Camberley Town & St Pauls

ASB related issues around drug use and dealing

Alongside regular drug warrants undertaken across West Surrey, a warrant was recently completed at an address in Camberley Towers near the town centre. The occupant was charged with possession of a Class B drug and has been served with a letter warning of a possible Closure Order that could be served at the address. Continuing monitoring efforts have been undertaken and reports of ASB and drug use have curtailed significantly

Shoplifting and assaults towards retail workers.

This remains a top priority for the Town Centre policing team. No one should have to be subjected to assaults for simply doing their job. Regular enforcement action has been taken to robustly pursue shoplifters, including those who commit violent offences. Officers have been regularly patrolling in problem locations and at peak times to deter offending and catch offenders at the scene. We have been working with high frequency locations within the town centre to target harden and reduce reported offences. We have issued behaviour warning letters and Community Protection Notices to high harm repeat offenders to maximise effectiveness of prosecution efforts. Finally, we continue to work across borders with colleagues in Hampshire and Thames Valley police in a joined-up approach to ensure that offenders are brought to justice, no matter where they reside.

Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB)

ASB continues to be a significant issue in the town centre. We have ramped up patrolling in hotspot locations and have deployed West Surrey’s new Neighbourhood Enforcement Team (NET) to be a visible police presence in the town centre. We are focussing our enforcement efforts on repeated offenders that blight our town with anti-social and unacceptable behaviours. We have recently issued many behaviour warning letters to our top offenders and have been working with partner agencies to curtail these kinds of behaviours. This approach is proven to be effective, but for those that continue their behaviour, we are case building to implement Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBOs) in order to robustly stamp out this kind of behaviour.

The Town Centre team have been working closely with partners in the Atrium shopping centre, primarily surrounding issues that have been reported at the Tenpin bowling venue. While this venue is widely enjoyed by the vast majority of visitors peacefully and respectfully, we been made aware of a number of reports regarding significant ASB and disturbances to the peace. Problem offenders have been identified and dealt with and officers have been regularly patrolling the area at peak times. We have recently referred a number of young people to diversionary programs within the youth criminal justice service to stop their offending following incidents within Tenpin bowling.

Violence Against Women and Girls

Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) refers to a wide range of crimes and abusive behaviours that disproportionately affect women and girls, although people of all genders can be victims. These offences cause significant physical, emotional, psychological, and social harm, and their impact often extends beyond individuals to families and communities. There have been an increase in exposure offences reported in the borough of Surrey Heath.
Surrey Police is committed to pursuing those who are committing these types of offences. We are aware that VAWG offences are underreported and our team are engaging with the community to encourage reporting and using 999 when there is a crime in progress. Increased patrols are being completed in places that have been targeted for these types of offences. The neighbourhood team are working with our proactive team to arrange days of action with specially trained officers to observe and intervene when necessary.
Since the priority has been added the following work has been undertaken by the local team:
•Day of action with plain clothes and specially trained officers observing behaviours in large green spaces across the borough.
•Joint work with the council during World Cup games offering a safe space for victims of VAWG offences, along with uniformed patrols and the use of specially trained officers.
•Local officers have attended park run events to engage with participants and raise awareness
•Plans are being made for the summer period for events to engage with the public around this subject and further patrols in hotspot locations being planned.