Katesgrove Lib Dems

Smooth Criminals

Newspaper reports of high crime rates in Katesgrove aren't necessarily what they first appear to be. Police districts do not follow ward boundaries, so the report itself is slightly misleading in terms of impact on Katesgrove ward residents.

The Katesgrove police district is the area west of Basingstoke Road right down to Junction 11 and follows the border west and back along the River Kennet. It does not include anything east of Basingstoke Road and therefore does not include the University which is in the Redlands police district, not Katesgrove as reported in the Reading Post

In terms of vehicle crime, as well as the residential areas closer to town and Kennet Island, it includes the Morrisons car park, the PC World retail park. Reading Gate (B&Q) retail park, the park and ride scheme, and Madejski stadium parking as well as the industrial estates in South Reading.

So the question is what can you do if you are concerned about crime.

First and foremost, always report it. You should call 08458 505 505 for non-urgent problems and get a Unique Reference Number (URN). This allows police recources to be targeted. If you don't report it, there isn't a problem... or at least not according to the people who decide where to put officers. Report it and the resources will follow.

Second, if you don't have a neighbourhood watch why not start one?

And third, join your local Neighbourhood Action Group. In order to identify areas residents would like the Neighbourhood police teams to concentrate on, local residents, council staff and the police get together regularly to discuss action. There are four NAGs covering Katesgrove ward: Katesgrove NAG, Whitley North NAG, the Redlands NAG or the Newtwon NAG.

In terms of the Katesgrove police district, the current problem priorities identified by the Katesgrove Neighbourhood Action Group are:

1. Drugs (This has been referred for police action)
2. Auto crime
3. Anti-social behaviour

As part of addressing problems with car crime, the Katesgrove NAG team did an exercise in informing people about how to make their cars safer by performing a visual audit and warning people of sat-navs and other valuables on display. Car crime is now falling in the area, hopefully as a result of prioritising this area.

The Katesgrove NAG is currently performing a new survey to see what priorities should be looked at in the coming year. Please fill it in if asked. See the Katesgrove NAG website for more details.

If you are concerned then two events might be useful:

Police Street Briefing, Sat 25th July – Alpine Street/Edgehill Street 18:00 onwards

Police Surgery, Wednesday 29th July, 12:00–13:00 Katesgrove Lane Portakabin.

Some useful web site:
http://crimestats.thamesvalley.police.uk/
http://www.katesgrovenag.info/

It's a Fair Cop

We're very pleased to see Inspector Kevin Sinfield get recognition for the tremendous job he's done with the police community teams in South Reading.

Katesgrove ward is represented in four neighbourhood areas, Katesgrove, North Whitley, Redlands and Newtown so we get to see him quite a bit and know how well deserved the award is.

Neighbourhood Action Groups

Crime and the fear of crime are important matters for residents. Effective policing has a lot to do with the quality of life of residents and it is important to feel that the police are not only listening, but acting on residents concerns.

There seems to be a little confusion about what Neighbourhood Action Groups are for. Put simply, it's for the community to tell the police what they should prioritise in their area. They are not neighbourhood watch schemes or places for immediate action from actual crime. They are rather places which allow the police to target their resources effectively to address the concerns of residents, not what someone sitting in the Thames Valley Police headquarters thinks they should be doing.

It doesn't help that Katesgrove is split across four police areas. Newtown, which is the area west of Southampton Street and North of London Road; Redlands, which is the area west of Southampton Street, south of London Road and north of Christchurch Road; North Whitley, west of Basingstoke Road and south of Christchurch Road; and Katesgrove which is everything east of Southampton Street and Basingstoke Road (with the addition of Whitley Street shops and Highgrove Street).

The Katesgrove Neighbourhood Action Group held another of its regular meetings  yesterday. For the last year the priorities have been Drugs, Car Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour. However, Katesgrove NAG is currently conducting a survey to find out if those priorities have changed.

If you'd like to get involved or just fill in the survey, the website is www.katesgrovenag.info.