Crime in Barkham, Wokingham

NH officers have been proactively working with tackling the drug dealing issues. Pain clothes operations have taken place and several persons have been stopped searched with 3 community resolutions issued.

Dispersals of Groups of youths have taken place at the FBC and Gorse Ride. Work has taken place with Youth Justice Unit to tackle the underlying causes of ASB and to see what can be provided in the community to deter ASB and offending.

Officers from the NHPT and Roads Policing teams have been working in partnership to tackle our most problem speeding areas, on Nine Mile Ride, Finchampstead Road and Crowthorne High Street. 57 vehicles have been identified and enforcement letters and tickets issued to those in breach of speed limits.
NH officers have been proactively dealing with e-scooters on Gorse Ride, Kiln Ride, Heatherington Drive and Billing Avenue. 5 e-scooters seized and destroyed, with education and enforcement given to the riders

A robust approach to tackling retail crime in the Thames Valley has been introduced by the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC). Developed jointly with retailers, business groups and Thames Valley Police (TVP), the PCC’s Retail Crime Strategy sets out tangible actions to tackle shoplifting, retail crime and violence towards shop workers.

The strategy aims to support businesses and create a hostile environment for those who commit crimes in the local economy by focusing on 6 key pillars – Intelligence, Enforcement, Partnership, Prevention, Justice and Reassurance. It also includes the creation of a Business Crime Team within TVP to improve investigations and identify prolific offenders and with the rollout of Operation Purchase, the Force’s operational response to retail crime, increasing the visible presence of police officers and PCSOs in retail spaces as well as improving the officer response to reports, particularly incidents involving violence towards staff.

A core aim is to enhance the collaboration between businesses and the police to better tackle retail crime in addition to the policing response. To help facilitate this, access is being provided to Disc. An online information-sharing and reporting platform which allows retailers to report and access information about crime such as shoplifting and anti-social behaviour (ASB). The system, which can be accessed as an app, also makes reporting to the police faster and more efficient as users can submit a crime report directly through the platform, removing the need to call 101. We believe these measures will deliver a more visible, targeted and robust response to retail crime, increase the security and confidence of local businesses and help make high streets and retail spaces across the Thames Valley safer for the community.

The Finchampstead Team has implemented this strategy within their local stores to create a safe and happy place for staff to work and shoppers to get the products they want. Arrests have been made and investigations have been completed as well as shoplifters being stopped in the act, getting the relevant offences charged and provided a court date. The Finchampstead Team has also provided low level shoplifters where applicable an out of court disposals. We continue to work alongside our stores to assist in banning regular shoplifters and put things in place to reduce their offending.