Cranleigh, Ewhurst & Rowly - My Neighbourhood - Surrey Police

You Said... We Did

You told us... that anti-social driving in the Village Way car park keeps residents awake.
We responded... by stopping four more cars, reviewing the engineering possibilities in the area and liaising with the Leisure Centre. We will be assisting in getting the gates closed on time - and we have installed CCTV in the area.


You told us... that damage and disorder is getting worse in Snoxhall.
We responded... by making regular patrols in the area, seizing alcohol from those too young to possess it - and removing graffiti in partnership with Waverley Borough Council. We continue to patrol the area heavily.


Police Surgeries
We will be running Police Surgeries at various locations in the area to assist villagers gain more access to the Safer Neighbourhood Team. The areas selected are Rowly, Ewhurst (by the Bull’s Head) and the Elmbridge Road section of Cranleigh. The purpose of the Surgeries are to allow residents to speak to us about any local issues or concerns they may have (not to report crime or incidents that took place in the past). The team will be carrying crime prevention information.

If a crime is being committed or someone is at risk of injury, please call 999 when it is happening.
If you want to report a crime or an incident, please call 0845 125 2222.
To report a crime or an incident online click here: http://www.surrey.police.uk/minorcrime/minor_step1.asp


Cranleigh Carnival
The Cranleigh Carnival was a hot event this year with a great family atmosphere amid the soaring temperatures. The Safer Neighbourhood Team thoroughly enjoyed the event. And, judging by the smiles all around, we believe many others did too. In case you want more of the same, the Ewhurst Carnival is on Saturday, 24 July. For more details visit http://www.ewhurst.org


Shady shades
Thieves recently made-off with a considerable amount of Oakley sunglasses from a local retail outlet. If you are offered designer sunglasses at knockdown prices from the back of a van or in a pub car park, please inform us - or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.


Underage drinking
The Safer Neighbourhood Team spends a great deal of time dealing with the issue of underage drinking and its unfortunate knock-on effects. This is a serious problem that often puts young people in extremely vulnerable situations. On our patrols we find intoxicated and disorientated youngsters being sick, self-harming and on occasion comatose in parks or woodland. Other side effects include low level criminality such as damage and disorder. We are also involved in helping young people who are distressed by their drinking to get support from our partner agencies - and we spend time consoling victims of this behaviour, many of whom are elderly.

Teenagers should make themselves aware of the following legislation:
Offence of persistently possessing alcohol in a public place (Policing And Crime Act 2009 – Section 30)
(1) A person under the age of 18 is guilty of an offence if, without reasonable excuse, the person is in possession of alcohol in any relevant place on 3 or more occasions within a period of 12 consecutive months.
(2) “Relevant place”, in relation to a person, means —
(a) any public place, other than excluded premises, or
(b) any place, other than a public place, to which the person has unlawfully gained access.
(3) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale (up to £1,000).

With summer here and Year 11s finishing their secondary schooling, parents should be aware that this is traditionally a time of year when this behaviour increases.


Bullying
The Safer Neighbourhood Team has recently been getting to grips with a thorny shoplifting issue. We have also been advised by parents of bullying issues which seem particularly prevalent among teenage girls. A number of parents have alerted police to a spate of bullying by text message and on social networking websites. The Telecommunication Act of 1984 is clear regarding this:

• Section 43(1)(a) relates to a message etc that is grossly offensives or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character
• Section 43(1)(b) targets false messages and persistent misuse to cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety; it also covers persistent silent phone calls

If a message sent is grossly offensives, indecent, obscene, menacing or false, it is irrelevant whether it was received or not. The offence is one of sending, so is committed when the sending takes place.

If any parent is worried that their child is being targeted via text or other electronic means, please get in touch with us. If you do not want to contact police then contact the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre http://www.ceop.gov.uk/


Neighbourhood Watch
If there no Neighbourhood Watch scheme exists in your area, please consider getting together with your neighbours to start one.

You will be given support and encouragement to do so from your Safer Neighbourhood Team. This may well result in peace of mind, not to mention improved home insurance conditions. Being a NHW co-ordinator does not take up much time. You may, for instance, be asked to communicate the occasional information bulletin to your neighbours via e-mail.

If you would like to join Neighbourhood Watch or become a scheme co-ordinator, please visit http:www.surrey.police.uk/safety/neighbourhood_watch.asp


Thank you for taking the time to read our webpage,

PC 220 Jack Lee, PCSOs 13189 Dave Sherwood and 10525 Steve Baldwin

Written by FIN: 10525

You Said... We Did

You said... “We are experiencing anti-social driving issues late in the evenings in the Village Way car park".
We responded... by making Safer Neighbourhood Patrols at the location on Fridays and Saturdays, from the early evenings until 2.00am. We also received support from the Roads Policing Unit who attended the car park during the late evenings.


You said... “Damage and disorder in Snoxhall is getting worse".
We responded... by patrolling the area heavily and successfully prosecuting the person who damaged trees in the new playground. They were fined a total of £550.


School Speed Watch
Park Mead School pupils recently partnered the Safer Neighbourhood Team in a School Speed Watch in Ewhurst Road. Casualty Reduction Officer, PC Harris, lead this initiative in which a disturbingly large number of vehicles were stopped for speeding. Drivers stopped were re-educated about the speed limit by the children who asked them “why were you speeding near our school?”

The team patrolling Snoxhall on the following Friday had a very interesting chat with a number of young cricketers who had clearly enjoyed their participation in the Speed Watch exercise. They spoke very highly of PC Harris and were very impressed by his speed gun skills - and they were amazed that they knew some of the drivers he had stopped!


Air guns in Ewhurst
A Ewhurst resident has reported a nasty incident involving an air weapon near the Broomer's Lane Recreation Ground. In case there is any confusion about the use of air weapons, here are few rules:
• You are not allowed to own, buy, sell or hire an air weapon if you are under 18 years of age
• It is an offence to give an air weapon to someone who is under 18 years of age
• You are not allowed to carry an air weapon in a public place whether it is covered, uncovered, loaded or unloaded; this is an arrestable offence

If anyone has seen air weapons in or near the recreation ground, or is aware of anyone who is not using their air gun responsibly, please contact the Safer Neighbourhood Team. We also have leaflets that fully explain the rules. Our contact details are listed above.


Panel Meeting report
Thanks to the Park Mead residents who attended the May Panel meeting at which PC Harris reported on what had been done regarding motoring issues since the last meeting. This included his work with Surrey County Council's Highways department. He is now hopeful that more road markings will be laid in the area to avoid inconsiderate parking.

PC Harris had also been out with his trusty speed gun. Although he had not managed to catch anyone speeding in Taylor's Crescent, he did ticket a vehicle for parking on the Taylor's Crescent/Park Drive junction.

At the end of the meeting attendees took a vote and in their view the most important issue on the development at the moment is that of dog fouling. Can all dog owners using Park Mead please clean up their dog’s mess?


Clamping warning
Motorists are politely reminded that the area behind Sainsbury's is not a public car park and you will get clamped if you park there. This is private land patrolled by a private parking enforcement company, so police cannot remove the clamps for you. However, removing clamps using cutting equipment or similar will be considered by police as criminal damage.


Bullying
The Safer Neighbourhood Team has recently been getting to grips with a thorny shoplifting issue. We have also been advised by parents of bullying issues. This seems particularly prevalent among teenage girls. A number of parents have alerted police to a spate of bullying by text message and on social networking websites. The Telecommunication Act of 1984 is clear regarding this:

• Section 43(1)(a) relates to a message etc that is grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character
• Section 43(1)(b) targets false messages and persistent misuse to cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety; it also covers persistent silent phone calls

If a message sent is grossly offensive, indecent, obscene, menacing or false, it is irrelevant whether it was received or not. The offence is one of sending, so is committed when the sending takes place.

If any parent is worried that their child is being targeted via text or other electronic means, please get in touch with us. If you do not want to contact police then contact the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre http://www.ceop.gov.uk/

Once again thank you for taking the time to read our web page,

PC 220 Jack Lee and PCSOs 13189 Dave Sherwood and 10525 Steve Baldwin

Written by FIN: 10525