Monday, July 12, 2010

SAVE OUR MEETINGS

With cash savings having to be made, Neighbourhood Policing Panel public meetings are being looked at by Humberside Police Authority. The latest suggestion is that such panels might stay - there are others held in Barton, the Isle of Axholme and Scunthorpe - but could be staged in different locations, and reduced in number, although a very senior policeman would attend. That might mean only one public meeting a year in Brigg, although interested residents from this area would be welcome to attend those held in other parts of North Lincolnshire.
Other alternatives are members of the public raising issues of concern through the police website rather than at meetings, plus the police contacting a panel of randomly selected people to get their comments and views.
Chairman Coun Tom Glossop outlined all the possibilities at the Brigg Neighbourhood Policing Panel's latest quarterly meeting in the Angel Suite, saying: "No firm decisions have been made yet."
Ironically, the latest meeting in Brigg drew the poorest attendance for some time. But those who did attend raised useful issues and put some interesting questions to Insp Brett Rutty and Pete Scott, head of safer roads, North Lincolnshire Council. For road safety and highway issues have long been an important part of the Brigg Neighbourhood Panel public meetings.
NF adds: The cost of hiring the Angel Suite is surely minute in Humberside Police's overall budget. However, the attendance last Tuesday was disappointing - just at a time when supporters of these panel meetings could have done with a big turnout to show their usefulness to the powers-that-be who will have to decide whether the public forums stay or go.

5 comments:

Ken Harrison said...

How about meetings held in such places as the Servicemen Club? The meetings would probably get better attendance and involvement in a more informal setting.

I suggest that the public, with respect to Insp Brett Rutty, may not be particularly inspired by a table of statistics of crime rates, but would welcome information on the detection and police strategy of/towards of local policing issues....domestic violence, drug-dealing, crinimal damage, traffic offences, the pedestrian precinct........etc

While the crime rate has reduced 16 percent....it would also be very useful to know what the detection rate is during the same period.

One major obstacle that must be overcome is the seemingly pervading perception that once a victim gets a crime number, he/she is then left out of the equation.

Not everybody has access to the web - particularly the most vulnerable, such as the elderly.

The suggestion of having community police liaison meetings outside such place as Tesco has to be thought through very carefully. It could assumes that everyone - equally balanced gender/age groups visit Tesco, while day and time of day factors can affect public responses.
Secondly, is anyone with sensitive information going to discuss such in such a public place?

'The randomly selected panel' of people will not be as random as it suggest.
Membership of such groups will be essentially be achieved by interested and those with spare time putting themselves forward.
Consequently, this will favour the so-called middle, or leisured class of a community, not necessarily those who are direcxtly affected by unsociable behaviour.
Prioritising community problems by a select group can be skewed by narrow idiosyncratic shared needs, rather than, perhaps, more urgent needs within the wider community.
If one is going to have a public liaison group, then membership must include represention from the whole community, and, in turn, not be dominated by one particular membership sub-group.

Ken Harrison said...

How about meetings held in such places as the Servicemen Club? The meetings would probably get better attendance and involvement in a more informal setting.

I suggest that the public, with respect to Insp Brett Rutty, may not be particularly inspired by a table of statistics of crime rates, but would welcome information on the detection and police strategy of/towards of local policing issues....domestic violence, drug-dealing, crinimal damage, traffic offences, the pedestrian precinct........etc

While the crime rate has reduced 16 percent....it would also be very useful to know what the detection rate is during the same period.

One major obstacle that must be overcome is the seemingly pervading perception that once a victim gets a crime number, he/she is then left out of the equation.

Not everybody has access to the web - particularly the most vulnerable, such as the elderly.

The suggestion of having community police liaison meetings outside such place as Tesco has to be thought through very carefully. It could assumes that everyone - equally balanced gender/age groups visit Tesco, while day and time of day factors can affect public responses.
Secondly, is anyone with sensitive information going to discuss such in such a public place?

'The randomly selected panel' of people will not be as random as it suggest.
Membership of such groups will be essentially be achieved by interested and those with spare time putting themselves forward.
Consequently, this will favour the so-called middle, or leisured class of a community, not necessarily those who are direcxtly affected by unsociable behaviour.
Prioritising community problems by a select group can be skewed by narrow idiosyncratic shared needs, rather than, perhaps, more urgent needs within the wider community.
If one is going to have a public liaison group, then membership must include represention from the whole community, and, in turn, not be dominated by one particular membership sub-group.

Ken Harrison said...

How about meetings held in such places as the Servicemen Club? The meetings would probably get better attendance and involvement in a more informal setting.

I suggest that the public, with respect to Insp Brett Rutty, may not be particularly inspired by a table of statistics of crime rates, but would welcome information on the detection and police strategy of/towards of local policing issues....domestic violence, drug-dealing, crinimal damage, traffic offences, the pedestrian precinct........etc

While the crime rate has reduced 16 percent....it would also be very useful to know what the detection rate is during the same period.

One major obstacle that must be overcome is the seemingly pervading perception that once a victim gets a crime number, he/she is then left out of the equation.

Not everybody has access to the web - particularly the most vulnerable, such as the elderly.

The suggestion of having community police liaison meetings outside such place as Tesco has to be thought through very carefully. It could assumes that everyone - equally balanced gender/age groups visit Tesco, while day and time of day factors can affect public responses.
Secondly, is anyone with sensitive information going to discuss such in such a public place?

'The randomly selected panel' of people will not be as random as it suggest.
Membership of such groups will be essentially be achieved by interested and those with spare time putting themselves forward.
Consequently, this will favour the so-called middle, or leisured class of a community, not necessarily those who are direcxtly affected by unsociable behaviour.
Prioritising community problems by a select group can be skewed by narrow idiosyncratic shared needs, rather than, perhaps, more urgent needs within the wider community.
If one is going to have a public liaison group, then membership must include represention from the whole community, and, in turn, not be dominated by one particular membership sub-group.

Ken Harrison said...

....I'iii mmmust have aaa stuttttt...er|

gmsmith said...

Criminal Ken H . Did you use that can of WD40 on your keyboard?
The publish comment button needs a spray .