At a well-attended public meeting held on 18 October, Inspector Michael Fogarty explained the newly introduced system of Problem Oriented Policing.
The police do not have the resources to allocate full or part-time officers to particular areas to provide regular “visible policing” and statistics prove that this is no real deterrent to crime however comforting it may be to see “a Bobby on the beat”.
The idea of Problem Oriented Policing is to provide groups of officers who will work in and with the community to help solve specific local problems such as anti-social behaviour and traffic issues. The key to this way of policing is information co-ordinated by the Crime Management Unit at Hemel Hempstead. Acting on information received, the Unit is able to direct officers to particular incidents and to areas where there are problems.
Neighbourhood Watch groups provide invaluable information and are responsible for at least 4 arrests in Dacorum every month. We have 8 Neighbourhood Watch groups in Chipperfield. Perhaps we should have more.
To make Problem Oriented Policing work we must all play our part by reporting theft, vandalism, hooliganism, criminal damage, traffic and parking problems. If the police dont know our concerns they cannot take action. They may not be able to respond immediately – all incidents have to be assessed and dealt with in priority – but each incident reported is logged and thus persistent problems can be identified for action. We must also all be prepared to give statements to the police when required and agree to appear in court if necessary. Without this, the police cannot prosecute.
The Dacorum Division maintain a nuisance register which in the last two years has helped reduce by over 1,000 the number of incidents of nuisance and anti-social disorderly behaviour.
It seems that the future of policing in Chipperfield requires our active co-operation. If we provide the extra pairs of eyes and pass on information about matters of concern the police can act and working with other statutory and voluntary agencies make Chipperfield safer. Hemel Hempstead Police Stations telephone number is 01442 271000 but in an emergency always dial 999.