To receive an update from Thames Valley Police.

Louise Warbrick, Thames Valley Police (TVP), provided the Forum with an update on events in Windsor. She stated she had received a question regarding burglaries in Windsor and proceeded to provide Members with the figures obtained relating to that.

Ø  Burglaries – dwellings – between April to October 2018 across RBWM saw a decrease of 4.8%

Ø  Burglaries – dwellings specifically in Windsor – between November 2017 and November 2018 were as follows:

o   Windsor Central – 32 (decrease of 32%)

o   Windsor East – decreased by 20%

o   Windsor West – decrease of 5%

Ø  TVP had begun a burglary campaign from 1 December 2018.

Ø  The campaign around exploitation of vulnerable adults, children and safeguarding had ended.

Ø  Theft from motor vehicles – up to 31 October 2018 – 502 which was a 5.9% increase across the Borough.

Ø  Increase in theft of keyless cars and high value cars saw an increase from 69 to 136 which was a 97.1% across the Borough.

Ø  Bike thefts – 30.2% increase across the Borough.

Susy Shearer, a local resident, asked if there was a pattern to the bike thefts. Louise Warbrick stated TVP had key locations such as Windsor Leisure Centre and the train stations. Bike thefts were also common in Eton. Louise Warbrick confirmed Gordon Oliver the Principal Transport Officer regularly invited representatives from TVP to attend the Cycle Forum, she added she was happy to exchange information with David Scott, Head of Communities Enforcement and Partnerships. TVP also worked with the British Transport Police and encouraged residents and cyclists to register their bikes with Bike Register. The Police were looking at additional funding to introduce that scheme to policing.

Helen Price stated there was a lot of drug paraphernalia such as needles at Vansittart Park. Louise Warbrick responded the Police would like to link with the Council to provide information on those areas. It would be Street Cleaning services that would send the information over to TVP. The Police carried out regular sweeps with Community Wardens and that did regularly reduce harm in public areas.

David Scott, Head of Communities Enforcement and Partnerships, stated he was not aware of drug paraphernalia in parks but, he was happy to take that away and see if there were any incidents recorded. The Council’s contractors recorded incidents when they clear up so could bring that information to the next Forum meeting.

v  Action – The Head of Communities Enforcement and Partnerships would ask colleagues who manage the parks to bring information on incidents of drug paraphernalia being found in parks in Windsor back to the next meeting of the Windsor Town Forum.

Councillor Da Costa stated there was evidence of drug use in Sutherland Grange. Helen Price asked if resident concerns raised at the unofficial meeting of Windsor Residents that took place on 29 October 2018 had been passed on to the relevant officers or departments. Councillor Bowden said comments from residents had been noted and passed to the relevant teams.

Louise Warbrick stated when TVP deployed patrols, they looked at where the most threat, harm or risk was. Neighbourhood teams had areas highlighted to them on where to focus or where intelligence could be gathered. They placed officers where the most demand was.

A local resident stated they lived in a block near the police station in Windsor and everyday there was a lot of drug use; they had never seen any police at Vansittart Road. Louise Warbrick responded some of the work carried out by TVP was not done in uniform. There was a tasking rota and the police received updates. TVP was aware of issues at Vansittart Road and they timed patrols at different times. She added residents could contact the Police using 101 and direct email to central Windsor neighbourhood team; there was also an online form on the TVP website to report non-emergency incidents.

Local residents said it would be nice to see the Police in the area and not just on the High Street, it would be nice to see foot patrols. Susy Shearer said that Trinity Wildlife Garden had been formally blocked off and only open during daylight hours; it was earmarked to be a pocket park, that was worth checking for drug paraphernalia, as well as Imperial Park.

Councillor Bhatti asked what measures the Police were taking to combat the increase in motor vehicle thefts. Louise Warbrick stated the Police were trying to reach residents to provide preventative advice as a proportion of those thefts were of unlocked cars. A huge proportion of signals were being blocked for keyless cars too. TVP used social media and were talking to victims regarding preventative information.