Report crime to us instead of Facebook, New Forest police urge residents
POLICE have pleaded with residents to tell them about crime instead of posting it on Facebook, so they have more information to lobby bosses for extra resources.
The appeal came as Hampshire Constabulary officer numbers have dropped from 3,585 in 2010 to 2,783 this year, alongside a £19m reduction in funding over the same period.
To help make the case for more officers to target local crime hotspots, members of Lymington’s policing team told a meeting of the town council that residents should report concerns directly to the force to build up a clearer picture of offending.
Sgt Hensley, who joined the Lymington team in September, said: “I can’t focus enough on the need for people to report anti-social behaviour crimes to the police. There’s 101 – or 999 if it’s urgent.
“If they report it we know where to direct more officers. If they do not, we do not have an argument for more. They might go to the wrong place.
“Instead of writing it on Facebook, go to the police.
“If it’s recorded correctly we can justify more police officers.”
Sgt Hensley said the county’s force might get a “small increase” in officers in 2019/20, but added: “We have faced budget cuts and the figures that have been given are a reduction of £19m since 2010. So we have had a serious reduction around resourcing and priorities.
“The way we allocate resourcing is based on reports to the police and analysis of the figures. Day-to-day policing is on a matrix of harm and risk.”
PC Ed Wilson added: “People have a moan to me when I’m out on foot but when I ask if they have reported it, they say no. How are we supposed to know if you do not report it?”
A recurring crime problem included youths climbing onto the roofs of high street properties, which PC Wilson said needed the help of owners to solve, such as securing access better.
Drugs were the driver of serious crime, he added: “It’s the reason behind burglaries and shoplifting. The root of the problem is drug-related for the serious crime.
“Anti-social behaviour is more often drink and low-level drugs. But the serious offences have an element of need for drugs, which causes people to commit these offences. It’s an area we’re focusing on because it has such an impact.”
Resources had been deployed when available to anti-social behaviour at Woodside skatepark, the sports ground and Pennington Common, PC Wilson added.
Sgt Hensley described the current crime picture overall as a “good news story”, with unpublished figures showing a downward trend.
Older published figures show an 8% rise in crimes in Lymington from 1,546 to 1,672 between 2016/17 and 2017/18.
Asked by Cllr Rostand if CCTV in the high street was useful, PC Wilson commented that because it was scanning a wide area, the quality was rarely good enough to identify suspects accurately.
Councillors welcomed officers’ imminent relocation to Lymington Town Hall from the police station, which will be sold off, including the arrival of half of the New Forest’s response unit from its current base at Lyndhurst.
