PCC visits Stevenage to discuss violence against women and girls, drug dealing and shoplifting

Violence against women and girls, drug dealing and shoplifting were all raised when Jonathan Ash-Edwards, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire, visited Stevenage.

Mr Ash-Edwards started the day at the police station with Detective Inspector Nick Rega and neighbourhood policing Inspector Nick Redfearn where they reviewed and discussed crime issues in the town.

They explained how a new project, Op Vigilant is focused on improving safety for women and girls by using plain clothes officers to patrol the pubs and bars in the evenings looking for men who are displaying suspicious or predatory behaviour. On its first deployment in the town police picked up a registered sex offender who was approaching women in the street.

The officers also told how county line drug dealers based in London are being shut down with intelligence operations. Also the police are tackling cuckooing, where dealers take over local properties, by partnership working with Stevenage Borough Council to shut down these addresses.

During a walkabout of the town centre the Commissioner with officers went to Boots chemist to see what issues are being caused by shoplifters and what is being done to tackle them. This includes pubs in the town centre banning those who sell goods on the premises as well as any customers buying them.

Later Mr Ash-Edwards was shown around the Bedwell area where two government initiatives, ‘Clear, Hold, Build’ and ‘Safer Streets’ are helping police and partners locally to take a robust approach to reducing drugs, anti-social behaviour and violent crime.

The neighbourhood is benefiting after the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner secured £765,000 in funding from the Home Office’s fund together with matched funded contributions from local partners, to roll out a range of measures including CCTV, improved door entry systems, and garage defenders.

It is also supporting new Community Wardens during the daytime and patrols from a private security company Parkguard, during the nighttime to tackle drug dealing, violence and vagrancy.

Following the visit Mr Ash-Edwards said:

“It has been a very useful day to get out and about to meet officers on the frontline and hear first-hand the strategies and tactics which are delivering results and driving down crime.

“Today we have seen what is being done to tackle some the main issues that I know are of a concern to a lot of people across Hertfordshire. There is some tremendous work going on across Stevenage, much of which the public may not be aware of.

“As a link between the public and the police it is part of my job to highlight this best practice and use if to inform my forthcoming Police and Crime Plan.”