A very reassuring presence (From Borehamwood Times)

A very reassuring presence

10:22am Friday 18th April 2008

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At Full Council on Wednesday night, members had just started debating the new Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership plan for 2008-2011. It's the document which talks about the work and plans for bringing all the different groups and agencies together in Hertsmere to tackle crime and the fear of crime. The meetings of the CDRP happen quarterly with around 40-50 in attendance ranging from councillors to police, housing associations to local interested groups and residents and many others. The document needs to be prepared every three years and regularly updated to take into account the changes within areas and communities and also the issues that need to be addressed. One of the main areas that members were discussing within the document was Police Community Support Officers and their work.

I left the chamber for just a moment - the meeting had already been going for over an hour and a half - for a quick comfort break. During that time my phone went off with an urgent message telling me the police were trying to get in touch. I called them immediately to be told that one of our PCSO's had come across an incident in Elstree and had called for back up and that there were 3 PCSO's now in attendance with 4 police officers. I gave them the information they needed from me and went back into the meeting to report what I had just heard. It was an amazing coincidence yet a tacit reinforcement of the Council’s decision to continue to invest in PCSO's. We now have 28 across the Borough. It costs the Council around £128,000 a year in total, which is the equivalent of less than £4,000 per PCSO - the rest being made up from monies from the constabulary, Home Office etc. Because Hertsmere bought in early to the scheme our investment has paid off well for residents in the number of PCSO’s we have for our towns.

At a recent Town Council meeting our local PCSO - that the Town Council is part-funding - talked us through the work he had been doing recently, including being involved in 16 arrests.

Fear of crime is at a level where 44% of people are concerned they might become a victim of crime. The numbers of people who do become victims of crime in this Borough are around 2%. So there is more work to be done to bring down people's fear of crime and there is no doubt that the PCSO's are a very useful tool when it comes to giving an assuring presence on our streets - as we saw once again on Wednesday night.

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