Police Activity Newsletter - Issue 32

POLICE, CRIME & ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR UPDATE 18 - 31 August 2021

CRIME OVERVIEW There have been 310 crimes recorded with a third of all crimes recorded as ‘violence against the person’ offences. Bicycle thefts are continuing with 21, despite some work arresting a male and recovering several bikes by the local beat team. The majority of these bikes have been stolen from the ‘Old City’ area so please exercise caution when leaving bikes unattended. There have been 128 reports of Antisocial

behaviour with the incidents is still down 10% and ASB is also equally spread between street down 4%. and group ASB. The peak time is midnight to 5am. Crime in general

STREET COMMUNITY Following the easing of lockdown restrictions, we have begun to see the increase of individuals begging within the city. The council and outreach services are proactive in looking to resolve issues of street homelessness and the city is fortunate enough to have a fantastic amount of volunteer services who operate in the area offering vital help and support.

There is a designated TAP point within Broadmead, where the public can use contactless to donate money to charities that offer food provision, clothing, and advice to anyone who is homeless

or unable to feed themselves.

Unfortunately, we have found that giving cash to those who sit and beg within the city normally feeds an addiction. It remains a priority of the council, the police and our partner agencies to reduce begging and homelessness whilst continuing to make Broadmead a welcoming and culturally enriched part of the city to visit. We can all play our part in supporting local business and communities by using appropriate methods to donate money through reputable charities, ensuring that appropriate support is in place.

DEGREE HOLDER ENTRY PROGRAMME Two Degree Holders Entry Programme Officers (DHEP) bound for Investigations had their first experience of Policing on Team 2 Bridewell NPT. After completing their initial phase of theory Policing at UWE they met their tutors, PC Caradine and PC James, who introduced them to the exciting world of practical Policing. Following the initial phase of tutorship, the two Officers wrote to the

Team to say that they had felt welcomed and supported, and that they had enjoyed meeting new colleagues. They also said that they would miss patrolling areas of the Broadmead, Harbourside and Stokes Croft (in particular St. James’ Park). The NPT enjoyed the enthusiasm and energy the DHEP Officers brought to the Team and will certainly miss them too.

Hopefully they will come back to neighbourhood policing.

SWIMMING IN THE HARBOUR Swimming in Bristol’s harbour and surrounding waterways is incredibly dangerous. In the past two years there have been over 70 water related incidents in Bristol.

Sadly 25 of those resulted in serious injury or death, including the recent death of a young man.

The water may look tempting when temperatures are high, but the water temperature in the harbour is cold enough to induce cold shock, cramps, heart attacks and drowning. In addition, there are hidden dangers beneath the

STREET PREACHERS

In 2019, PC Phillipou began a lengthy and comprehensive investigation into the issue of local Street Preachers in Bristol town centre, particularly in Bristol Shopping Quarter.

The investigation focused on controversial aspects of sermon content and the graphic nature of some of the visual aids. The BID, several local businesses, and members of the public contributed to the investigation by providing

water from rocks to rubbish.

There are also variable factors to consider such as water quality and spring tides. We have joined forces with Avon Fire & Rescue Service, Bristol City Centre BID, Bristol City Council (as the Bristol Water Safety Partnership) to launch a new harbourside safety awareness campaign with signage around the harbourside to advertise these dangers. Please enjoy the beautiful Bristol harbour and surrounding waterways but be mindful of the dangers.

statements through which they communicated their concerns; the main issues being noise-level and the provocative nature of the topics discussed. Given the need to uphold and protect human rights, Police had to balance the Street preachers’ freedom of speech with, in some cases, aggressive and derogatory public oration, which caused upset and distress to various sections of the community. During the pandemic

Street Preachers decreased, however, in the past few weeks, work has begun to revive and refresh the investigation. Further information is being gathered to create a report, aiming to establish effective parameters limiting contentious aspects of sermons. DC Pow has assumed the role of Officer-In-Case and has visited several stores in the Shopping Quarter to reassure managers that work is ongoing.