Have your say on how we police Royston

If you live in Royston Town or the rural areas surrounding it, and are interested in how your community is policed, then your local officers want to hear from you. They need to know what issues you think they should be focussing on for the next six months.

The Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNT) work with local communities, dealing with short and long-term neighbourhood issues, such as anti-social behaviour and criminal damage. They also work in partnership with other local agencies including North Herts Council, to tackle many of the ongoing problems.

The current local priorities for Royston Town and Rural Royston are:

Rural Crime, specifically burglary, theft of plant and hare coursing.

Locations of concern have been identified and patrols have been increased in these areas at key times, utilising local officers and county-wide resources, including the Rural Operational Support Team. SNT officers have also provided crime prevention advice to many local businesses and landowners, to help them protect their property.

Neighbourhood Officers have also been working with bordering forces to improve intelligence around suspected offenders. This has led to some stolen items being recovered within a neighbouring force. In November two dogs we seized during a hare coursing operation and one man was arrested. The dogs will be re-homed and the man is being dealt with through the courts.

To reduce anti-social behaviour (ASB) involving younger people in Royston.

A patrol plan has been put in place to ensure that resources are in hot spot locations at key times. This has also allowed officers to engage with young people.

A monthly cinema club has been created, which provides a free-of-charge movie screening each month for 12–16-year-olds. These have been very well attended and feedback has been very positive. This scheme is set to continue.

The Thursday night Project is still thriving at The Limitless academy. This project has been funded by Hertfordshire County Council and is supported by local businesses. Sessions will increase to two a month if funding can be secured.

 Reported incidents of ASB remain low as a result of the above activities.

Speeding throughout the urban and rural areas of Royston.

The Police and Crime Commissioner’s Road Safety Van has been utilised as an additional resource and local officers participated in a national speeding campaign in October, conducting additional education and enforcement activities in identified locations.

More SNT officers have been trained to use the current laser speed detection device, which will enable more speed enforcement action to be carried out.

The Commissioner’s Community Drivesafe Scheme continues to be promoted to encourage local communities to get actively involved in making our roads safer.

To have your say about what your local officers focus on in your area use our community feedback platform - ‘echo’. Go to- ECHO Royston (openns in a new window). All feedback is anonymous, so if you are referring to a specific location please include as much information as possible.

If you are a member of OWL - our Online Watch Link – you can also complete our special priority setting survey which will have been emailed to you. If you are not already a member and want to sign up to complete the survey and also receive police messages about a range of topics including burglaries, scams and missing people in your local area, go to OWL (opens in a new window).

“Your local officers have been working hard to tackle the issues raised during our last priority setting process. Now we again need input from our local communities to help us capture all of the issues that are impacting on you,” explained Royston Neighbourhood Sergeant Jon Vine.

“This will enable us to allocate resources where they are needed most and shape future patrol plans and campaigns.”

If you need any further information, please contact the Royston Safer Neighbourhood Teams via email (opens in a new window) or by calling 101.