POLICE, CRIME & ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR UPDATE 29 April - 13 May 2021
CRIME OVERVIEW Crime levels have increased over the last two weeks coinciding with the easing of lockdown restrictions. There has been an increase in theft, public order, robbery and other violencerelated offences. This is most likely due to there being more people on the streets and the reopening of non-essential shops and outside night time economy.
in and around the Harbourside and Old City areas.
There has been an increase in robbery offences where youths have targeted people for their mobile phones, cash and cards
We will be working with other specialist departments across the force to tackle this and have recently arrested a young male
KNIFE CRIME ARREST On Saturday 2nd May at 6pm, an alert was received via the BID BCRP radio network at Pitcher and Piano on the Harbourside. A customer described a male in the bar who had been seen with a knife. This was then picked up by the central CCTV control run by Bristol City Council. They were able to spot and track the suspects who were then seen to get onto a bus in the city centre. The police were able to liaise with First Bus and connect with the driver to advise him when and where to stop. Police officers detained the males on the bus to enable stop searches.
During the search, one male was found in possession of a machete and two males were arrested for drugs and weapons offences. From the initial radio call to the actions of the police, this shows the benefits of collaborative working and the difference the BCRP radio network can make. A potentially dangerous or deadly event has been avoided, a knife is off the street and the suspect is put to face justice. If you would like to know more about the BCRP radio network, please contact fran@ bristolcitycentrebid.co.uk or steve@broadmeadbid.co.uk.
suspected of being involved in some of the offences. If you see any suspicious activity please report it to us on 101 or email the Bristol City Centre BID Police Officer or the Broadmead BID Retail Support Ranger.
REHOUSING 111 ROUGH SLEEPERS Last March the Government launched the “get everybody in” initiative which directed local authorities to house all rough sleepers in dormitory-style accommodation. Due to health risks, this accommodation did not meet the requirements and as a result, hotels and hostels were commissioned to fill the need, including the YHA hostel on Narrow Quay. The area has not
been without issues during this period but police have worked with St Mungos and the council to mitigate these throughout. During the last 12 months, the YHA has successfully rehoused 111 rough sleepers, moving them on to supported housing projects including self-contained accommodation and returning to the local authority from where they came.
THE RETURN OF PROJECT SERVATOR The police have now started to deploy the Project Servator team and specially trained officers across the city centre. Project Servator is the name given to unpredictable, highly visible police deployments carried out by Avon and Somerset Police and other police forces designed to disrupt a wide range of criminal activity. The tactics aim to identify and disrupt hostile reconnaissance and the information obtained on criminal activity, including terrorist attacks. These specialist officers are experienced and specially trained to spot the
tell-tale signs that someone may be carrying out hostile reconnaissance or preparing to commit a crime. They work with security staff to look out for those signs and take action. Specially trained uniformed officers will turn up unannounced at various locations to carry out deployments. These will be unpredictable, so they could happen at any time and last for different amounts of time. The officers will be supported by other assets and security measures, some you’ll be able to see and some you won’t, such as
plain-clothed officers, police dogs, horses, armed officers, CCTV operators, Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) and police drones. Vehicle checkpoints are also often carried out.
in our data and suggests business owners may not be reporting crime. Reporting crime allows the police to support you and reduce the harm caused by criminals active in the city, and allows for resources to be shaped to meet demand. You can report crime via 101 or online, which will then
allow your BID officer to carry out a follow-up reassurance visit with you to discuss crime prevention and opportunities to identify suspects, resulting in orders against our most harmful offenders. Please take the time to report when you’re a victim of crime.
REPORTING CRIME With the reopening of city centre businesses, we have started to see a rise in business crime which will be affecting many Bristol BID levy payers. Police data has shown a steady rise in shop theft and the BIDs have informed that members have been reporting commercial burglaries. This is not represented