News Item - News - Surrey Police

January meeting for Ash Neighbourhood Panel

Submitted: 24/12/2004 13:25:35

Residents in Ash are being asked to decide on which issue police should focus their attention at the next meeting of the Neighbourhood Panel, which will be held on Tuesday, January 4.

The meeting will be held at Ash Parish Meeting Rooms at 8-15pm and police are encouraging residents to come along and have their say about the way their community should be policed.

All those who attend will then be asked to vote for the top priority to be given police attention.

Priorities identified at the last panel meeting were anti-social behaviour and speeding motorists in Ash Hill Road. Patrols have been stepped up to in the area and Ash neighbourhood Specialist Officer PC Vanessa Privett has been carrying out speed enforcement operations with Guildford Casualty Reduction Officer Janet Jenkins.

Residents also asked police to tackle criminal damage and drug taking and dealing in Station Approach, Ash Vale. PC Privett and Police Community Support Officer Keely Copland have been carrying out a number of checks and British Transport Police officers have also been asked to be on the alert for any such activity.

The meeting in January is being organised by PC Simon Berger, who will be in attendance with Ash Neighbourhood Specialist Officer, PC Vanessa Privett.

The public meeting is one of a series of surveys, one-to-one and open meetings being carried out across the county by Surrey Police officers and staff, in conjunction with partner agencies. Environmental visual audits are also being carried out to help assess what local problems trouble the community the most in terms of crime and neighbourhood security.

Research shows that most of a community's anxiety about safety is caused by "signal crimes" such as vandalism, graffiti, abandoned cars and broken windows. These "signal crimes" can have a disproportionate impact upon a community's sense of fear and insecurity, leading people to believe that crime is rising in their area when in fact it is stable or falling.

Research also shows that people need to feel someone owns the issues that affect the environment, and is responsible for order and well being in the area. In response to this, Surrey Police has appointed 93 Neighbourhood Specialist Officers, who have been on the streets of Surrey tackling crime and anti-social behaviour. Ash NSO PC PC Vanessa Privett also works closely with the borough council and other partner agencies to deal with issues such as the removal of abandoned cars and graffiti and the provision of street lighting and CCTV.

The NSOs work alongside Police Community Support Officer Keely Copland and Community Safety Warden Garry Jones, making up a neighbourhood team which provides a reassuring visible presence in Ash.

Guildford Borough Inspector Dave Kelley explained: "The Neighbourhood Panel meetings are being held to find out what is of most concern to local residents. There is a clear gap between public perception of the risk of crime and the likelihood of actually suffering crime, and we want to find out what is causing the sense of fear and insecurity.

"Those who attend the public meetings will help to shape policing activity in their area. Prioritising the top concerns will enable to focus our resources more efficiently and deploy officers to deal with issues the public wants to see us dealing with. The top priorities are not set in stone and will change over the coming months, and this will be reflected when we review this process at future meetings."

For further information please contact the Divisional Press and Publicity Officer for West Surrey

E-mail: 9452@surrey.pnn.police.uk