Monthly updates from the various North Dorset Police Teams. This month’s news from Shaftesbury’s PC Rob Hammond
Shaftesbury has a two-person team, so they’re working hard on their primary targets of drugs, illegal drivers and support for the vulnerable, says PC Rob Hammond
Shaftesbury Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) have been working on their new Chief Constable’s vision & the Police Crime Commissioner’s priorities by working to keep local residents safe. There’s only two of us – so as you can imagine we work very hard!
Where possible we provide a visible presence in town, and it was great to see so many people at the Food Fayre a few weeks ago. Of course we cannot be everywhere, nor can we resolve everything that is reported, but we do advise people to always report matters, as this allows us to build a picture of where we should patrol & any agencies to work with.
Keeping people safe
Another important aspect of our role is to keep vulnerable people safe. This means visiting those in our community who may be vulnerable to exploitation or abuse or are repeat victims of crime. Talking with victims of crime and making sure they are treated well by visiting them is also a very important part of our service.
Where possible we also visit your local pubs or work with them via our licensing team to make sure everything is safe for your evening’s out in town.
Drugs and driving
The police team uses the information you give (or we learn) to disrupt any criminal activity, or stop it happening. According to our community surveys this means reducing the misuse of drugs in town as the community’s number one priority. Another concern high on your list is that of people driving illegally, and we often take cars that are not insured from persons who think they can get away with it (see photo above of a recent seizure in Shaftesbury). Clearly this second priority is not so easy for just the two of us (but bear in mind there are other police resources!) – so if you feel more NPT officers might make a difference in the town please feel free to ask our chief.
