Policing the cold spell and into 2011

This cold weather brings the greatest range of experiences for people from the sheer joy of kids out sledging to the absolute misery for those unable to keep warm and safe (such as the homeless) or people genuinely harassed by the few irresponsible snow ballers. Did you here Julian Clegg on BBC Radio Solent, a couple of weeks ago, talking live to the boy as he seldged down Bolton's Bench at Lyndhurst? Brilliant broadcasting which I hope put a smile on many faces. It did mine.

This really is extreme weather though as evidenced by my neighbour who managed to build and get into a small igloo in his front garden. (It wasn't because of a frosty reception at home!) More evidence, of a less constructive kind though, came from some of the crazy behaviour on our roads. My staff have been out dealing with some situations created by really thoughtless actions. What bit of our warning messages isn't clear? It seems that people's interpretations of which journeys are really necessary differ massively. By the time a driver has put their car across a road or into a ditch it's a bit late to realise that maybe getting to the cinema or the chippy wasn’t that vital after all. Some people do need to travel though and that includes those in vital jobs such as hospitals, utility services, highways staff and of course my colleague police officers and police staff many of whom have gone to great lengths to get in to work. Some have walked many miles through the snow and ice to get in to the stations. Others have reported for duty at their local nicks outside the City. Thank you to them all for their commitment and sense of service.

Another effect I notice is the drop off in public demonstrations about the cuts etc. Too cold to protest or maybe last minute shopping or better offers of parties to attend. The right to peaceful protest though is a crucial one and I don't doubt we will be called on again soon to support people's right to protest so I hope they are peaceful and that the season of good will doesn’t wear off too fast. There is supposed to be an annual post-festive period of mid-winter dismay in January which even the best sales offers maybe wont shift.

Lot's of dismay too for the thousands of people stranded at airports. I sympathise with them for their predicament, especially those with young kids who maybe would rather be sledging at Bolton's Bench or elsewhere than trying to entertain themselves in airport terminals. I sympathise also with the airport managers being criticised for not getting more planes in the air. Maybe we just have to stop assuming so many people can fly so often to so many places at any time of year. The terminal queues don't look much like a credit crunch to me. I think we sometimes expect those providing public or private services to be able to overcome any issue.

Of course I am one such person providing a public service in Southampton and I would never want public expectations to be anything other than challenging to meet, but realistic. We can and must always do better even if it's with the smaller budgets as expected and announced last week. We are well into the planning, and now some of the delivery, for how we manage the cuts. One of the changes we are making in Southampton (which actually wasn’t directly about cuts) will be to increase the number of officers working on investigations in our neighbourhoods and specialise our emergency response more so it's done by smaller teams but more efficiently. Overall officer numbers on response and neighbourhoods stay the same. We will still make our response times for the urgent calls but we'll get better at investigating crime and keeping people informed about what's happening if they have been a victim. The government has announced different targets for health service including getting rid of ambulance attendance targets in favour of measures about how well people are treated for their injury or illness. How good we are at catching criminals, supporting victims and dealing with things that matter locally I think are better measures than whether we get somewhere in 15 minutes (success) or 16 minutes (failure). It was good also to see in the government announcement that funding for PCSOs remains for next 2 years. They provide an important part of our service and many are to be seen out and about walking the snowy streets of our neighbourhoods. My thanks to them and all officers and police staff for their hard work in 2010 and to their families for supporting them in what they do for Southampton.

Merry Christmas

Watching out for crime

One evening this week I was at the Southampton Neighbourhood Watch annual meeting. If you don't know Neighbourhood Watch then you might think it's about coffee mornings or nosey neighbours. If you do know about it then you probably realise that it's a great scheme supported by people who just care about their own and their neighbour's safety from crime and they are prepared to do something about it for themselves and each other. We heard about some great examples of local work and a determination to keep building on that and in particular encourage more young people into being neighbourhood watch members and supporters. It doesn't cost and it doesn’t take much time up. The most important thing about it is sharing information, often from police, between close neighbours and looking out for each other, for example so that people tell each other about suspected bogus callers to homes. Neighbourhood Watch can be a great way for people to build relationships and trust with each other. We've currently got a rise in the number of houses being burgled in the City and some people are making it too easy for criminals by leaving property on show and houses insecure. Please be careful about the security of your own home and look out for each other. If you might like to develop a scheme locally then contact your local police Safer Neighbourhood Team or the City Council and we can help.

Watching crime as it actually happens though is thankfully very rare still. Except, that is, when there is a public demonstration. I expect lots of us have seen the images of 'students' smashing windows in London. Did you notice though who was surrounding the individual and watching as he kicked a window in? There was a ring of photographers and camera people all around him and other demonstrators were some way back. So what was really going on? A student demo or a thug performing in front of cameras knowing he would soon be seen across the world on TV, YouTube etc. A few criminals looking for a few minutes of fame and a load of journalists ready and willing to help them achieve it. Before you come back and say there were some police just stood watching too then I note the PM criticised the police planning but rightly praised the few officers who were in the face of such anger and hatred. At G20 police were criticised for being too heavy handed, at this demo we were supposedly not strong enough. Is there just the right amount of police force used or just the right amount of damage and injury by demonstrators? Anyone want to try and define what the right amount is?

Cuts, cuts, cuts

Wednesday's big announcement about public spending cuts in the end had been so well trailed that there were few suprises. It's still not that clear exactly what the real cash reduction will be for policing but we still think we can achieve the cuts and protect our local front line services by reducing costs in many, probably all, of our back room and headquarters functions. That includes working more closely with other police forces but merging is not on the agenda. We'll be cutting out waste and reducing bureaucracy but that only takes us so far and you can't cut by these amounts without losing significant numbers of people and, therefore, doing less in some functions but we will protect local policing as much as we can.

The reaction in France to just one issue there, (increasing retirement age) is pretty 'high octane' . What might happen here I wonder. What do you think? Was the farmer's protest at Nursling this week an indication of more unrest to come? How strong are feelings in the City about the implications of the cuts? If one concern already expressed is cuts in policing then what an irony if we end up policing situations of unrest or disorder arising from people's reaction to the public sector cuts. But if it happens then that's our job 'without fear or favour' and it wouldn’t be the first or last time we might be policing events where our staff doing the policing have various personal views about any particular campaign or issue. The animal experimentation or export protests, road building (remember M3 extension) and going back even further what about the miner's dispute or Stonehenge events of 25 years ago. Don't forget the people behind the uniform and behind the scenes. Mums, dads, people with personal and family worries about what they, and we all, are going through.

I wonder how we shall look back on this time. I don’t minimise the impact on individuals and communities but I also look at the City and how it is already building for the future so it is ready for and is pushing the economic growth which is already happening and which must, and I think will, continue. One of the best ways to reduce crime (by the way its down another 8% this year) is to get as many people as possible in work, young people in effective education or training and achieve for people improving health and housing. On that basis I hope we tackle the current austerity head on and get through it as fast as we can by taking tough decisions now in order to get to a better place sooner (and I don't mean a place down the motorway or up the train track!).

Welcome to the City - but please behave well!

It's a good thing those people whose names appear on the cenotaph memorial couldn't see how at least one person abused that site recently by using it as an impromptu toilet. Readers comments showed the strength of feeling amongst residents of the city which I share. Let's not make pariahs of all students though. I bet the majority of them abhor drunken stupidity and criminality in the same way most of us do. It's obvious that entering student life , maybe away from home for the first time, old enough to drink legally in pubs and clubs and with a new grant in the bank means some students make mistakes. I don’t excuse that but I can understand it. I also wouldn't excuse any organisation which provided an opportunity for students to take more risks than is sensible, that includes pubs and clubs that might do so. I think an arranged introduction to the City so that students are escorted around venues is a good idea. But the way that is organised must not give an impression to those students that it’s just a safer way to drink to excess in the knowledge or hope that someone on behalf of the promoter of the event will pick up the pieces of your drunken antics and make sure at the end you are not at too much risk. I've met with the promoter of the Southampton based events and I was pleased to hear about the plans to reduce the chance of future problems. I remain to be reassured by the reality of the next student 'Carnage' event. For me the name says it all.
How we treat our city centre goes well beyond reducing student antics though. Guildhall Square is really coming together now. I think it's a great new space and it is the next section in the whole development plan down through the city centre. I hope the new spaces will attract new people and new uses. The environment does have an impact on how people behave but we can't rely on that.
The City's new police station is also nearing completion and this week, with the contractors Kier and Business Southampton, we hosted a visit for business champions in the City. They were all impressed with the new building and I think we shared some pride in this addition to the Southampton skyline. I asked them to go further though and show their commitment to a safer city by working with their local police to build new relationships. One particular way to do that is for them to encourage volunteering amongst their staff. That could be as a special constable in uniform or working behind the scenes with us as a volunteer. If that interests you or you think your company could do more then have a look on our website for more info. http://www.hampshire.police.uk/Internet/jobs/
The City is about it’s people, all of us, including those who sometimes make mistakes on a night out.

'Policing in the headlines again'

Not a week goes by without some police related headline story in the press. This time it's Sir Dennis O'Connor and his report on Anti Social Behaviour (ASB) published today - 'Stop the Rot'. The press have jumped on to his phrase about us having retreated from the streets. I would rather describe it as us having been 'pulled away' from the streets by a vast array of competing demands and raised expectations in all sorts of other police activity. However, I think we all recognise what he is talking about and his warning about the risk of more reductions in policing due to public spending cuts is very timely. He also recognises that there has been improvement but, as he says, there needs to be more.

In Hampshire we already take ASB seriously. So much so that we have just run a 3 month long campaign which in Southampton produced some good results. Personal experience and feelings of safety count most but for the record here's the numbers,

Criminal Damage
2009 – 1596
2010 – 1386 a reduction of 13 %

Incidents of rowdy and inconsiderate behaviour
2009 – 4262
2010 – 3731 a reduction of 12%

Vehicle nuisance
2009 – 615
2010 – 576 a reduction of 6%

Sir Dennis says this is what works,
Briefings on ASB for all staff likely to deal with the issue (including neighbourhood, response and CID officers)
Tracking what is happening locally using data and intelligence
The problem-solving capacity of neighbourhood policing teams.

Well we already do this here through officers and police staff but can we do it better?

What he says doesn’t work is,
Graded response systems that prioritise calls for attendance (or non-attendance in the case of ASB); and
Lengthy partnership processes which have distinctive significant negative consequences for victims. Indeed delay can amount to inaction from the victim’s perspective.

Senior police bosses nationally have responded to the report by saying they too recognise the importance of tackling ASB and the reassurance it gives when we do. They also point out that tackling ASB isn't for police alone. I agree and Sir Dennis also draws attention to our role being about policing and enforcement but there is the need for others to be involved too on other aspects for example on youth services. I accept that some of our public think we have withdrawn from an important visible and effective community control role. But let's not ignore the fact that we also get considerable positive feedback about our commitment to neighbourhoods and look at the successes we had over the summer ASB campaign. Some suggest that people have just stopped telling us about ASB they suffer but is that true? What worked well during the summer campaign we need to keep doing and our next big push on this will be around Halloween and Bonfire Night .

Our Chief Constable continues to commit to maintaining front line policing which includes our presence in every neighbourhood. I will be working with colleagues to look to the future and what we need to do in Southampton to continue to get better at attending incidents, dealing with crime and anti social behaviour, catching criminals and protecting vulnerable people. I want to maximise what we can do on having a meaningful presence in all our neighbourhoods and still have a very good emergency response service. I need to see that what we do here also delivers the three things that Sir Dennis' report highlights as being what works and that we don’t waste time and effort doing what doesn’t work.

So, despite all the headlines (even the ones about green-haired criminals) and worries about cuts we wont be put off our stride. In one way the endless press coverage is just a sign of how important policing is to society and, therefore, how important our work is in Southampton.

Headlines about cuts

Today's news includes a statement from our Chief Constable about the cuts we may have to make to meet expected budget reductions. He has said that he will do all he can to protect local front line policing but it seems we will have to lose staff. If the government cuts came in at the top end of what has been talked about then that could equate to approximately 1,400 fewer people working across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight but it remains to be seen what actually happens. These are uncomfortable headlines for everyone and of course for our staff, many of whom will be fearful for the future. I have one member of staff whose family includes 3 people who all work for the Constabulary.
Difficult times but my job as the local police commander in Southampton is to do all I can to carry on delivering a good service to the City. We have started a review of how we work in the City. In fact we started that before the risk of cuts became clear. I wanted us to review how we do our emergency response and local neighbourhood policing in Southampton to make it better and to make best use of our new police station in Southern Rd. That review will also have to deliver whatever is required out of the expected force wide cuts. However, in line with what the Chief has said, we will still deliver what the public in Southampton need from us; effective emergency response, visible and accessible neighbourhood policing, good protection of vulnerable people and good investigation so we keep on catching criminals (for example good news that we got the person you may have read about this week who tried to snatch a bag from an elderly lady and badly injured her in the process).
So other some good news is that during our summer campaign on anti-social behaviour we managed to get incidents down. Since April it's down by 14% (or over 1,000 incidents) compared with last year. We are now having a push until Christmas on violent crime especially domestic violence and night time, alcohol related violence. So some tough times ahead but it wont stop us working hard for people in the City.

When we get asked the questions!

This week we received the report of a recent inspection done at Bitterne police station. This wasn't the usual inspection though. This was a visit done by a group of young people there to question us about how young people are dealt with, the complaints and comments procedure, staff training and recruitment, how the service is promoted, and the perception of the police. Their feedback to us was very positive and was amongst the most clear and useful I have seen; good ideas, practical recommendations. I was particularly pleased that for several of the youth inspectors their visit had a very positive impact on their attitude towards their local police. We will look at how we can respond to the ideas but if that visit led to just a few more young people feeling more confident in us then that's great.

Last night it was my turn to be questioned and this was by a group of councillors who were scrutinising the work of the City Safety Partnership. There was lots of good news and positive results in terms of crime reduction and less anti-social behaviour to talk about. We have just finished the Safer Southampton week http://www.southampton.gov.uk/living/safersouthampton/default.aspx) which was well covered every day last week by the Echo. This paper also carried an article this week which suggested that despite lots of work confidence and reassurance hadn't improved in the city. How you measure confidence is problematic and what affects people's confidence isn't simple either. We know personal experience or accounts or rumours that people hear from family and friends are all powerful and have an impact. What is clearly true is that people feel more confident if they know their local police, they feel treated fairly by us and we are doing a good job at tackling anti-social behaviour and crime in their area (which includes us being seen in that area!) so that's what I will continue to focus on. We also know people are satisfied with our service when we are polite, we respond quickly and we keep people informed.

What about what you read in the media? Does that affect confidence? The Echo's Friday headline was about complaints against the police and if you read it in full you will have noticed that in 2008-2009 Southampton Central police station recorded more complaints against police than other stations in Hampshire. What you won't have read though is that overall the City was not at the top in comparison to other areas of Hampshire. Is it a suprise that our central police station has more complaints than other stations? Maybe not when you consider that we police the busiest city centre area in the whole of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. We deal with large numbers of people coming into contact with us because they are drunk and we house one of the biggest custody centres. But I take all complaints seriously. None are ignored, but we deal with people in very difficult circumstances and whilst it's right we are held to account for what we do, we see many complaints which have no grounds.

Fortunately, nowadays if we get something wrong we can normally resolve it quickly and to the satisfaction of the complainant who may just want an explanation or apology. Complaints are inevitable due to the nature of our work and of course I might prefer it if Southampton Central area hadn't been top of the pile for 2008-09 (more recently we've certainly had less complaints of some types eg. incivility). But it's vital we are open to listen to people who are dissatisfied with what we have done and I'd be really worried about what was going on if we got no complaints. The media is another way we are held to account so I might not like reading headlines critical of the service I lead in the City but as long as the reporting is accurate and balanced and as long as public complaints are made in good faith then I would not want to be without these ways, and the many others, in which we are held to account including those perceptive young people who visited Bitterne.

Lessons from the continent

When I was in Spain on holiday recently I ended up talking to someone who was involved in trying to reduce graffiti on historic buildings in a small town in central Spain where we were staying. It was interesting to hear how he and the authorities had come to the same conclusion we have about that type of problem. Firstly, it's no good just blaming young people and stigmatising them as trouble makers. Secondly, policing needs to be done in a way which delivers enforcement when it's needed but is also about engagement, good communication, trust and confidence; a service not just a force. So they had involved young people in more positive activities and helped them to understand the importance of the historic buildings in their town. As for the policing I regretted describing, in inappropriate jest, the local Police as 'PCSOs with guns'. That wasn't fair to them or to our excellent PCSOs. The Spanish Police (the local ones not national) were clearly making a real effort, as we are, to be more accessible and more responsive to people in the town; better relationships including with young people. (My one engagement with the Guardia Civil wasn't so positive!) The outcome of all this seemed to be working. They described a real reduction in graffiti and less problems attributed to the few disruptive young people and they managed this through common sense and involving members of the community to help in the problem solving. Pity we needed a whole Neighbourhood Policing programme to return us to this way of working which to some extent is how we used to operate anyway, albeit some time ago. Still, there's always lessons to be learnt from the past and from other countries and how they do things although I think I'll leave the guns with the Spanish Police and others abroad.

Change nationally and locally

This week we have the next announcement about potential policing changes in the consultation paper on police reform. It includes proposals for a new national crime agency to include a border policing service and the current Serious Organised Crime Agency. There's talk of it being like a British FBI. That assumes the FBI is something we aspire to. I'm all for improvement and taking lessons from anywhere that has good ideas but I find the endless comparison with USA and adoption of their practices (and culture?) a bit worrying. I am sure there are even more compelling parallels with some European 'federal' police organisations but it seems we always look across the Atlantic first. I am off to Spain on holiday soon so dependent on any contact I might have with police there I may change my view on this!

If you add public spending cuts into the mix of change then that means change here too. The Constabulary is changing the way we deliver some support functions and I am overseeing some work in the City on operational policing changes. I have always resisted change just for the sake of it especially when, as here, we have been performing well (14% reduction in crime last year for example). However, there are times when it is right for a significant review and new ways to work to achieve even better policing for the City and this is one of those moments.

I can't imagine a time in the near future when we wont want teams of officers briefing and deploying to respond to calls whilst others come in to investigate more serious crime and others spend their time delivering neighbourhood engagement and crime investigation. All these functions will always rely on good police staff support. However, how we do these functions, from how many sites and working what hours could all be different. But it can't just be about shifting around the work and people, it's got to be about better ways to work and better ways to manage and reduce the demand we face whilst improving our contact with the public and providing the best service we can. That means there are also vital partnership and community aspects to the changes we need to make.

I will make sure that I and my management team keep on being in touch with frontline officers and staff so we are aware of what matters and what makes things work well. The best way to keep in touch is to spend time with people including on patrol. Saturday night when I spent some time walking round Millbrook was one such chance for me to do that and I was really encouraged by the experience and I felt better informed for doing it.

If you've got things to say about policing in Southampton then please let us know. You can contact your local neighbourhood team or use the 'Your Voice Counts' link both through this link http://www.hampshire.police.uk/Internet/localpolicing/southampton/ or comment on this blog (but forgive me if any reply is delayed whilst I am away!). According to the consultation paper, by 2012 you will have an elected Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight holding the Chief Cinstable to account for what we do or don't do. Even if that person does come into being the best contact is the local contact and we'll keep doing more of that. The neighbourhood officer I was with on Saturday does it every day in her work

I spoke too soon...

Why did I mention the weather? At least the rain didn't stop a very good turnout for the memorial service in Winchester for firefighters Alan Bannon and James Shears. The cathedral was full and the ceremony was very moving. Bagpipes played well are always a haunting sound and the banners of all the country's fire and rescue services made a colourful and very impressive tribute. Let's hope it's a long time before we have another such event.
Next week is the 'topping out' ceremony at our new station in Southampton. The building is looking great and its now less than a year before we will be in. With the other developments such as Guildhall Square coming on well and all the work on improving some of the city centre roads I think we can see the start of a real transformation for the City. I hope we don't forget the outlying areas though. I was at Holy Family Primary School Millbrook yesterday. Their recent developments have created some great accommodation and the kids there were certainly not put off their sports by a bit of rain.

On The Run

This week in the news you will have seen or read about an incident where a family mourn the loss of a loved one and a community comes to terms with a tragedy in it's midst. I'm not talking about the dramatic events in Rothbury and Northumbria but I mean the sad death of Maria Szarvak in Bitterne Park. Officers were at the scene soon after the incident and once again I pay tribute to the professionalism of the City's front line police and staff who dealt with this most distressing event. In the North it seems to me my police colleagues there are doing an amazing job and the photographs of PC David Rathband and his injuries must be in the mind of all those officers out on the search. Lets hope that search is over soon and with no more tragic outcomes.

In Southampton as the temperature continues to rise its good to be able to say that overall crime continues to fall and our summer anti-social behaviour campaign is having an effect. If you have seen any of the effects of that work where you live, good or bad, please let me know. Sadly we have seen an increase in burglaries over recent months and we know this is very much linked to people who have drug addictions and commit these crimes to pay for the drugs, mainly heroine, they crave. I'm not talking big numbers, usually no more than 3-4 burglaries a day across the whole City. Not a lot but still too many but don’t let it be you if you could avoid it by being careful. We will carry on targeting these burglars and those who trade in drugs. Please take care of your homes and property especially if you are away for a holiday. Have a look here for some advice.

http://www.hampshire.police.uk/Internet/advice/secure/

On Sunday some other colleagues of mine will be taking part in the Race for Life. That includes staff who have overcome their own illness and some who have seen family members or friends taken away by cancer. The Race for Life is always an amazing event and the sense of collective spirit and determination to do all we can to tackle the disease is profound. I am pleased to know that my officers and staff who will be taking part are doing so proud of being identified as memebrs of the Constabulary and proud to be part of the Southampton community. Good luck and thank you to them and all those who are running, walking, wheeling this year.

Coalition plans - more than just cuts.

The Home Secretary's speech to senior (more senior than me!) police officers this week set out some clear messages for the service and the cuts we have to face. I am sure you can look out for some Echo headlines on police cuts like the recent ones on council cuts. But there was more in the speech than just about the money, or lack of it. Theresa May also talked about giving people more influence over policing and holding us more accountable locally and less accountable to Whitehall bureaucrats. Fine by me. That includes plans for locally elected Police Commissioners. Just to be clear, that doesn't mean local police senior officers (me!) or Chief Constables being elected. What it does mean is that one person will be elected to cover the whole of Hampshire and Isle of Wight and it will be their job to set the police force budget, agree plans/priorities and appoint the Chief Constable. When they come into effect then the current Police Authority will cease to exist.

Local influence over policing already happens in many ways and if you want to have a say in what happens in your neighbourhood then get in touch with your local team. You can find them through our website http://www.hampshire.police.uk/Internet/localpolicing/southampton/. This week we also had the first meeting of the new Southampton Police Independent Advisory Group. A team of local community members coming together to advise us on how we can make policing in the City better. I was very encouraged by the first meeting and I hope we can have some very frank and helpful advice from these new 'critical friends'.

A week of contrasts

Quite a week with some great contrasts. Important arrests for some serious crimes in the city including the horrible assault on the cyclist down near the Itchen, the court sentences for those who caused violence at the Pompey game and then the government announcements about huge budget cuts. Officers and police staff are understandably proud of some of our successes but have concerns about what the future holds. Our Chief Constable is quite clear that we will not sacrifice the work we do to protect vulnerable people, keep our presence in every neighbourhood and still catch criminals. But the Constabulary is going to have to find some serious cuts to meet future budgets. I will do all I can to look after the interests of the City and my officers and staff but we too will have to take our share of the cuts. Our new building is still going to be finished and occupied by April next year. If it seems a bit of a luxury in these times of financial hardship then I get that but we have to have somewhere new to work as we are not able to stay at the Civic Centre for much longer, the diggers are getting closer every day. I will be making sure that we don’t waste any money on the fit out and we operate from the new building with as much efficiency as possible.

Finally if you saw the story about the operation at YMCA then the 'readers' comment on the echo website was correct when it pointed out that the Echo was quite wrong to suggest we use machine guns - a bit sensationalist I think, semi-automatics - yes, machine guns? Definitely not.

Big Brother is back

The last Big Brother series starts this week. Until reality TV took on this title to describe minute by minute surveillance of contestants the term 'Big Brother' used to be more widely understood as a description of alleged state intrusion in the privacy of people's lives (from George Orwell's book 1984). By coincidence, last night I was meeting with some members of the community in Southampton and one of their concerns was about the purpose and use of CCTV in the City. This followed a story from Birmingham about allegations that CCTV there was being used to spy on members of the Muslim community. I was able to give reassurance that the city CCTV systems in Southampton are in place to prevent and detect crime and disorder on our streets. They do not focus on any groups or communities. There are some mixed views about the benefits of the use of CCTV cameras. Some people object to them but many others welcome them for the increased sense of safety and reassurance they offer. CCTV systems certainly do deter some criminal and anti-social behaviour and when crimes are committed in public areas then CCTV is often a good source of evidence. However, the amount of footage of drunkenness and associated crime in the city centre at night shows that the deterrent effect has limits especially once alcohol takes over.
The new government is talking about minimum pricing on alcohol and if you have read many of my previous entries you will know that I would welcome that. We have started the anti-social behaviour campaign which will run through the summer and on 12th June we have the start of an operation to deal with any problems linked to World Cup matches. Alcohol features as a risk in both these issues. Sadly for some people the mix of alcohol and football support leads to behaviour like domestic violence or expressions of hatred including racism. Let's hope the vast majority can just enjoy the spectacle, sporting excitement and pride in the performance of their chosen team without resorting to drunkenness and disorder. If government cuts are as big as some are suggesting then I can say that the biggest way to save policing costs would be to reduce the amount of excessive use of alcohol. If the end of Big Brother is partly because audiences have finally tired of seeing exhibitionist behaviour, encouraged every time the housemates get a ration of alcohol delivered, then that's fine by me. There's more then enough similar drunken exhibitionism played out on our streets every weekend.

Cheap drink and hot sun

Never a good combination and if the forecasters are right then we'll have a lot of thirsty people this summer. I welcome the Government plans to control the sale of alcohol at what is sometimes absurdly cheap prices. I am sorry for responsible drinkers who want to benefit from good deals but too much of that alcohol is bought by people who can't drink sensibly and we do need to do something different if we dont want to go on with the same alcohol fuelled problems. The Echo carried a story this week about a World Cup party being axed partly because of the potential policing cost. I am sure some good fans think the Police are just kill joys. However, the thought of up to 7,000 football fans enjoying the sun, world cup games on a big screen and ready availability of alcohol left me very clear that such an event would need effective policing. The cost would be significant so why should other parts of the City have to have less policing just because we would be at this so-called World Cup party? I think it's perfectly reasonable to expect the organisers of a commercial event to pay for any police requirement. According to the Echo Portsmouth City Council spent around £100,000 on the whole FA Cup final big screen event (not just on the policing!)and we certainly needed to be at that 'party'.
Cheap alcohol, easily available, is one of the causes of anti-social behaviour. Our Police campign to tackle ASB through the summer starts at the end of this month and we have good support from the City Council and others. We have just set our own minimum standards for how tackle ASB and in brief they are these.

We will take immediate action.
We will speak to the victim/caller. If they have asked not to be visited then we will contact them by phone.
We will examine the scene and gather evidence and we will try and find out if it is a repeat incident.
We will take details of all witnesses, victims, suspects or offenders and we will take action against suspects/offenders.
We will tell the victim/caller what we have done and keep them informed and updated.
We will offer advice on what to do if it happens again and provide a reference number and a point of contact.

So I hope, unlike last year, that the forecast for the weather is right and that we can enjoy a beautiful south coast summer but with less of the behaviour which can ruin such a great time of year for some people.

Public spending cuts. Does that mean policing cuts?

With a new government and an apparent joint commitment from the Prime Minister and Deputy to early spending cuts I wonder what this means for policing? Well whatever the outcome our Chief Constable has committed to protecting front line services. That’s good for me to hear because the vast majority of what we do in Southampton is about front line services. We are all about neighbourhood policing delivered in 3 ways. Firstly shifts doing response policing answering more urgent calls. Secondly neighbourhood teams focussing on local problems and working with communities and partners. Thirdly our CID colleagues with others working on catching criminals and protecting most vulnerable people. 3 different parts to 1 team in Southampton.
If you heard the headlines about the growth in police use of overtime then don’t jump to conclusions. I see every day people trying to minimise the use of overtime but criminals don’t stick to regular hours. In Southampton we have worked to a reduced overtime budget every year for the last 3 years.
Last year we did well and reduced crime in Southampton by more than any other area in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. I want us to do more of the same this year but at the same time get better at how we deliver our service so more people know about what we are doing and more people feel confident in us. We are about to start our summer time campaign to tackle anti-social behaviour (ASB). With our partner agencies in the City, especially the City Council, we are tackling ASB across the City, dealing with things people have told us are problems. I am determined that people will see a difference and will be told by us more about what we and others are doing. What bothers me a lot is when I hear about people who don’t feel able to report what they are suffering because of fear of repurcussions. It's worth saying that there are things we and the Council can do so that people don’t always have to give statements and evidence in court. There are sometimes ways we can act on hearsay evidence. I do understand how intimidating it can be to stand up and be counted in the face of the fear of what might happen as a result but please, if this applies to you or to people you know, then tell us about what is going on. There are some ways we can protect people from repurcussions and support people through what can be difficult times but we can't tackle what we don’t know about. You say what bothers you, I will see to it that we do what we can about it this summer and then we will tell you what we have done in your area; 'You said, We did' is how it should be.

Public spending cuts. Does that mean policing cuts?

With a new government and an apparent joint commitment from the Prime Minister and Deputy to early spending cuts I wonder what this means for policing? Well whatever the outcome our Chief Constable has committed to protecting front line services. That’s good for me to hear because the vast majority of what we do in Southampton is about front line services. We are all about neighbourhood policing delivered in 3 ways. Firstly shifts doing response policing answering more urgent calls. Secondly neighbourhood teams focussing on local problems and working with communities and partners. Thirdly our CID colleagues with others working on catching criminals and protecting most vulnerable people. 3 different parts to 1 team in Southampton.
If you heard the headlines about the growth in police use of overtime then don’t jump to conclusions. I see every day people trying to minimise the use of overtime but criminals don’t stick to regular hours. In Southampton we have worked to a reduced overtime budget every year for the last 3 years.
Last year we did well and reduced crime in Southampton by more than any other area in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. I want us to do more of the same this year but at the same time get better at how we deliver our service so more people know about what we are doing and more people feel confident in us. We are about to start our summer time campaign to tackle anti-social behaviour (ASB). With our partner agencies in the City, especially the City Council, we are tackling ASB across the City, dealing with things people have told us are problems. I am determined that people will see a difference and will be told by us more about what we and others are doing. What bothers me a lot is when I hear about people who don’t feel able to report what they are suffering because of fear of repurcussions. It's worth saying that there are things we and the Council can do so that people don’t always have to give statements and evidence in court. There are sometimes ways we can act on hearsay evidence. I do understand how intimidating it can be to stand up and be counted in the face of the fear of what might happen as a result but please, if this applies to you or to people you know, then tell us about what is going on. There are some ways we can protect people from repurcussions and support people through what can be difficult times but we can't tackle what we don’t know about. You say what bothers you, I will see to it that we do what we can about it this summer and then we will tell you what we have done in your area; 'You said, We did' is how it should be.

Service before Self

Today I attended the funeral of fire-fighter Alan Bannon at St Mary's Church. The event was a very moving and a powerful mixture of intense sadness but also much pride. It was amazing to see the streets lined with so many members of the public there to pay their respects. It was a very emotional goodbye from all the HFRS staff to one of their colleagues. I was very proud to be there to represent the Constabulary and especially Southampton OCU. I was proud too of the police officers who attended the funeral. They had been involved in the tragic events at Shirley Towers. The funeral must have been very difficult for them but I was heartened by the strength of support given to them and by them.

Many of the tributes paid during the ceremony highlighted the courage and bravery of the two fire-fighters who died. All fire-fighters do a very special job involving physical courage and commitment. I thought how several of the tributes were also very applicable to the Police Service. Public service in the face of risk and hardship, service to the community and beyond all else 'service before self'. Members from all emergency services go about their daily tasks knowing they face risks but, as was said at St Mary's today, they do so willingly in the service of others.

When the call for help comes in then people from emergency services respond. On this occasion it was fire-fighters who took the greatest risks. On other occasions it might be police officers. We should never take that response and that service for granted; it's very special and we must protect and value it for the protection it offers to those we serve and to ourselves.

A good week

This week was another of great variety and includes several successes. Here's a few. We seized the biggest haul of cocaine this year from a suspected dealer along with thousands of tablets and significant cash. Its good to get drugs off the street but there's a special satisfaction too in taking money off drug dealers. If you are a user then 'sorry' but we have made it just a bit harder to score this week (could be the week to kick it, there's plenty of help around if you want to).
As I type someone is in custody for a nasty sexual assault last night. These are always horrible crimes for the victim and their family so its especially important when we can have early success in the investigations. Finally we were congratulated this week by the Chief Constable for our success last year in reducing crime in the city by 14%.
As the Chief said that's maybe the most important test of good policing and it goes right back to Sir Robert Peel and 1829 when he said " The basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime and disorder". Not all weeks are so good but when we get it right it's not just a success for Southampton Police, it's a success for the whole City.

Best crime reduction in the county

After last week's tragic fire at Shirley Towers some normality is returning for most of the residents but of course not for those few whose homes wont be fit to return to for some time. It will be a long time too before any sense of normality comes back for the families of the deceased firefighters and their colleagues. Tributes continue as does the investigation into the cause of the fire and how the firefighters lost their lives.

Within a month we'll know which party is in government. All the parties are saying plenty about policing. In Thursday's leadership debate on TV all 3 candidates talked in emotive terms about crime and people's concerns about it. Of course crime is a crucial issue for us all but is it as bad as it is sometimes portrayed? Well of course if you have been a victim of crime then statistics are of little comfort but it must be good news for me to be able to say that over the last 12 months crime in Southampton has reduced more than in any other part of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight; 14% down so 4,600 fewer victims than the year before. That's great police work and good work from partner agencies in the City and from communities themselves. Ok, so that's recorded crime but we know that what we record matches more and more closely what people say they have suffered when they are asked by independent surveys. Whichever party wins and whatever new policies might emerge, (elected local police chiefs?) if we keep improving our police performance in the way we have last year then we will be in a strong position to respond, whatever is asked of us.

But I don't take that success for granted. I know it's based on hard work and commitment by my officers and staff and by many other people, often in the face of hardship; but hopefully, rarely hardships as serious as last week's dramatic events.

Tragic events at Shirley Towers

This is one of those weeks when commenting on routine work in the City can seem almost irrelevant in the face of tragic events such as those at Shirley Towers. Southampton police officers and staff, like many others, consider firefighters as good colleagues in keeping the City safe. The death of two brave men as they tackled the fire was a tragedy and a great sadness. On behalf of all police officers and staff in the City I offer my most sincere condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of James Shears and Alan Bannon.
My thanks go to all those who have been part of the response to this incident, emergency services, City Council local community organisations and voluntary groups including the Salvation Army and local businesses. It sometimes takes an event like this to remind us of the great community spirit which still exists. My final thanks and respect goes to the community and in particular the residents of Shirley Towers for their patience and forebearing. We will continue to work with the City Council to try and get their lives back to normal as soon as possible but I hope it's understandable that we have an important investigation to conduct so we can establish what happened and how those two brave men were killed in the line of service to the public in Southampton.
That return to normality will happen soon and I hope my comments here will once again be about more routine issues. In the meantime it's right to pause and reflect on our colleagues and their ultimate sacrifice.

Drugs - more to be done than just criminalising

So mephedrone is to be classified as a class B controlled drug. I'ts not for me to debate the rights and wrongs of that here. If it is made illegal to possess or to supply then we will respond and tackle it along with our other drugs work, focussing mainly on those people who deal in illegal drugs and in so doing harm our community in various ways. For me our policing enforcement role on drugs is quite clear (albeit constantly expanding!). We also support various partnerships in the City on prevention and minimising the harm caused by drugs. However, until we can get to the underlying issues which give rise to illegal drug use then it seems to me the requirments on us will continue to rise. Not just the supply and use of illegal drugs but the crime committed to get those drugs or to control markets.
But what about legal drugs too? The harm caused to the City by alcohol is probably much greater in terms of scale. The amount of crime committed through drunkeness, the way people put themselves at risk and the health implications are massive. So anything we can do to help people make better choices about how they seek stimulation , excitement or an escape from their daily routine must be a good thing. The Global Rock Challenge ( http://www.rockchallenge.co.uk) is one fantastic example of a scheme which started in Hampshire and is now international. A drug free high for young people through music and dance. The regional finals are happening soon and it's a great event. Then there is SKAA, Southampton Kids Alcohol Awareness. Another great scheme where young people can learn how to have fun without having to get drunk. The next SKAA event is on 13th April at Oceana. If you care about helping kids to learn safer ways to have fun and about the impact and dangers of alcohol then get them to go to this event. www.skaa.co.uk
Finally more good work this last weekend by the emergency services and council in responding to the potentially horrific collapse of part of a building at Weston. Terrifying for the residents but also what a difficult scene to arrive at and to try and make sense of. Well done to everyone who attended from all the services.

People who make a difference

This week I had two chances to recognise examples of how individuals contribute to making the City safer. One evening I met with colleagues at the Mayor's rooms in the Civic Centre to congratulate 3 Special Constables on achieving independent patrol status. That means that after many hours of training and joint patrol with more experienced colleagues and regular officers they have reached a level of experience and knowledge where they can now patrol independently. We take the training of Special Constables very seriously and their voluntary commitment to do a minimum of 4hrs patrol every week (many do much more) is a really valuable addition to the visible policing presence in the City which I know so many people want to see more of. The same evening I congratulated a Police Sergeant who, amongst his other duties, has for 15 years led a team of Special Constables as part of the football operation at St Mary's. Apparently he even reads this blog! I can't miss the chance to make a recruitment appeal so if you have ever thought about volunteering in the City or you are interested in a potential career in policing then being a Special Constable is a great opportunity and maybe even more attractive when the council implement their plan to offer a 100% council tax rebate for Special Constable's living and working in the City.
The second event was when I congratulated a member of staff at Sainsburys In Shirley for the actions he took in detaining a violent man for snatching cash from the store. The man was wanted for 7 other offences. That was great work supporting his colleagues, his company and the community and it was a pleasure to say well done and thank you to him.

Taking anti-social behaviour seriously?

Lots of press coverage today (Thursday) about the inspection reports on the police service across the country. The headline though isn't about the best and worst police forces (whatever that really means) it's about how we respond to anti-social behaviour (ASB). The statement in the press releases is that some police forces don’t take ASB sufficiently seriously. It's unfortunate these releases have been made before the reports are published so we don’t know yet how Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary comes out of those reports. When they are out, maybe this weekend, then you can find them on this website www.mypolice.org.uk,
However, I know in Southampton we do take these issues seriously. I know that some anti-social behaviour can be very damaging to neighbourhoods and especially to people who are more vulnerable. That's why we invest time and effort in responding to incidents of ASB and it's a major focus for all our neighbourhood police officers and community support officers. But it's not just us. We work with lots of other people on this, especially the City Council, but also local organisations including voluntary groups. Only yesterday I chaired a meeting of senior people from agencies in the City at which we discussed new standards and commitments for how we will tackle ASB in Southampton. This includes how we need to keep trying to identify and support people who are particularly vulnerable. Last summer police across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight ran a major campaign to tackle ASB. We did that with our partners and community groups such as Neighbourhood Watch. It seemed to have a good effect on reducing incidents of ASB and increasing public confidence. We will do that again this summer and the more we can involve community groups and neighbourhoods in this the better.
So I wait to see what the Inspectors say about Hampshire Constabulary but whatever they say I will be leading Southampton Police to continue to work with our City partners in doing more and better on tackling ASB.
In the meantime those people who thought I only ever talk about football wont be dissapointed if I say that the work to identify the people who committed crimes at the recent derby game goes more public today with an appeal for help in putting names to faces. http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/5052800.Manhunt_for_hooligans_from_cup_match/
We've asked for help with 10 people but there are others we have already identified - arrests to follow soon.

Where did 2 weeks go?

Since my last comments we have had the derby game Saints v Pompey, I took a week off over half term (including my first time to St James Park to watch Newcastle, 39,000 on a cold wednesday night, awesome!)and last week seemed to rush by with organisational and management stuff; important but not as rewarding as time spent with people. As always the last 2 weeks has had a real range of policing issues to deal with. However, most seem somehow less significant in the shadow of the awful events at Totton at the weekend. Whatever the reasons and the causes such an event is a terrible sadness for so many people. On a lesser scale, but still of importance to the people affected, we've had some successes arresting and charging people for a variety of crimes over the last 2 weeks including a nasty assualt at Millbrook which resulted in a group of suspected offenders being taken off the streets and remanded in custody and some other people caught for house burglaries. Such burglaries used to be much more common several years ago and over the last few years we have done really well at reducing them to all time lows. But this year we have seen an increase for the first time for a long time. Is this caused by the economic downturn? We know many of the people committing burglaries are doing so to find the money for drug habits, especially herione addiction. I wouldn't have thought these people would have seen their income etc. fall as most weren't working anyway but maybe it is something about the economy. I say the numbers are rising but if I point out that there are about 92,000 households in the City and we get about 2-3 dwelling burglaries a day then you can see what the real levels are and how well we have done to reduce these over the years. Dwelling burglaries will feature as a specific target for the new year starting in April. That's along with tackling anti-social behaviour, criminal damage, violent crime and some others. No suprises there. One newer target is about making people in the City more confident in their policing service. Reducing crime and anti-social behaviour adds to confidence but we need to do more on how we communciate and engage better with people in the City. Not spin or false promises; just more open with people and more responsive to what people need and want from us. Maybe we need to use social marketing and networking more!

Derby match day

So when Saturday dawns, like police football commanders all over the country, I will be getting ready for the day's match. In many cities across the country derby games are a regular event. Here it’s a bit more rare. Well, once in 5 years. But before 2005 there were several Saints v Pompey games and they were all high octane affairs. It has to be said, but it's often forgotten, that the last 2 games at Southampton went well and a good policing operation was a major part of that success. Can we repeat that? Have we planned well enough? Yes I think we have and by about 3 o'clock we'll know. I still maintain that what it's really about is a great sporting event run safely by the club and police for the benefit of everyone.
If I doubted for a second the level of interest in this match the endless press interviews etc. I have done would have made me realise just how big this is for the 2 cities. I've said before though that football or any big sport wouldn’t be the same without rivalry. By far the majority of people who will be at St Mary's today are there for the sport and good healthy rivalry. The few who take their club and city loyalty too far and wish to spoil such a great occasion will have to contend with a large and professional police operation and they may have to answer to the courts and face a banning order. How could any true fan risk being banned from seeing their team? Beats me.
I hope people in the city who are not interested in the game and just want to go about their normal business also know that we are there to allow them to do that. At key times of course there will be busy streets with traffic and crowds. There will be lots of noise and singing and chanting. That's nothing to be concerned about and we will have a police presence around the city all day. Most of the pubs are opening later in the morning and will be closed after the game for a couple of hours and I hope this means the City centre will clear quickly during the afternoon.
Here's wishing everyone a good day. Not all the fans will go home happy but at least, if I have my way, they will go home safe.

Planning for the derby game

I said I would report back on the work we are doing for the Portsmouth game. Here's a list of just a few of the things we've been up to.

We are still looking at this from the perspective of a major sporting event for the City so our work is about planning for a safe event with the football club and other City organisations. Of course we are planning for the possible risks too but our focus is on a great day for all the fans of both teams. Some will go away disappointed but I hope all will go home having had a great time in the City.
We are speaking to people in the residential and city centre business communities to discuss their needs and putting in place neighbourhood patrols to give any reassurance required
We've been working with the organisers to make sure the Chinese New Year celebrations planned for the Saturday and Sunday aren't affected by the football game,
Planning the duties and tasks of the 260 or so people involved in the policing operation, (including, very importantly, welfare and refreshments!) is a major task,
Making sure all the teams, including a mounted section from Thames Valley and British Transport Police colleagues and others all communicate and work together effectively, (in large operations for all organisations or businesses it's communications which are so often critical to success)
Working with pubs and clubs to agree how they can operate safely on match day and the Friday and Saturday nights,
Keeping alert to any signs of potential trouble and planning how we deal with any trouble makers including speaking to them beforehand (we know who most of them are) and making the arrangements needed if arrests are made,
Working on media and communications plans so we try and get more information out to people before, during and after the game, including making more use of social networking sites etc. (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hampshire-Constabulary/22018596340)
Organising the police control centre at the stadium and our force command and control room at Netley (lots of people want to be involved and many people have a case for being in the control room but as I well know the police commander needs the control room at the stadium to be very carefully managed!)
And that’s just some of it. Fortunately I have a great team doing this work for me and I hope the fans will see what a good job we have done.

Where will I be on match day?

In a recent blog on the Southampton Echo site (same as my earlier comment here) about the coming Saints v Pompey derby game at least one reader queried my statement that I was looking forward to the day. Where will I be? At home or in a cosy office, seemed to be the challenge. In the same way when I was talking earlier about problems in the City centre at night it was suggested that maybe I never trouble myself with actually experiencing the policing of the so called 'night time economy'. ( I'd rather call it what it is ie. city centre alcohol-fuelled violence, which incidentally is reducing)
I'm not trying to look clever but in fact, and in common with many other senior officers including our Chief Constable, I do go out on patrol. On 13th Feb I will be at the stadium as part of the police operation (no not just to watch the game) and I regularly go out on patrol in the city centre late at night and work weekends. I wish I could do it more often but a lot of my work does tie me to the office and the computer. I know officers and police staff in the City like to see leaders getting out and about. I think what they really like is when we are on patrol with them as long as we are actually with someone else on their team!
Planning for the derby game continues. We are talking to the pubs and clubs about their plans. Inevitably these can be places where problems might take place. For many fans having a couple of drinks as part of the occasion is great but some will over do it and we'll deal with that. We are, and will continue, talking to residents and businesses about any concerns they have. When the new stadium opened the club and police did a lot of work reassuring the stadium's neighbours who were worried about the impact of the new ground. Of course 20-30,000 people passing through an area brings some problems but generally week in, week out games are peaceful and many of the fears were unfounded. I think the same may well be true on 13th February. I'm not naive or sticking my head in the sand, I just believe that the thousands of good fans will dominate the day and the good club and police operation will tackle any problems. I am sure Echo readers will be amongst the first to tell me if I am wrong.

South coast football derby

So Saints and Pompey get to meet in the next round of the FA Cup. This is the sort of fixture that fans want; excitement, good football, city rivalry and a chance to show that despite recent problems for both clubs the football heritage in this area is still very strong. I was glad it was a Saints home draw, not because it favours Soton (must maintain police impartiality) but because I genuinely think that it's a great ground for putting on a safe event for everyone.
I think of the tens of thousands of fans for whom this will be a great day either at the stadium or around the 2 cities or watching or listening at home. I was policing the Ipswich match on Saturday and when the results were in this was the draw I was looking for. We'll deliver a top class police operation and support both clubs so it's a great day for everyone to be proud of and remember for ages. We have already had our first planning meetings and there will be lots to do over the next 3 weeks and I will be saying more here and elsewhere about how the work is going.

New booze laws - is it enough?

If you look at those famous pictures Hogarth did showing the effects of excessive drinking you might think they are just a caricature and were an attempt to shock by depicting the extremes of drunkenness but they were not reality. Well maybe that's true to a point. However, if you haven't experienced a busy city centre on a Saturday night and maybe visited a police custody centre or a hospital casualty department then you wont know how often some of those Hogarth scenes are played out still every weekend. In the press in Southampton this week there was coverage of a horrible assault by drunken youths which resulted in a court case and 6 people being sent to prison for their part in the attack. A good result but a shame it ever happened. The Government has announced plans for tougher laws around licensing designed to reduce excessive and underage drinking. That's welcome but I would like to see more. In Southampton we are determined to reduce the amount of crime and disorder, especially in the City centre, caused by excessive drinking and we are seeing some results of that. It's not all about policing by any means (for example the Street Pastors Service is a great new addition to helping people in the City centre) but police enforcement has a big role to play and we are having some success. There is less violent crime in the City overall and less in the City centre at night. Less but still too much including too much violence against women in public and at home. For my part I would like to see us tackle excessive drinking in the same way we did smoking. Through more advertising control and bans, pricing policy, education, more restrictions on sale, more treatment services and increased local authority and police enforcement. We've got to the point where smoking is widely dissaproved of and we need to achieve the same for heavy drinking especially amongst young people. I don't think I am a miserable prohibitionist but you can only see so many people harmed by excessive drinking before you decide there must be a better way. I can't accept a 'positive' impact on company profit lines as sufficient reason to put up with the harm and waste caused by excessive drinking so I am pleased that more licensees in the City are talking with us about responsible policies and practice. That's very welcome but we've been here before and I still see plenty of evidence that we need to do more to make sure that Hogarth's vision is one which is increasingly just historical.

Beauty and a Beast

Driving into Southampton this morning the Avenue, with all the trees covered in fresh snow, looked as beautiful as I have ever seen it in winter. To have such natural beauty right into the City is really precious. I realised though that this beauty also masked the reality of a tough day for many people coping with more snow. Another local area of beauty marred by a different reality was featured this week in the press as we try and resolve the horrific murder of Georgina Edmonds at Brambridge 2 years ago. Her house on the River Itchen is in an area of great natural beauty and one I know well from regular walks along the river. The impact of her death on family and friends was of course profound and must still be felt every day. Such an awful crime may only happen here once in 10, 20, or maybe 30 years but the impact affects almost everyone living in the area and for a long time. I know that at the local schools childhood fascination for the macabre hid a genuine fear for many which hasn't gone. I am sure we will catch her killer. We will certainly need help from people in the community to do that and let's hope this week's publicity might achieve that. But I am sure for many people who, like me, enjoy the walks in that area we will never pass that place without thinking about Georgina. Beauty sometimes hides something more ugly but, fortunately, is rarely beaten by it.

Policing the big freeze

Seems to me we have been lucky in the City and escaped the worst of the weather this time. Just before Christmas we had to deal with the morning when all our roads were sheet ice. This time the disruption hasn't been nearly so bad but has still caused plenty of problems for people. It has also brought more evidence of the commitment of many public workers in the city determined to get to work to help deliver their service. Health workers, care workers, highways staff, fire, ambulance and of course police officers and police staff. One of my colleagues walked 5 miles into work yesterday and the same back home last night. That's real commitment to his work and public service. Despite the weather, officers have still been out responding to calls and dealing with crime for example executing a warrant yesterday to close a small cannabis factory. If you have called us and we haven't managed to get to you as quickly as we promised then I am sorry but I hope you can understand why that might be. I can assure you we are still policing the City and responding promptly to all the most urgent calls. More snow still to come this weekend it seems so we all need to keep being careful and make only the really essential journeys. Going home from work last night at rush hour time it seemed many people had taken that advice, the Avenue was almost empty. You know its bad when Saints football is postponed. I think that's the first time since they have been at the new stadium that the cold has stopped a game so not a bad record.

Teenager robbed as passers-by ignore plea for help

This story is in the Echo today - two people walking past a 16yr old being robbed in the street when he was asking them to help. Echo website comments suggest people dont stop and help because they are worried about being assaulted themselves or they are worried they'll be in trouble with us if they intervene. On the first I can understand it but what a pity there is such fear which is often unfounded. Violence is often threatened but rarely used, as in this case the victim wasnt physically harmed. On the second, is this just an excuse? The law comes from Section 3 of the Criminal Law Act 1967 which says,
"A person may use such force as is reasonable in the circumstances in the prevention of crime, or in effecting or assisting in the lawful arrest of offenders or suspected offenders or of persons unlawfully at large."
So, as long as what is done is reasonable then we shouldn't fear coming to the assistance of someone being robbed. What we should all fear is the spreading of a general unwillingness to act to protect ourselves and each other. I think of another quote "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing".