Safer Melbourn

cambridgeshire

www.melbourncambridge.co.uk/safermelbourn/

New police station at Cambourne

The opening of Cambourne police station, which cost £1.4 million, will ‘dramatically enhance’ their ability to respond to 999 calls from nearby villages.

Neighbourhood officers covering the Comberton, Gamlingay and Melbourn beats will be based at the station, while there will also be reactive officers on hand to answer emergency calls, and community safety workers.

South Cambs Sector Inspector, Chris Savage, told Melbourn’s neighbourhood policing panel meeting, on 20th July, that the new police station is good news for South Cambridgeshire as it increased the number of police bases in the region to three (Histon and Sawston being the other two). He also explained that with three bases come three sergeants, so with Melbourn’s policing team now based at Cambourne our community policing sergeant will be Jon Capes with our current Sergeant, Rebecca Williams, remaining at Sawston.

DID YOU know

You can report an incident to a police officer at a time to suit you? The force’s appointments team in southern Cambridgeshire dealt with 368 appointments in January alone. The appointments system, part of the Policing Pledge promise of better service, aims to fit non urgent calls into everyone’s busy working day, at the same time freeing officers to deal with emergency calls.

January’s appointments were only a tenth of those dealt with in a year in the southern part of Cambridgeshire. The system comes into play when you agree a time to speak to an officer which is best suited to you.

Whether you want to report an incident, or pass on other information, call 0345 456 456 4. Once we have agreed the matter is suited to an appointment, arrangements will be made. In 98 per cent of all cases callers get the time of their choosing.

Ed Essad, force control room manager, said: “It means that we can spend more time with the caller focusing on their needs, and we have seen a drastic improvement in the quality of incidents being recorded. Making these appointments for non urgent calls means that we are able to respond to urgent calls for service more quickly than ever.”

NON EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBER 0345 456 456 4

MINICOM helpline for the deaf and hard of hearing, anywhere in the force area: 01480 422493 RNID TypeTalk is a national telephone relay service which enables, deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing and speech impaired people to communicate, to access the service dial: 0800 515152 Emergency 999

New police office for Melbourn

Plans were agreed by South Cambridgeshire District Council for a purpose-built police site at the Village College. It will consist of an office area, a meeting and interview room.

Sector Inspector Chris Savage said: “By being in the heart of the community we hope residents will find it easier to speak to officers about issues they have. We will be holding regular police surgeries and drop-in sessions for residents at times when people are likely to be using the other services in the area as well. Once the new base is operating, I will continue to work closely with the sergeant and rest of the team to ensure patrols are targeted and officers are available when residents need them.”

Emerging Issues

Melbourn (Great and Little Chishill, Heydon, Melbourn) Crime In the four month period, there have been 65 offences in the Melbourn Ward. This is an increase compared to the previous four months but at a similar level seen last year. However, there has been a reduction in thefts from vehicles and dwelling burglaries.

Criminal damage has increased but this is still at a lower level than the same period last year. There does not appear to be a common theme to the damage but there were two offences where fence panels were damaged.

To help pinpoint problems and find practical solutions to reduce anti-social behaviour in the village, Melbourn’s Practical Solutions Group (PSG) has recognised that a less formal and more inclusive approach is required to achieve its aims. This new group remains multi-agency, as its predecessor the Problem Solving Group, but the emphasis and approach has changed so that it can work with and include Melbourn residents (young and old) If you are affected by ASB would like to be involved in this worthwhile project then please get in touch by using the contact form at; www.melbourncambridge.co.uk/ problemsolving or phone 01763 221323

ASB The level of ASB has doubled compared to the previous four months. However, it is lower than the same time last year. This would imply that there is a seasonal element to the ASB in this area.

During April and May there was an ongoing problem at one address, which resulted in a least seven calls.

There have been 8 incidents on The Moor. Most of these related to cars or motorcycles being used in an anti-social manner.

Anti-social use of vehicles

Objective set at April’s panel meeting.

Tackle anti-social use of vehicles in Melbourn, particularly on The Moor.

Action Taken High visibility patrols carried out, both in vehicles and on foot in the areas of The Moor, the High Street and Melbourn Village College site.

Engagement with Sports Centre to encourage reporting of incidents and recording of registration numbers of nuisance vehicles.

Regular liaison with Melbourn Village College to discuss the problem and gather any information available.

Response to incidents by local officers where possible and when not on duty at the time follow-up visits have been conducted when appropriate.

Practical Solutions Group meetings for Melbourn have included discussion around this when discussing anti-social behaviour in the village.

Surgeries conducted to gather information and gauge the extent of the problem.

Young people with mopeds in the village have been spoken to to encourage considerate use.

Search conducted of a vehicle suspected of having drugs in it.

Where details of vehicles are available and behaviour is sufficiently poor, s59 notices are being considered.

Several mopeds seen in the village being ridden responsibly, suggesting that not all moped users are involved in the antisocial behaviour.

Next Panel Meeting

Tuesday 19th October Melbourn Village College Doors open 19:00 for 19:30 start. Everyone welcome.

National Personal Safety Day

Organised by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, National Personal Safety Day is an annual event aimed at raising awareness of common sense, practical solutions that everyone can use to help avoid violence and aggression in today’s society.

The National Personal Safety Day 2010 campaign, SIMPLE STEPS, will highlight what simple, everyday precautions people can take to help avoid becoming a victim of violence on the streets, with particular emphasis on staying safe in their own neighbourhood.

To find out how you could get involved and order free campaign material see the website www.mynhw.co.uk/newsfull.php?id=983.

The Cambridgeshire Registered Trader Scheme can help by providing you with a list of traders who have been checked by Cambridgeshire Trading Standards. lf you live in Cambridgeshire, are aged over 60 or have a physical or learning disability, you are eligible to use this Scheme. Telephone Age Concern, Cambridgeshire on 01354 596 650 and ask for the Traders Register

The following policing priorities were agreed at the panel meeting on 20th July. 1 Tackle anti-social use of motorcycles in Melbourn and

Bassingbourn. 2 Tackle road safety issues across the panel area (people’s priority) with a focus on supporting Speedwatch. 3 Continue to tackle problems relating to dangerous and obstructive parking around railway stations (Foxton, Shepreth,

Meldreth, Aswell & Morden) particularly Station Rd, Foxton.

This will be through working with residents and partners to identify longer term solutions. 4 Tackle thefts from vehicles when parked at places of recreation e.g. Fowlmere Nature Reserve and Shepreth

Animal Park.

SpeedWatch Volunteers needed

•Are you concerned about traffic

SPEEDING into, through and out of

Melbourn? • Can you offer two hours per month to monitor traffic speed? • Two hours free training given

Please contact Sharon Camilletti mobile 0772 584 7303

www.cambs-police.co.uk/myneighbourhood/ecops/index.asp

In 2011 TV in Melbourn (Anglia) is going digital and the analogue TV signal will be switched off.

On 30th March 2011, BBC2 analogue is switched off and on 13th April 2011, the remaining analogue channels are switched off.

To keep your TV service, you will need to convert your TVs to digital before the switchover. In most case you do not need a new TV, most TVs can be converted with a digital box, even a black and white set.

Most rooftop and some set-top aerials will continue to work after switchover. To check the condition of your aerial, visit Teletext p284 where a test shows your aerial strength. If you think you need to replace your aerial, look for an installer with the ‘digital tick’, it means they have been trained and security checked.

The Switchover Help Scheme

There’s a Help Scheme for those who need the most assistance to switch to digital.

If you are: • Aged 75 or over • Lived in a care home for 6 months or more • Get disability living allowance • Get attendance or constant attendance allowence • Get Mobility supplement • Registered blind or partially sighted Telephone 0800 408 5900 or visit helpscheme.co.uk For advice on the digital switch over telephone 0845 50 50 50 or visit digitaluk.co.uk