RESIDENTS of the Primrose Drive area of Melksham voiced their concerns to the Local Neighbourhood Policing Team and local councillors on Friday night after a surge of complaints of anti-social behaviour and drug dealing around the park and nature reserve.
The meeting, arranged by town councillor Carl Houghton, was held at Primrose Drive Park and attended by 17 residents, two police officers, four town councillors, and a Wiltshire councillor. Residents said they found it ironic that as they gathered before the police arrived, they could smell cannabis being smoked within the park by a group of youths.
Complaints from residents have included feeling intimidated to walk the area at night and the use of e-scooters and ‘pit bike’ motorcycles. Residents also said they had seen drug dealing taking place.
Residents’ overriding complaints was what they described as a “lack of response” to the evidence they were sending in. They said they had sent in photographs, descriptions and video footage via the police 101 line, the online reporting form. They said they had made many calls, but felt there had been no action. Sgt James Twyford said in response, “All information sent is looked into in detail and used to build an intelligence picture across Melksham, which we can then use to stop the supply of drugs to the town.”
CCTV use
CCTV was discussed for the park and councillors said that it would have to be looked at in more detail and be put forward to the CCTV working group. The councillors and the police confirmed that they are working together to identify the best areas for the use of CCTV within the town.
In a statement after the meeting Sgt Twyford said, “We have been making concerted efforts to engage with the local residents, following reports of drug dealing and anti-social behaviour (ASB) in the Primrose Drive area. To date, the reports have been sporadic in nature and sparse in detail. Since May, we have only received three organic reports. All were of differing types of ASB in the area, with no themes overlapping.
Plain clothes work
“We have an informal group of residents who provide information on an ad-hoc basis, which has been particularly useful of late. I would challenge any allegation of inaction on the part of the Melksham Policing Team. We have undertaken proactive plain clothes work in the area on several occasions. Following separately-provided information; we have also executed 5 drugs warrants in the wider area over the last 12 months, all with positive results. Much of this cannot be publicised with specific detail; either due to the age of the suspect, or because secondary investigation is still ongoing.
“Some of the more vocal critics at the residents’ meeting had been appraised of this situation in correspondences prior to the meeting, so it was disappointing to hear these disparaging comments during the meeting itself.
“We recently delivered some 350 Anti-Social Behaviour surveys to every home in the affected area. We received an 8% response rate and 1% of residents felt that there was an issue of any significance. We have since reached out to those residents most affected, with a view to ascertaining more detail around their issues. Many of these people have given what information they can and we’ve since received enough information to start looking at a response to those issues.
“We are keen to work closely with the local residents and Town Council in tackling these issues, which appear to be affecting their quality of life. If you can provide any further detail, please either report via 101 or online at wiltshire.police.uk, so we can gain the best possible picture of the issues. Where we can identify suspects for specific offences, action will be taken against them. We will look to hold another residents’ meeting in the coming months, albeit in a different format.”
On asking what more could be done by the public, Sgt Twyford urged residents to keep the information flowing as this is key. Quality information can either be a photo, video or description of the person in detail, this could include such things as facial features, height, clothing, distinguishing marks and tattoos.
Intelligence gathering
In answer to the ‘pit bikes,’ Sgt Twyford responded that they had recently seized a bike from an individual, however he said it again comes down to intelligence gathering and the more things are reported, the more chance the police have to make seizures. The ongoing issue of E-scooters is another area the local policing team said they are taking seriously, stating several confiscations have been made around Melksham. However, the E-scooters are difficult to catch as they are very fast and trying to stop them can pose a risk to the rider and the general public if in a built-up area.
Cllr Houghton said, “We would like to thank sgt James Twyford and the Melksham Police for suggesting Friday nights resident meet and thank all residents who attended. Residents’ views are important, and the ultimate goal is to make them feel safe in the area they have chosen to live. With the joint working between residents, the council and the police, we honestly believe this is a real step forward for all involved.”
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