To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 11^th January 2022.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the minutes of the meeting held on 11^th January 2022 were approved as a true and accurate record.

Jeff Pick, Thames Valley Police, had produced and circulated the latest crime stats for Maidenhead, the Chairman allowed an opportunity for Forum Members to ask any relevant questions before moving on to considering the items on the agenda.

Councillor Haseler asked how keyless vehicle thefts were recorded in the stats.

Jeff Pick explained that cars used to be stolen by copying the signal, now thieves were using relay boosters. Car trackers would work for about 10 minutes, but professional car thieves knew were these were located and could remove them quickly. Apple Air Tags were a useful tool as they could be operated anywhere in the world and therefore allowed the police to track stolen vehicles for longer. The best way to protect against this was to keep the key fob in a faraday cage.

Councillor Bhangra said that Range Rovers were the most common type of car to be stolen in the UK, steering locks were a good way to deter thieves. Councillor Bhangra noted that there had been a significant number of bike thefts and asked why this figure was so high.

Jeff Pick said that the police did not know what happened with stolen bikes, they encouraged cyclists to mark their bikes with the bike register. The Windsor Cycle Hub was one organisation which could offer this service. The combination lock was one of the easiest to crack as thieves could just pull it apart.

Councillor Singh joined the meeting.

Robyn Bunyan, Maidenhead Town Manager, suggested that it would be good to have a stall or event on the high street on bike safety and security.

Councillor Singh said that there was an issue with bikes being stolen at the train station, a lot of residents were now reluctant to leave their bike here.

Jeff Pick responded by saying that the bike racks were good but the issue was that thieves were stealing bikes in sight of the public. Many people often did not realise that a bike was being stolen, as thieves made it look smooth and unsuspicious.

Councillor Singh asked what advice the police had for any residents who witnessed a bike being stolen.

Jeff Pick advised that witnesses should try to take photos or video the incident, should it be safe to do so. The crime could then be reported to the police either by calling 101 or using the website. This would help the police to understand which areas had a significant problem and would enable them to focus resources on these areas.

Councillor Singh said that some residents had faced issues with getting through on the 101 service, he asked if there could be a presence at Maidenhead Police Station where residents could report crimes.

Jeff Pick said that this is something that he could raise internally. All crimes could be reported online, it was the same as reporting via 101.

Councillor Baskerville asked how many thieves had been caught stealing bikes and if there had been any successful prosecutions.

Jeff Pick confirmed that there had not been any, the thieves were professionals who knew what they were doing and this made it very difficult for the police to stop.

Councillor Baskerville said that the thieves seemed to be ahead of the technology, he asked if manufactures were putting in place measures to stop the theft of vehicles.

Jeff Pick said that the police had conversations with the manufacturers but there had been no change.

Councillor Baldwin joined the meeting.

Councillor Singh commented on individuals who knocked on residents doors, the trading standards team used to give out stickers which residents could put in their windows. He said that there had been funding cuts and so was unsure if the team still provided the stickers.

Jeff Pick confirmed that the stickers were provided out of the budget for the team, if the council could help with this it would be appreciated.

Councillor Singh suggested that Cabinet was asked to provide this additional funding to the trading standards team.

Councillor Rayner joined the meeting.