Residents meet police to discuss local issues

RESIDENTS of East Melksham had the opportunity to put questions to the local policing team and the Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioner last week. 

The meeting, arranged by town councillors Louisa Lewis and Mike Sankey, was attended by over 30 residents after complaints had been made to the local council members about anti-social behaviour, parking and speeding around the area. 

The residents were given a powerpoint slide show by Assistant Insp James Twyford, who discussed his role, his team’s role and what effect the team could have in relation to the reports the police receive.  

He said that East Melksham had a low crime rate, with only 51 reported crimes in the previous three months. This was questioned by residents, suggesting that reporting incidents to 101 had been problematic and that when they had got through to a call handler, the police were dismissive of the complaint. InspTwyford acknowledged there were areas for improvement, however encouraged residents to continue calling and logging reports with 101. 

Speaking after the meeting to Melksham News, Insp Twyford said, “It was nice to see such a good turnout of people who are really invested in their community, who were proactive in raising their personal concerns. 

“The team will carry on looking for opportunities to have meaningful conversations and receive the views of residents.  We do need to see incidents being reported though, otherwise we can’t reasonably be expected to deal with them.  We have a very small team, and we have to prioritise our work carefully for best effect. 

“Our control room has recently reviewed the way they work.  They have new processes in place for recording ASB and notifying my team of multiple reports within an area.  This ought to allay the concerns raised by a few, who have experienced issues with 101. 

“As a final point, I’d just like to remind people not to believe everything they read online.  This is especially true of the ‘Spotted’ type Facebook Pages, where some people have a tendency to exaggerate their stories quite significantly.  We’ve seen a good number of reports that were either much less severe than the poster would’ve had people believe, or hadn’t been reported at all, despite comments saying they had.  These exaggerated reports just increase the fear of crime needlessly.” 

The residents also voted overwhelmingly at the meeting for cllr Lewis to put forward a motion to Melksham Town Council, to install lighting around the estates (Clackers Brook and Weavers Court) walkways where there currently is none installed. The group, formed at the beginning of the year by cllr Lewis, to help residents raise issues in the area, also discussed the pros and cons of double yellow lines in some areas of the estates, and other ways to look at and solve parking and anti-social behaviour issues. 

In a joint statement, cllr Lewis and cllr Sankey said, “Mike and I are both very happy that the residents’ meetings are well attended.  The interaction with the residents, verbally, via a survey and via email is valuable. 

“We are listening to the residents of the East Ward and we are working together to identify solutions where possible to the issues that are being raised. The bigger projects we are working on will take some time to initiate due to the complexity of the issues such as lighting. At our recent meeting, we were joined by Police and Crime Commissioner, Philip Wilkinson.  A large portion of the meeting was taken up by a presentation he gave, and a robust Q+A session.  

“The next meeting (date to be confirmed) will be all about the residents of the East Ward and the issues that need addressing.  We both look forward to working together with members of Melksham Town Council and the Melksham Area Board to achieve the best possible outcomes for residents of Melksham East, the ward that we both represent.”