Good morning,
Please find below this week’s update.
This week has been National Safer Business Week. This has meant we have carried out a number of activities to support this. On Monday we deployed a combination of plain clothes and uniformed officers both targeting offenders but also visiting a number of stores to engage with the staff, this included providing reassurance aswell as crime prevention advice. Officers also carried out a number of stop checks on suspicious individuals. A suspect was identified as having committed several thefts from shops across the Chester area, so the necessary evidence was gathered and the male arrested.
On Tuesday together with Sgt Collinson, I conducted a walkabout in the City with the Enhancement Group from Chester BID, where we discussed issues that are causing concern to businesses and the work we have been doing in the City. The plain clothes and uniformed patrols continued with the focus on Safer Business Week. Several stores were revisited with Crime Prevention Officer Beth George, to provide advice on how thefts can be prevented.
A group was identified as causing anti social behaviour at the Chester Bus Interchange which resulted in one male being arrested for being Drunk and Disorderly and I issued a Dispersal for a 24 hour period to enable officers to be proactive in dealing with others in the city causing problems. As I’ve explained before, the Dispersal is a short term tactic of dealing with individuals causing problems, but we are working on longer terms problem solving with people who cause repeated problems, utilising Criminal Behaviour Orders and Community Protection Notices.
The team also arrested another individual for retail thefts in the City, as well as developing intelligences and carrying out stop checks around the City. The benefit of letting criminals know we have plain clothes officers out in the City is that it causes a ripple effect going forward, so they wont know who is or isn’t in place Police and that there is a strong likelihood that they are being watched by a plain cloths officers. Such deployments support the uniformed high visibility presence that is provided by Operation Momentum, which is supported by colleagues from Forcewide specialist units including Armed Response and the Roads Crime Unit.
On Wednesday we continued to have officers out on patrol on foot along with our Safer Streets Safety Bus, where we were able to give out crime prevention items, offer advice and promote the use of the Hollie Guard App.
The Chester Against Business Crime weekly meeting took place at Chester Cathedral where they were able to share intelligence and concerns about crime. A number of other stores were also visited for engagement and officers were able to explain the use of NICE, which is our new process of transferring digital media, such as CCTV footage to us. I will send out some further guidance about this as it is relevant to anyone who has CCTV and is a much more efficient way to operate. Arrests were made for retail offences.
Operation Hunted took place on Wednesday where officers from across the force were tasked with locating outstanding wanted offenders. This resulted in a number of offenders being arrested, including some who were wanted for offences in the City Centre, as well as Court Warrants and Prison Licence Recalls.
Last weekend, we conducted a taxi licensing operation with Cheshire Fire and Rescue, Cheshire West and Chester Licensing Team and Wolverhampton Licensing Team. This was a real success and we will look to repeat this going forward, to ensure that the taxis are operating safely and in accordance with their licence.
As I have mentioned previously, please pass this update onto your networks so they are aware of the work that is ongoing, but also so they can complete the Residents Voice Survey. This isn’t just for residents, but can also be completed by businesses or people who work in the City and provides an opportunity to highlight the issues that are causing most concern. It can be accessed via the link beliw.
Resident’s voice | Cheshire Constabulary
If there are any questions, please get in touch. I will be off on leave next week, but will send out an update when I return which will include the activity from next week.
Kind regards,
James
James Wilson – Inspector – Chester Local Policing Unit
Chester Police Station| Blacon Avenue |Chester| Cheshire | CH1 5BD
Phone: 01606 364666 | Email: james.wilson@cheshire.pnn.police.uk
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