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.
Friday, 21 May 2010
Thursday, 13 May 2010
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.
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.
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.
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