Great Gaddesden – 1st-31st May 2015
Offence
Dwelling Burglary
Burglary Other
Criminal Damage
Vehicle Crime
Anti-Social Behaviour
No. in parish
0
0
0
0
0
No. in Great Gaddesden
28
29
97
67
269
For more details on crime in your area please visit www.police.uk. Enter a postcode to see the ‘crime map’
for the local area.
News and events
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Proactive work is still on going, stopping vehicles for traffic offences and intelligence.
ANPR and speed checks will be conducted as and when weather permits.
Useful information
You can follow your local team on Twitter @hemelwestpolice
Visit www.herts.police.uk where you can find the latest police and crime news, crime prevention advice
and people wanted by police.
Police non-emergency number 101. (In an emergency always use 999).
Contact Crimestoppers anonymously with information about crime on 0800 555 111.
Sergeant’s message
May has continued to see low crime levels with some areas having no crime reported at all!
Despite these low levels, I’d ask people not to be complacent. With the weather warmer, it is tempting to
leave doors and windows open but doing so leaves you property an easy target for an opportunistic
burglar. Please spread the message that for people to keep their property secure.
If you have any concerns about crime, anti-social please contact PCSO Mark Green on 101 or by email
mark.green@herts.pnn.police.uk or you can contact me if the matter is of a more serious nature on my
Airwave radio when I am on duty on 01707 354192. (In an emergency always use 999.)
Sgt Matt Deveney
Hemel North, Rural, East and West Safer Neighbourhood Team
Dacorum Chief Inspector Doug Black
I am pleased to report that during May there were fewer reported crimes throughout Dacorum, compared
to the same period last year, across a number of significant crime types. ‘Burglary others’, which includes
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break-ins to sheds and outbuildings, were down by more than a third throughout the borough compared
to May 2014, while dwelling burglaries were down 15 per cent and motor vehicle crimes down slightly.
No distraction burglaries were reported at all last month. This is excellent news however the Constabulary
will continue to work hard on making Dacorum a hostile place for these kinds of criminals who often prey
on the elderly and the vulnerable. The key to beating this sort of crime is often educating people about the
dangers and I would encourage all residents to check our website or speak to a member of the Safer
Neighbourhood Team for crime prevention advice and also sign up to Online Watch Link (OWL) to receive
warnings about any scams going on locally.
More disappointingly however the overall level of crime in the borough was marginally up last month. The
figures show increases in the numbers of criminal damage offences, assaults, thefts from shops and
‘offences against the state’, which are offences where there is no victim as such, for example public order
offences or some motoring offences. Many of these crime types relate more to urban areas in the borough
or the motorways and A-roads and fortunately our parishes continue to have very low overall levels of
crime and anti-social behaviour.
Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire, David Lloyd
For those of us who take an active interest in rural affairs and policing, there were two items of interest in
May which I would like to update you on. The largest ever survey of crime and anti-social behaviour in rural
areas in England, Wales and Northern Ireland was launched last month, conducted by the National Rural
Crime Network, of which I am a founding member. The survey – supported by the Home Office – asks for
views on policing in rural areas from people who live and work in them as well as the impact crime has on
their lives.
I believe crime is not just an urban problem and understand that rural communities can often feel
overlooked and isolated when it comes to tackling it. At the same time I also believe that Hertfordshire
Constabulary overall serves the rural community well – particularly with its excellent Rural Operational
Support Team – however it is vital that locally and nationally we have a clear understanding of the issues
faced by these communities. This survey will draw together information that will help further improve
policing and crime prevention in the countryside in the years to come and so I urge as many people as
possible in Hertfordshire to take part. The survey will be open until Wednesday 24 th June and can be
completed by visiting http://www.nationalruralcrimenetwork.net/survey?member=Hertfordshire.
I was pleased that new legislation came into force last month meaning that incidents of fly grazing can be
dealt with more quickly and effectively. The Control of Horses Act 2015 allows for animals that have been
abandoned or left to graze on public or private land, without landowners’ permission, to be rehomed
sooner than previously permitted.
My deputy David Gibson has taken a keen interest in how police and their partners deal with fly grazing
and we are quite aware of the blight that this illegal activity can be on the community. The animals are
often in poor condition and not properly secured, meaning they can stray onto roads and cause traffic
delays or even serious collisions. I welcome these changes and believe they are good news for the welfare
of these animals as well as the communities affected by them.
By the time you read this message, a meeting between numerous agencies in Hertfordshire will already
have taken place in order to discuss what the Act means for the county and what more can be done to deal
with those who continue to flout the law.
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To find out more about how rural crime in Hertfordshire is dealt with please visit the Constabulary’s
website at www.herts.police.uk/rural.
David Lloyd, June 2015
Police warning to drink and drug drivers in Hertfordshire
Throughout June, drivers in Hertfordshire are being reminded about the dangers of driving under the
influence of alcohol or drugs. The month-long campaign urges motorists not to get behind the wheel after
drinking, and warns that any amount of alcohol can affect your ability to drive. Officers from the
Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Road Policing Unit (RPU) are conducting an increased
number of drink driving checks. Those arrested for drink driving face a minimum 12-month driving ban and
up to £5,000 fine – however the offence of causing death by dangerous driving carries a maximum
sentence of 14 years in prison.
In March a change in the law also made it easier for the police to catch and convict drug drivers. It is now
an offence to drive with certain drugs above a specified level in your blood, just as it is with drink driving.
Some 17 legal and illegal drugs are covered by the law, including cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy and ketamine.
The limits for all illegal drugs are extremely low, so even taking a very small amount of an illegal drug could
put someone over the limit. Some prescribed drugs can also affect a person’s ability to drive and the new
legislation allows drivers who are not taking these medications in accordance with their prescriptions to
also be prosecuted.
Hertfordshire Constabulary has a confidential drink drive reporting line to report people who put lives at
risk by drinking or taking drugs before driving. If you know someone who does this please call 01707 354
111. However, as usual, if a crime is in progress always call 999.
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