New Police Sgt for Thame, parking, latest crime figures & officer numbers down

THE Thame and Wheatley Neighbourhood Policing Team has recently welcomed Sergeant Neil Anns. Neil is the newly appointed Sergeant for the team whilst Sgt Hoskins was on maternity leave.

PSCO Graham Davey is now the PCSO for Chinnor and Watlington. Graham has come from the Henley Neighbourhood team to support the Thame and Wheatley team.

Police Officers’ report in person to Thame towb Councillors

On February 27, SGT Anns had presented an update to Thame Town Councillors, the main points of interest being the following:

• South Oxfordshire and Vale of the White Horse area has lost 14 police officers and 10 staff due to ‘austerity’ cuts, and the number of local neighbourhood police officers overall have been reduced, though there were also a number of vacancies for PCSOs awaiting recruitment.
• Currently there are two PCSOs and two PCs covering the Thame area (104 sq. miles) plus an additional PSCO based in Chinnor / Watlington.

  

• The team’s current focus was primarily on rural crime – Rural crime was also up 56%, this was in part due to the way rural crime was recorded and reports received, and the work by the police with the rural community encouraging them to report crime.
• The anti-social behaviour around Southern Road Recreation Ground and Elms Park had received a firm response from the police and a number of convictions had taken place. This had resulted in a drop off in the number of calls reporting ASB in these areas. The Neighbourhood team was making good use of civil remedies to reduce crime around the town.
• PSCOs had carried out parking enforcement in the town on a Tuesday recently, and issued 29 tickets. Sgt Anns explained that the enforcement involved a large amount of police time as vehicles had to be seen in-situ for two hours before a ticket was issued. The Neighbourhood team would, he told councillors, look at what could be done in the longer term about parking enforement.
• Crime figures for burglary to dwellings was down 10% and burglary to non-dwellings (i.e. sheds, garages) down by 28%. Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) crime was also down by 6%.
• The not so good news was that violence against the person was up 46%, a rise thought to be largely associated with a large number of anti-social behaviour incidents which occurred in the spring and summer of last year. The incidents had been dealt with positively and a number of people had gone through the criminal justice system, it was reported.

Sgt Anns concluded that the Neighbourhood team appreciated that there was a general need for the public to see a police presence, but with two PCSOs and two PCs, the team was ‘thin on the ground with plenty of work to do’.

Witness appeal

THAMES Valley Police are appealing for witnesses following the theft of a Land Rover Defender in Chinnor, between 5.40pm ON Monday (5/3) and 7.33am on Tuesday (6/3).

Witness appeal, drug-dealing suspect charged, and more – latest Community newsletter

Thieves stole a red Land Rover Defender, index N***XCT from a driveway in Mill Lane, Chinnor. If you have seen any suspicious looking people or vehicles in the area or have any information relating to this message, you are asked to call the Police via the 24 hour non-emergency telephone number 101, and quote ref 43180068365.

Also included in this month’s Neighbourhood policing newsletter, is a report of a male who is believed to have been involved in supplying drugs in the Thame/Wheatley area being arrested in Oxford in February for possession with intent to supply Class A drugs. He has since been charged and remanded for court.

The Thame neighbourhood team ran an operation in Thame on Monday, March 12. Three suspicious vehicles were stop checked. One vehicle had no tax, another contained a male in possession of cannabis and another vehicle was on false plates. Enquiries are under way with the vehicle on false plates.

You can read the whole of the latest Neighbourhood Policing newsletter HERE – including dates for ‘Have your say’ meetings with officers in Thame