Reading Chronicle | News | Police team rise to their "challenge"

Friday, 25th July, 2008

Published: Friday, 2nd May, 2008 08:00

Police team rise to their "challenge"

By Annabel Williams

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LOWER Caversham’s police team is on a mission to keep anti-social behaviour at bay this summer, says the area’s inspector.

At a public meeting organised by the Lower Caversham Neighbourhood Police team, Inspector Graham Dix told the audience that it was his team’s “challenge for the summer” to keep anti-social behaviour (ASB) down.

A graph illustrating ASB reports showed the blight is down in the lower Caversham area from 48 incidents in April last year, steadily trickling down to 20 incidents in March, but one eagle-eyed audience member noted that incidents seemed to spike during school holidays.

There were only a handful of residents at the meeting, at the Baptist Free Church in Church Street, which Insp Dix said he took as a good sign that everyone was happy with his officers’ work.

A map was also handed out highlighting the neighbourhood’s ASB hotspots, which include Gosbrook Road and George Street, Christchurch Playing Fields, Hills Meadow car park, the St Martin’s precinct area, Westfield Road, Lower Henley Road and Flambards, Ian Mikardo Way, Managua Close and Nire Road.

Insp Dix said: “Amersham Road had a huge problem with fear and intimidation, mostly by youths who were drinking alcohol and really being gobby.

“We had the first dispersal order in the Reading borough, which encompassed all of Caversham, which was a pretty good success because it took the chaff away because the decent parents kept their kids away.

"We went to every person on the Amersham Road estate and phoned them or arranged to meet them, and we got statements from them and collected evidence, took it to a solicitor, and about four of the main offenders were given anti-social behaviour orders.

“That seems to have had a pretty good effect, that was two years ago and I think we are still reaping the results from that work.

“Amersham Road is actually a nice place to live now.”

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