With the final day of our CREW complete I would like to say a huge ‘Thank
You’ to everyone who supported the event, especially our NHW Coordinator
Tony Tuck and James Knight from Basingstoke Council, both of whom gave up
their Saturday to offer advice and support at our CREW day.
The CREW day worked very well. Residents dropped in throughout the day
seeking advice, asking questions and receiving free crime prevention advice
and gadgets. We asked residents to partake in a questionnaire to
ascertain views on problem areas and areas where it was felt that agencies
(such as Police and Council) had made headway. For the most part
questions on the day and within the questionnaire raised the issue of
parking and speeding, which as you may be aware, are one of our community
priorities. I am pleased to say that it was generally felt that these
matters were being addressed successfully and that a notable difference had
been seen. Congratulations to the winner of our questionnaire lucky
dip, Mr. Fletcher, who received a £10 Festival Place voucher.
Many of you will have seen Lauren and I (and other officers) dealing with
traffic issues around the schools. Following an advice letter home to
parents, parking patrols were, for the most part, met favourably and we
encountered very few offences. We did find that in some cases parents
became aggressive when approached about their parking. Please remember
that all we are asking is for vehicles to be parked legally. This
means observing no waiting signs, yellow lines, junctions, driveways and
footpaths. Please ensure that you leave yourself enough time to find a
suitable place to park and remember that the school bus stop layby should
only be used as an immediate drop/pick up point and the driver must not
leave their vehicle unattended. If you have any queries about parking
around the schools please speak with either myself or Lauren. The
parking patrols will continue whenever we are free to attend and offences
will be dealt with by way of enforcement.
Also as part of the CREW Hampshire Constabulary’s Roads Policing Unit
attended to address the issue of speeding, which I know is a concern for
many of you. You will be surprised to note that their visits were
fairly fruitless. In the four hours that they attended, 16 verbal
warnings were issued BUT for relatively low speeds. They did not
witness driving in excess of 40 mph. The roads addressed were Belle
Vue Road, Park Lane, Hatch Lane and Byfleet Avenue. From standing on
the roadside with my colleagues whilst checks were carried out, I did agree
with the traffic officers that in some cases perception of speed is very
different to actual speed. For example, small vehicles appeared to be
going faster than they were, as did noises vehicles and vehicles coming
round corners at a certain angle. I can ask RPU to attend again but I
would welcome comments as to the best time and most problematic roads.
Another successful activity was litter picking at the local schools.
We would like to thank the head teacher for agreeing to allow the children
to take part. Lauren and I thoroughly enjoyed it (and learnt a lot
about environmental issues from our helpers!) The junior school were
very surprised at the amount of litter collected from the school grounds and
we are hoping to be able to partake in a regular collection with different
students.
I hope that you, like I, thought that the CREW was worthwhile. Please
do not think that we need an event like this to speak with us about your
concerns. The date for the next residents meeting will be announced
shortly and we are happy to undertake beat surgeries if it is felt that
these would be beneficial?
I do hope that the Remembrance Day Parade is a success. Unfortunately
I cannot attend due to family commitments but PCSO Lauren Miller will be
there to lay the wreath.
My best wishes,
PC 22725 Tracey Read,
Old Basing Safer Neighbourhood Team.