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| Hampshire Constabulary |
This fortnights crime figures show quite a good picture for the area as whole, with the vast majority of complaints to police being about minor nuisance rather than crime.
The main offences are that of assault and thankfully these were minor ones which didn’t require medical treatment.
However unfortunately the majority of these assaults were related to domestic violence which due to its persistent nature and the likelihood that we don’t get called to each and every incident, police take very seriously.
When called to an incident of domestic violence Hampshire Constabulary will ALWAYS arrest the aggressor and look to prosecute when an assault has taken place.
The reason for this is very clear, though it may be a minor assault this time, a very high percentage of murders and serious assaults will be domestic violence related and our primary task as a police force is to protect and save life.
It is also totally unacceptable to assault someone in there own home where there are often children present WHO WILL be affected by seeing and hearing such abuse. Domestic violence has an adverse effect on quality of life issues.
Any person who is a victim of domestic violence can contact Hampshire police on 0845 045 45 45 and ask to speak to the domestic violence unit in their area for advice and support, alternatively Victim Support 02380 237348 can be contacted on the matter too. (This number is the same for ALL victim support enquires).
If as a neighbour or family member you hear a violent incident then please call it in 999 straight away as often the person on the receiving end of the violence isn’t in a position to call police, we will want to speak to you to see if you can help our investigation, however it is important to remember that we will not disclose any information about you if you decide not to get involved (though obviously we would like your assistance!).
In relation to police actions in the last fortnight a lot of the crime incidents recorded above are as a result of pro active police patrolling, the vast majority of road related incidents are in fact prosecutions for drink drive or no insurance and often public order incidents are dealt with by police patrolling and finding unacceptable behaviour.
This was the case in Tristan Close recently when a male was given a fixed penalty notice for swearing in the street. Fixed penalty notices are an effective and efficient way of dealing with lower level matters. The penalty for such a notice is £80 and allows for police to carry on patrolling and saves a vast amount of tax payer’s money allowing lawyers to deal with more serious cases quicker.
Finally the high numbers of nuisance calls to police don’t necessarily mean that all incidents are anti social, often it is a conflict of life styles with youths playing football lawfully not being appreciated by residents nearby.
As such police look to deal with these matters using common sense and advice to all parties to try and resolve issues to improve each person’s quality of life. Obviously if offences are disclosed these are dealt with as appropriate.
There is now an independent mediation service available and this can be effective for neighbour disputes/nuisance issues (cats fouling, boundary issues etc) as long as both sides are prepared to participate. This obviously will assist police as if both sides discuss their issues we can deal with other matters and target the higher value criminals in our area with warrants and arrests to make the Waterside a safer place to live.
Crime prevention advice can always be sought from Hampshire polices crime reduction officers on safe street teams local trading standards and at your local police station. The telephone number for Hampshire police is 0845 045 45 45 and crime prevention advice can be found on both police and trading standard web sites.
The mobile police station is planned to be in the following areas on Friday 03/08/07
1000-1200hrs Blackfield Cross roads next to Library.
1330-1430hrs Fawley Square.
1500-1600hrs Tristan Close Calshot.
Where I will be able to offer crime prevention advice and deal with any non urgent issues which may wish to raise.
PC 3216 WOODHEAD |
