By Tilly Walder
Locals were urged to raise their concerns and find out how police are tackling important issues at St. Thomas’s Square, in Newport, last Tuesday (October 15). The latest Beat Surgery, hosted by the local Safer Neighbourhood Team, offered the opportunity for an informal conversation about any problems or questions residents may have.
“The most prevalent issues I hear about in Newport are traffic related, like speeding or anti-social driving,” PCSO Stephen Oatley reported. “From the responses we receive, we then form our priorities.”
When asked how the police tackle these traffic-related issues, he explained: “We have a dedicated roads policing unit and we work with them and the local beat officers. We do traffic ops at different places, like speed checks and vehicle-noise monitoring, but that’s more specialised for the road policing guys. We tend to run those sort of ops every now and then; we’ve got to build it in amongst all the other work that we’re doing.”
If people are willing, the local officer offers residents a survey on ‘Let’s Talk’, to gain a general feel or opinion on police and local issues. This information is then used to help build community priorities within each individual location.
Stephen reminded: “All the neighbourhood teams around the Island do need these beat surgeries. We are here to listen to what people tell us and their problems.”
Keep updated with your community and local Beat Surgeries by visiting iw.observer/hampshire-alerts.
Isle of Wight Observer