road Safety Coalition is currently reviewing roads with an inappropriate 60mph speed limit and bringing them down to 40mph or less. Coldharbour Lane is one of the roads being looked at within this review and as part of the planning application for the old Cemex site. It is likely that the whole road will be reduced to a 30mph zone as the planning application requires street lighting along the entire stretch.
Anti-social behaviour (ASB) - including the use of nitrous oxide canisters (NOS) - was also raised, particularly around Frank Muir Park and Laleham Reach. Inspector Wyatt explained that there have only been 7 reports of ASB across the Borough this year, and urged residents to report this wherever they see it, to help build a picture and help the police patrol areas at the right times. On the concerns around Frank Muir Park, residents were also encouraged to report via the StreetSafe tool where there are instances of general feelings of being unsafe rather than specific incidents, this tool can be used for such instances across the county.
On Laleham Reach, the Commissioner explained that importantly the Government are now formally recognising ASB and looking at legislation which will help police tackle the issue more effectively. Inspector Wyatt explained that current powers, particularly around NOS, are often frustrating as simple possession is not an offence. However, police do recognise that NOS use is often accompanied by ASB and so police will always take appropriate steps, which often includes reporting to parents and looking to re-educate. This location will be added to patrols and residents are urged to report any known locations or instances of NOS use.
Catalytic converter thefts were also raised, which have reduced recently both locally and nationally, and are often committed by the same individuals in multiple locations. Parking, including on double yellow lines near the ASDA petrol station, was also raised and as it is not a policing matter is being looked at by councillors.
A member of the audience praised the local policing team for their very prompt response to a recent burglary on his site, which saw 2 arrested on site before the owners arrived in response to the alarm.
Speaking after the meeting, Lisa said “Thank you to all local residents from Thorpe for joining this meeting and sharing their thoughts and concerns. We had brilliant conversations on many topics and hearing directly from residents helps me better understand where Surrey Police might need to make changes or improvements.
“I am pleased that a number of concerns, including speeding along Coldharbour Lane, already have solutions in motion, which I hope will help residents feel safer.
“It is really important to me that residents both feel safe and are safe, and I reiterate my encouragement to anyone who witnesses crime or ASB to report it to the police, and for anyone who has a general feeling of being unsafe to utilise the Streetsafe tool. Both of these reporting mechanisms help police build a picture of resource demand across the borough and the county.
“I also encourage anyone who is, or knows someone who is, vulnerable to fraud and scams to contact the local team for a TrueCall device.”
The Commissioner and ASB Help’s survey can be found here.
You can find out about upcoming community meetings here.
