To receive an update on Policing in Windsor

Louise Warbrick, Thames Valley Police (TVP), explained that she was the Neighbourhood Inspector and gave an update on the work that had been done in Windsor since the last meeting.

Members of the Forum noted following the issue of sexual assaults that had taken place prior to the last Windsor Town Forum meeting, one of the perpetrators of the assault had been prosecuted and was due for sentencing on Friday 6 July 2018.

Since the last meeting, quarterly stakeholder meetings had been set up, Councillor Grey was the Chairman of the meetings where they discussed all issues surrounding the Night Time Economy (NTE). The next meeting was due to take place on 11 July 2018 with representatives attending from the Ambulance Service, Public Health, Pub Watch, Resilience, Ascot Racecourse, among others. Louise had also been working with Paul Roach, Windsor Town Manager, Environmental Protection Officers and the Head of Communities Enforcement and Partnerships to look at taxi marshals which could help reduce crime during the NTE.

No significant crimes relating to the NTE had been reported but, TVP did review any crimes that took place on a weekly basis. The Police had a very positive relationship with the Borough’s licensing team.

On the run up to the Royal Wedding, TVP worked very closely with the Windsor Town Manager on a daily basis which helped to strengthen the relationship and helped integrate social media coverage and there were now weekly alerts via email to businesses.

Thames Valley Police had been working on helping to reduce homelessness and they were still attending meetings to help reduce homelessness since the wedding had taken place, it was an ongoing issue which the Police were committed to help reduce.

In October 2018, a pilot was due to begin at Windsor Baptist Church to have community responders and specialist paramedics based there to build on a volunteer network and to work as a partnership on the NTE. A cooking scheme had also been introduced to give local people life skills and that incorporated the army and peer mentoring schemes for youths in the Windsor Girls School. Thames Valley Police were also working with young people to look at restorative justice to bring victims and their perpetrators together to resolve and prevent further crime. Thames Valley Police were also working on a number of different strands of crime such as knife and violent crime.

Councillor S. Rayner stated she had been involved with the food academy set up at Windsor Girls School and it had been a huge success and it was great that TVP, the army and the council were working together on the project.

Councillor Alexander asked the Inspector if security for the Royal Wedding in October 2018 would be as high as that of Prince Harry and Ms. Markle. The Inspector confirmed that she did not expect it to be of the same scale but, it was a moving picture.

Councillor Bhatti queried what preventative measures were being taken to prevent travellers’ encampments on public land following the encampment on Dedworth Manor recently. The Inspector stated the Police were acutely aware of tensions following the recent encampment as there were delays with communications as it occurred during the weekend. However, 24 hour working was available but, there was a lack of communication between the Police and the Council when dealing with those situations. She added the Police had to work within the confines of legislation and they had to be able to justify moving the encampments on. The Police were unable to join Facebook groups, and so relied on the public to keep the Police informed when events took place. most contact received regarding the encampment was telling the Police the travellers were there and not about what crime was taking place. the Inspector stated she had presented the legislation at parish council meetings and crime forums and she was able to send the power point presentation to the Council; she was happy to attend meetings on request also.

Councillor E. Wilson stated one issue was who had the power to do what. He had spoken to Council officers and requested they went and spoke to Brighton and Hove Council to see what they had done with their website. Brighton and Hove Council had a section on their website which showed what the Council’s responsibilities were with removing traveller encampments and what the Police’s responsibilities were. Richard Endacott, a local resident requested a full review from the Police and the Council. When there had been an encampment in 2017, it appeared that no lessons had been learned and the same thing had happened again this year. He requested some joined up thinking on the matter. The Inspector confirmed a review had been carried out of missed opportunities and the report had been shared with officers at the Council.

Ø  Action – The Chairman to find out who carried out the review of the recent traveller encampment at Dedworth Manor and to put the report into the public domain.

The Inspector stated the Police offered every individual in the encampment a code of conduct and then notify residents of the code of conduct so that if it is breached, the public can report it. the Police recognised there had been failings in removing the encampment. Councillor Da Costa stated there were failings with the 101 service and it had not been a positive experience for residents, it needed improvements. He added the Borough valued the work of TVP and suggested the Police could release an update through the Council Communications team for residents. The Inspector responded when she reviewed the calls, there were 21 separate incidents recorded which were all recorded by the 101 service but, not many of them were specific about crime being committed so she was happy with the response. With any encampments, she would link with officers at the Council, particularly Environment Health officers. Welfare assessments were carried out if there were any children on Council land encampments. However, if the encampment was on private land, the Police would not carry out a welfare assessment unless there were a lot of children. Helen Price, a local resident asked if the process to remove encampments could be published in the Around the Royal Borough publication as it was a Borough-wide issue. Councillor E. Wilson said that because the recent encampment was on Council land, there had to be welfare checks carried out but, when encampments were set up on private land such as the Tesco car park on Dedworth Road, they could be evicted very quickly as it was not the duty or the responsibility of Tesco to carry out those welfare assessments. He added that he had looked at installing barriers at Dedworth Manor and there were also the costs of repairing damage and cleaning up the mess left behind. It was also necessary to look at other vulnerable sites too as a programme and to look at how much all the preventative measures would cost the Borough.

Councillor Bicknell stated he had two encampments at his factory 20 years ago and it was possible to install barriers. If the travellers did not break and enter the land, they could use it as they gained access unopposed. It was a complicated situation; there were children, elderly people and pregnant mothers so it was unrealistic to think it could be stopped completely. Dedworth Manor had been cleared in four days but it would take more of a longer term for the waste to be cleaned. The Council would do its best to try and prevent encampments on land; the Borough and the Police did do everything they could but, action had been delayed due to it being a weekend.

Councillor S. Rayner thanked TVP for working so well with the Borough. RBWM was happy to move forward after the review had been completed with a report to illustrate the costs for preventative barriers.

Responding to questions from residents regarding the security of the Police walking back to the police station following the changing of the guard, the Inspector confirmed there were discussions of the Police building within the York House site to have a base but, that was not taking place now. However, TVP were looking at where there could be a base situated in Windsor. In terms of protecting the changing of the guard, the Police did not work out of Windsor, they came from Slough and Maidenhead so it was not wasted time for the Police to be seen walking back to the police station in Alma Road. To have officers visible on the streets walking to and from Windsor police station was good for visibility despite the station not being open to the public. Councillor Bicknell state Gold Command were present at the Windsor Police station, it was a strategic position.

With regards to cycle crime, the Inspector said officers had been sent to cycling conventions to register bikes and she had been working with the Cycle Forum and with bike companies to look at ways to prevent theft. British Transport Police were also promoting bike registrations and were looking at selling bike locks at reduced costs with Council funding. Councillor Quick stated the Police must pass lots of cyclists on the route between Windsor and Maidenhead that don’t have any lights. The Inspector responded the Police had looked at a scheme called Clear Pass so that vehicles passed wide enough to be safe. Police could issue tickets to cyclists for not having lights and they were looking into the Borough implementing accredited powers so Wardens could also issue tickets.

Local residents requested a Police presence in the foyer of the new York House building when it opened to address the fact that Windsor police station was not open to the public. The Inspector responded residents could report crime and accidents online and upload CCTV or, they could email their local neighbourhood team who would respond. Helen Price said there had been sexual assaults at the Windsor Leisure Centre with an individual being arrested. There was an incident in the swimming pool but, there was no CCTV. The perpetrator was tracked through their Advantage Card. Councillor S. Rayner responded the Police were called as soon as the Leisure Centre were aware and the alleged perpetrator was arrested. The Windsor Leisure Centre was now reviewing CCTV to see what happened and to see if lessons could be learned. The Inspector stated any incident that occurred, the processes were reviewed every time to see if any improvements could be made.

Residents asked for an update on apprehending the perpetrator of the ‘Fork’ tag graffiti. The Inspector stated the tags had been mapped but, there was no evidence to pin point who the perpetrator was at that point. Councillor Bicknell stated the perpetrator was causing havoc defacing property of the Borough, Police and local businesses. The Council were cleaning everything, even when it was not RBWM property. It was costing tax payers money to clean it all.

Councillor Da Costa said he had spoken to Anthony Stansfield about reducing drink driving in the Borough and queried if there was a driving under the influence issue in the Borough. The Inspector stated she did not know if it was higher or lower in the Borough. Every weekend drink drivers were caught and prosecuted. The Police were working with Pub Watch to run schemes such as ‘I am Des’ and she welcomed discussion on the issue.

Councillor Quick stated a resident found a website purporting to be set up by the graffiti artist that used the tag Fork and asked if the website could be traced. The Inspector responded it was possible but, checks needed to be in place. if the website was reported to the Police, it could be investigated.