Notes on meeting held on 8th November 2012.
Eight local residents attended, and we were joined at 9pm by our PCSO Ceara Sturt, and her colleague Carol from Martock. They had been delayed by a road traffic accident.
New members were asked for their email addresses, so information from police could be forwarded. In general the discussion centred on dissatisfaction with the service we were receiving, and the lack of response to queries.

It is not clear if any incidents reported by email are noted, as they do not appear to receive a response. If the only method of successfully reporting a crime or anti social behaviour event is by phoning 101, then this should be clearly stated. The advantage to using email as far as we are concerned, is that we have a record. Do we now have to make a separate log book? Incident Log - Summer 2012

Promises to investigate incidents have not been kept, and cases closed without any apparent investigation. Though we are not a high crime area, the feeling is that there are more incidents of vandalism/antisocial behaviour and criminal damage than in the past. The group agreed to produce a spread sheet of known (or rumoured) events, and try to assess what had happened.

The level of reporting was not high. This may be due to fear of reprisal, worry that young people may through stupid behaviour get a criminal record, or lack of encouragement from the police service. There may also be an understandable wish to protect local family members etc.

Generally when local events are organised the police are informed. The events over the Jubilee weekend were successful, and a police presence was noted. Alcohol consumption has been linked to certain incidents. Are risk assessments carried out, and stewards present? I think this is generally the case.

The general feeling was that low level nuisance was on the increase, and that this needs to be nipped in the bud. We as locals need to have our say when unsuitable actions occur, but a visible police presence would send a message that there are possible repercussions to bad behaviour. Ceara hopes to start foot patrols in the village now that she has been in the job for a few weeks, and we welcome this. She also said incidents could be reported on 101 without leaving a name. She said that some past officers had not done a very good job, that the service was being reorganised, and that things should improve. We look forward to evidence of this.

Mud on road due to farming activities has caused some problems, though some have noted farmers/contractors using sweepers to keep the roads clean. There is an obligation to clear up mud left on the road, though some recent deposits have been due to runoff from fields, a bit more difficult to deal with.

The PCSOs encouraged us to call if we saw suspicious vans, cars, activities. These would be logged and investigated if need be.

We were pleased to meet our new PCSO, and look forward to seeing her out and about in Shepton. The spreadsheet of incidents will be passed to the Parish Council on Monday and to the beat manager. We look forward to a response.

Mary Clarke, 11/11/2012 Contact email home@marymhclarke.plus.com, tel 01460 240 363 Next meeting Monday 21st January 2013, in Buttle Close.