Burglary and policing priorities in Dacorum discussed during PCC visit

Burglary, speeding and shoplifting were all discussed when the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire David Lloyd visited officers in Dacorum.

Mr Lloyd and Deputy PCC Lewis Cocking started off a district day at Hemel Hempstead police station to join the daily area meeting to review incidents from the past 24 hours. They included reports of domestic abuse and vehicle crime.

A meeting was also held with Chief Inspector Jason Keane where tactics to tackle a temporary rise in residential burglary earlier in the year were explained, alongside a recruitment drive to get more Police Community Support Officers into Dacorum.

Mr Lloyd then joined PC Carlie Berwick on foot patrol around the centre to look at what issues have been addressed. She described how they had worked with local agencies to reduce the number of rough sleepers in the area to just one person.

Uniformed and plain clothed officers have also been deployed in the town centre in a successful operation to target drug dealers and shop lifters.

Next the Commissioner went out in a patrol car with neighbourhood officer PC Paul Jeffs where they visited Stoney Croft, Nash Mills, Boxmoor, Chaulden and Warners End.

Among the issues the officer highlighted were problems of off-road motorbikes, anti-social behaviour among residents and speeding on residential roads.

Reflecting on the visit Mr Lloyd said: “I have been out with local officers in Hemel Hempstead to see what is happening on the streets, and hearing about the great work being done.

“Burglary continues to be very low across the whole of Hertfordshire, but I have been told about how we are catching those criminals who continue to target local people. We have also seen how shop lifting has been driven down and we have seen some excellent work by officers.

“We have been speaking about working with partner agencies to ensure there is no rough sleeping on the streets now, I am delighted that we are down to just one rough sleeper left who is getting support and housing. We are seeing a whole system approach with the police right in the middle.

“Much of the council tax that people have paid over the last few years for policing has gone into recruiting more officers, and we are beginning to see the real benefit of that with crime coming down in those key areas, like domestic burglary, which is a very positive outcome.”

Those residents with crime concerns are encouraged to report non-emergency incidents via the Echo system at https://capture.rantandrave.com/s3/Dacorum