Westbury's anti-social behaviour rates down (From Wiltshire Times)
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Westbury's anti-social behaviour rates down
2:00pm Friday 27th August 2010 in Latest News
Doug Collier
Westbury Police have been called out to 249 incidents of anti-social behaviour in the last four months.
The latest figures, which were issued at Westbury Area Board at Heywood Village Hall on August 19, show a reduction of 12 per cent on last year.
Officers have issued two interim asbos in the last month to Douglas Collier, who, at the age of 74, became the oldest person in Wiltshire to be handed one, and to 17-year-old Derek Wheeler.
Mr Collier, who is accused by neighbours Stuart Adey and Evelyn Harrison of giving them abuse and smearing dog excrement on their house, will appear at Chippenham Magistrates Court on September 7.
The town’s police have also sent out 11 letters to people and referred others to other agencies.
Rowdy and inconsiderate behaviour topped the list in the town with an average of 62.3 calls a month compared to no reports relating to prostitution in the town.
Inspector for Warminster and Westbury, Dave Minty, said: “The fear of crime is often bigger than the level of crime.
“Anti-social behaviour isn’t a huge issue here but it often affects the same people in their premises where they should feel safe and not harassed. Therefore we take it very seriously.
“We saw the Pilkington story in Leicestershire where the mother took her own life and that of her daughter’s. That was a real wake up call.
“Westbury suffered from an average of 2.2 incidents per 1,000 population every two weeks during 2009/10. There is some work to bring it down and that’s why we are doing Bluez n Zuz events and working with the area board.”
Tom Ward, community safety manager for Wiltshire Council, said: “We deal with 14 types of anti social behaviour including hoax calls and inappropriate use and sale or possession of drugs.
“Anti social behaviour isn’t a big issue in Wiltshire and we need to try and reassure people of this.”
Comments(6)
frankie007
says...
12:53pm Sat 28 Aug 10
Sure I'm not the only one.
old bert
says...
6:49am Sun 29 Aug 10
frankie007
says...
8:33am Sun 29 Aug 10
old bert wrote:You can also park virtually anywhere and leave your car unlocked, happy in the knowledge that it will still be there when you get back. Same in Bulgaria. Come to think of it it's the same in pretty every civilised country with one notable exception. Trouble is there just isn't the political will to actually do something about it in this country.
Part of the problem is that the Police have to be all things - friends to old ladies, the law to teenaged kids etc. I was on holiday in France - there the local and national police do the bobby on the beat job, but the real tough guys are the CRS (National Mobile Force) who police demos etc and also city centres when the kids are out - you don't see them getting agro from teenaged louts!
R. Sole
says...
3:27pm Tue 31 Aug 10
frankie007 wrote:Frankie, it would behove you to take note of what Inspector for Warminster and Westbury, Dave Minty, said... “The fear of crime is often bigger than the level of crime"... and also to check the facts before making such claims as... "You can also park virtually anywhere and leave your car unlocked, happy in the knowledge that it will still be there when you get back. Same in Bulgaria. Come to think of it it's the same in pretty every civilised country with one notable exception." I say this out of a genuine concern for you not to make yourself look silly.
old bert wrote: Part of the problem is that the Police have to be all things - friends to old ladies, the law to teenaged kids etc. I was on holiday in France - there the local and national police do the bobby on the beat job, but the real tough guys are the CRS (National Mobile Force) who police demos etc and also city centres when the kids are out - you don't see them getting agro from teenaged louts!You can also park virtually anywhere and leave your car unlocked, happy in the knowledge that it will still be there when you get back. Same in Bulgaria. Come to think of it it's the same in pretty every civilised country with one notable exception. Trouble is there just isn't the political will to actually do something about it in this country.
A quick look at the statistics for car theft per capita by country shows the UK as having the third highest rate of car theft per 1,000 people, lower than Australia and Denmark, both of which I am pretty sure are civilised countries. The actual number of cars stolen in the UK per 1,000 people is 5.6, whereas in France - whose lack of car thieves you extol - the number is 4.9 per 1,000... not that much of a difference to fill me with confidence of my car's safety should I ever go shopping in Rouen and feel the urge to forego the benefits of the car's central locking system. The other country you mention, Bulgaria, does indeed have a relatively low number of car thefts per 1,000 people: 1.5. But then that low figure could suggest that Bulgarian cars aren't worth stealing, not that Bulgarians enjoy a better crime-free society.
You really should do something about the negative image you have of this country.
cerysmaes
says...
6:09pm Thu 2 Sep 10
Russlers says...
12:04pm Sat 28 Aug 10