The key to cutting crime
Residents in south Norwich need to act as the eyes and ears for the police. Where communities work with the police, they stand a far greater chance of catching criminals. Local people have a vital role to play, according to one local police sergeant.
When Safer Neighbourhood Teams were first set up and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) were recruited, there was some sceptism about how effective they would be. But there’s anecdotal evidence that putting bobbies on the beat, on bikes instead of squad cars, has made a difference. It’s allowed the police to get to know communities and slowly gain their trust.
Dawn Castle-Green, who chairs the Heigham Residents’ Association says: “We’ve been very uplifted by the PCSOs. It was a really good move. We’re the eyes and the ears and we can quietly give information. Sometimes we give them information that accidentally helps with another case. It’s like a jigsaw puzzle. When they were all running around in cars, that wasn’t happening.”
Drug dealing is not a huge problem in south Norwich, but its knock-on effect is considerable. If there’s a drugs den operating in an area, the police can stick a pin in a map and draw a circle around it. This becomes the ”crime map”. That’s where they’ll find the thefts from cars and shops and homes, as Sergeant Chris Brooks explains.
Audio file. 25″ Sergeant Chris Brooks on why they take drugs crime so seriously
When officers are given information by the local community, they can act fast, making arrests or serving closure notices. And in those places where crimes have been reported, residents have learnt the benefits of an early call to the police.
Take the example of Ebenezer Place. 2 men from London were dealing drugs. Residents put up with the noise and the discarded needles for months, and eventually called the police. Arrests were made and a closure notice was served, which meant the tenants weren’t allowed back.
A year later, 2 other men started dealing drugs from a neighbouring property. This time the residents acted quickly and called the police straight away. Sergeant Chris Brooks from West Centre Safer Neighbourhood Team said: “Twelve months later the residents were very switched on. They phoned us to say what was happening. We recognised, as they recognised, a pattern straight away and we managed to close that one down as well.”
To be effective, the police are heavily dependent on information from local people, such as a recent drugs raid near Vauxhall Street. In Seargant Brooks’ words: “We are wholly reliant on good community intelligence.” This extends to thefts or damage to cars. Police find if they dig a little deeper into the reasons behind nuisance behaviour, it’s often linked to drugs misuse.
Even with an isolated incident, such as the investigation into the suspected murder on Old Palace Road, local people are vital. It’s very likely the community has information which will help piece together what happened there.
Giving information to police, either by reporting crimes or making a note of suspicious behaviour, can cut crime in a whole area. The local community has a ky role to play helping reduce crime. The message is that a small amount of information can go a long way.
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