Read the October 2024 update here ...
Hello Everyone
Firstly, an update about the team. We have welcomed our new Neighbourhood Policing Sergeant Will Robson and a new Community Beat Manager PC Benedict Kelly to the team. Both have joined at an extremely busy time and I'm sure have spent their first few weeks wondering exactly what they've let themselves in for! I know that both will be huge additions to our team and will increase our capacity and capability further.
A reminder that a Policing Plan for Boston has been established. A QR code for you to view is below. If you would like a hard copy please email me and I’ll get one sent out to you. You’ll see lots of the Operations that the Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) are involved in, all of which contribute to our vision of “Making Lincolnshire the Safest Place to Live, Work and Visit”. Again, if you have any questions about any of the operations or activities detailed feel free to get in touch. If you would like to see anything else appear in our 2025 plan please get in touch to let me know.
In this reporting period, nationally, we have seen some of the worst disorder in recent years following tragic events in Southport. There were real implications for policing in Lincolnshire as our officers were deployed all over the country to help manage the disorder. Lincolnshire is a small force, covering the staff deployed is not an easy problem to solve and it meant officers were often working to cover areas in different departments. The resilience shown was truly admirable.
In Boston we didn't experience any large-scale disorder, something we are very thankful for. What was really heartening to see on social media were the chorus of voices denouncing those who thought that by destroying what we have they were achieving something.
In September we worked with our colleagues in education and children’s services for Operation Absence, tackling non-attendance at school and truancy. Over 30 youngsters were engaged with. Boston has some of the lowest academic achievement rates in the country and we will work with community partners to increase attendance. Several children were found to be unregistered with local schools - something which can now be addressed.
Also, in September, we worked with our partners in Boston Borough Council CCTV, Community Rangers, Kingdom Enforcement, Pescod Security Team and others on Operation Continents. Tackling prolific shoplifters, the operation saw six arrests including two people suspected to be responsible for over £100,000 of theft from a leading retailer nationwide. PC Danni Pratt, our Town Centre Beat Manager, led this work and is looking to repeat the success of the day.
Our ongoing operation to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour in hot-spot areas within the town of Boston continues. Operation Plotting uses highly visible patrols within those areas to deter crime. We have secured funding in collaboration with Boston Borough Council to employ two Community Rangers – another highly visible asset within the town centre they will deal with low-level anti-social behaviour and street drinking, enforcing the Public Space Protection Order within the town. They have over 400 interactions with people, enforcing the no drinking zone within the town. We have seen a marked decrease in street drinking in Boston.
Operation Nivada is our joint program of tackling illicit businesses in Boston and South Holland with our colleagues in Trading Standards. Since we started targeting these shops, we have seen over sixty closure orders or closure order extensions in the Boston area alone. Generally, once we have the evidence we can close a shop for three months. We can go to a court and this can be extended to six months should we believe the same activity will take place again. We often get criticised with people saying “you should close them permanently” or “you should take the licence away” or “the council should not allow them to open in the first place”. Well, I thought I would take the opportunity to dispel some myths. We cannot close them permanently; we are doing as much as the law currently allows. The shops are not licensed, and the council have absolutely no power in saying what shops open in their streets. This is why Insp Matt Dickinson (South Holland NPT) and I are lobbying MPs and their respective cohorts for changes in regulation and legislation to tackle these things. We will continue to disrupt and prosecute (prosecutions via Trading Standards) until more effective regulation comes into place, including the licensing of cigarettes, longer closure orders and tougher penalties for landlords and operators found selling illicit goods.
Below is an update on the priorities that were set in July..
Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls on West Street, Boston (Priority Set in July 2024)
Action Taken - The NPT have hosted several events on West Street, Boston. They have engaged with legitimate business owners and through Operation Nivada closed three more businesses selling illicit goods. Our Trading Standards colleagues are progressing prosecutions in relation to those matters. Leaflets have been produced in different languages to educate around what is acceptable behaviour and what is not. Education around British values and input from the Boston Borough Council Community Engagement Officer, Klaudia Janikowska, is helping to build a more cohesive community through education and integration.
The panel decided that more work was required in respect of this priority so it will be extended for the next review period.
Tackling ASB in Boston Town Centre (Priority Set in July 2024)
Action Taken - The NPT have been tackling key issues of street drinking and homelessness with our counterparts in Boston Borough Council and the Rough Sleeping Team. Several young people responsible for climbing on roofs in the town centre have been dealt with, handed behaviour agreements which has seen this particular issue decrease. Key ASB offenders have been targeted. We have seen an increase in subjects arriving from other areas of the county, which seems to happen very often. It's not a perfect system but we will deal robustly with anyone causing issues in the town centre. Operation Plotting continues with targeted partnership patrols and improvements in the environment fostering 'Pride in Place'. We have also seen the Home Office funded foot patrols in Boston which have been well received.
Tackling Youth ASB in Old Leake and Wrangle (Priority Set in July 2024)
Action Taken - Key ASB locations have been identified and target hardened. The response has been led by PC Dave Brennan. ASB offenders have been identified and dealt with. We have not seen the persistent problems we saw at the beginning of the summer.
The panel decided that this priority should be discharged.
At our recent Neighbourhood Priority Setting Meeting on 9th October we discussed our current priorities and what to focus on for the next period. We had input from our local community through our new survey which received 411 responses. Thank you if you completed this survey, we looked for trends and community feeling that is supported through other evidence sources to put to the panel. We contacted key individuals in our local community for their input. We considered current crime data and trends, the type and harm caused of the crime taking place, street-safe data, opinions gathered from our public engagements, current national and force campaigns, and any particular ongoing crime series across our district.
The survey indicated that five areas seemed to outscore others regarding local concerns. These were: ASB - street drinking, ASB - vehicle nuisance, speeding, drug dealing and ASB youth disorder. A new priority for the NPT was raised for 'Tackling Vehicle Nuisance - All areas'.
The new priorities for the next three months will be:
1. Tackling Vehicle Nuisance - All areas
2. Tackling ASB in Boston Town Centre and Town East
3. Tacking Violence Against Women and Girls in West Street Boston
There were lots of suggestions which have been added or had already been recently added to our patrol plans. Just because an issue that has been raised from a community does not appear in our priorities does not mean it won’t be addressed. Everything that has been raised will be examined and added to patrol plans or examined by your neighbourhood team. Some areas of concern are already being examined by the NPT in conjunction with other policing departments and partners.
Your NPT consists of:
T/Insp Ian Cotton
Sgt David Robinson
Sgt Will Robson
Boston Town Centre
PC Danni Pratt
PCSO Shreeji Brahmbhatt
PCSO Paula Scott
PCSO Jackie Norcott
Boston Town East
PC Benedict Kelly
PCSO Renata Kosiba
PCSO Kym Thornton
Boston Town West
PC Benedict Kelly
Boston Rural West
PC Jon Thornton
PCSO Nigel Grant
PCSO Rob Johnson
Boston Rural East
PC David Brennan
Resilience Team
PCSO Marie Williams
PCSO Lisa Waterfall
The next Priority Setting meeting will be in the second week of January 2025. Our survey will be out in December so please look out for it - your input is important to us.