Reply to the letter from the Police Authority in the “Fear of Crime” debate
Old Colwyn East Residents' Association
CONWY
LL29 9RW
22nd March 2009
Cllr Ian Roberts
Chair to the North Wales Police Authority
62 Church View,
Shepherd's Lane
Chirk
Wrexham
LL14 5PF
Dear Councillor Roberts
Thank you for your letter addressed to Mr. Poynton, Chair of our association and dated the 27th February 2009, referring to our letter on the “fear of crime” dated 22nd January 2009. Our association has recently debated your reply and I have been asked to give you their views.
We were well aware of the purpose of the most recent round of Police Authority Community Forums across North Wales in January 2009. The purpose was well advertised and the Police Authority actively sought our views in a forum about the “fear of crime” and its proportionality to the falling statistics of reported crime.
We are aware that there are more dangerous places to live than North Wales and that reported crimes are said to be falling. As discussed in our letter and in your reply, we are also aware that the Police and Police Authority do not have a handle on the issue of unreported crime and antisocial behaviour and its affect coupled with reported incidents on the public concern of criminal behaviour in North Wales.
Unreported crime and incidents are in our view an unspoken indication of how some members of the public regard the police and their ability to cope with crime and incidents; people regularly say as much but possibly not to you. We are aware that Quest is another effort to respond to a public need for action when they report matters. It is however doing what should always have been done.
We note that you are of the view that the introduction of neighbourhood policing teams in North Wales is a success although you feel that there is still a lot of work to be done. We also note that North Wales Police Authority has ensured that providing a highly visible community policing service will be a priority for the Force and the Authority in 2009/10.
We hope that the Performance Indicators and Targets which are due to be adopted by the Authority to ensure that that priority is met are not too demanding of the force and officers. PIs and targets usually have an implication of further pressure on officers keeping them away from their primary duties.
You said that the Police Authority is eager to establish whether people are afraid
of being victims of crime and anti-
It is good that you welcome our letter as a contribution to the “Fear of Crime” debate. We look forward to seeing the outcome of the debate.
You suggested in your letter that we contact District Inspector Ahari, and CBM Williams to discuss the view expressed in our letter, that criminal behaviour is increasing. You said that it is an operational matter which North Wales Police Authority cannot deal with. Our intention in mentioning operational incidents was to discuss their effect, for your “fear of crime” debate. We already speak regularly with both officers and are active in providing information and intelligence. We also send our monthly minutes to the Chief Executive of the Police Authority.
We are glad to hear that the Authority regularly raises the issue of CBMs covering large geographical areas with the Police Force, which means that you share our view on the matter. We appreciate that resources are tight; however CBMs posted in areas that are too large are neither one thing nor the other. Their perceived effectiveness is much reduced, due to officers’ levels of abstraction. We note that the Police Authority will lobby for further funding for neighbourhood policing; it accepts that increased visibility as one of the keys to increased public confidence.
We look forward to your priority of a higher quality of service in 2009 / 10.
At our March meeting, a resident commented that he attended the recent police authority consultation meeting on fear of crime and had felt intimidated. In his view, the meeting was dominated by the magistrates and the police present and he did not feel comfortable to make his feelings known as he did not think they were interested in what he had to say; he felt the meeting was very much controlled by the top table. You say Councillor Rees feared we would disrupt the proceedings with our letter. We wish to assure you that members of the police and the Police Authority have nothing to fear from law abiding citizens in Old Colwyn.
PACFs are important to members of the public. The Police Authority often states that PACFs are an opportunity for the public to influence policing in their area. Therefore if the public in a meeting has disquiet about the content of and perceived manner in which the PACF is conducted, it just fuels concern about other business conducted by the Authority, such as for instance the selection of our next Chief Constable. You are after all, our representatives.
Finally we wish to comment that in recent years, welcome changes were made to the
PACFs to minimise input from Police officers except for the purpose of answering
specific operational questions. We noticed that the last meeting had apparently reverted
in style; a fair proportion of the meeting in Old Colwyn was taken up by the Chief
Superintendent giving his views on crime prevention; in our view off-
The questions asked at the recent meeting and the use of electronic means of recording views was misleading and confusing. The Authority may argue with that view but from a public perspective that is the reality. In previous meetings last year the questions and options given have been a matter of intense debate and objection. If value is to be drawn from the replies to such a survey, the questions must be relevant and easily understood and answered. That was not the case in this instance as the questions required knowledge in some cases, of matters unknown to respondents.
We hope that you feel that you can take note of our respectful and positive feedback about the PACFs.
We are pleased that it is your view that there must be more engagement between the Force, Police Authority and the public, in order to prevent crime, and increase public confidence.
We will continue to do our part in trying to make our community safer and in continuing to support with our local policing team.
Yours sincerely
David Curtis
Secretary
