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www.bradleystokejournal.co.uk
t: 01454 300 400
February 2019
News
Contact Us Editor: Stephen Horton info@bradleystokejournal.co.uk 01454 300 400 83 Snowberry Close Bradley Stoke Bristol BS32 8GB
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About the Bradley Stoke Journal The Bradley Stoke Journal website and magazine are published by North Bristol Press, a trading name of Snowberry Media Ltd; company number 8451178 (registered in England and Wales); registered office: 7 Chelford Grove, Stoke Lodge, Bristol BS34 6DD. Our other publications include the Patchway Journal website, the Stoke Gifford Journal website and the Filton Journal website. North Bristol Press is independent of any other media company or network operating in the Bristol area. We accept no responsibility for anything stated by advertisers, who are themselves responsible for complying with all relevant legislation. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the editor or article author. © North Bristol Press 2019. Content published in our magazines or on our websites may not be reproduced in any form without our express written permission.
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von and Somerset Constabulary’s commitment to neighbourhood policing has once again been thrown into question with the news that 2019 has started without a single Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) on active duty in the Stokes. The diminishing number of PCSOs first came to light back in March 2018 when a meeting of the Stoke Gifford Community Engagement Forum was informed that beat manager PC Julie Rudyard was currently the sole officer covering Stoke Gifford because one of the two PCSOs assigned to the beat was on maternity leave and the other was unavailable. The matter surfaced again at a Stoke Gifford Parish Council meeting in April 2018, when Cllr Keith Cranney raised concerns about “the lack of police resources in the Stoke Gifford police beat team”. The parish clerk was requested to write to the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Avon and Somerset, Sue Mountstevens, “about the force’s future commitment to neighbourhood policing in the local area”. At around the same time, the Bradley Stoke beat team lost one of its (then) three PCSOs through the transfer of one team member to Patchway. Later in the year, after the town had seen its highest crime figures for many years recorded in June, a second PCSO was lost after successfully applying to
join the regulars, leaving just one PCSO. Christopher Baker, on the team. PCSO Baker was well known for running a popular Facebook profile offering advice and responding to queries from members of the local community in Bradley Stoke and beyond. On days when he was on duty, he would often make several posts on his own Facebook profile and respond to issues raised in posts on local Facebook groups. However, the last update was made to his profile page on 28th November 2018 and nothing has been heard from him on any online channels since then, leading to speculation about whether his is still around. More recently, at the Bradley Stoke Community Engagement Forum on Thursday 17th January, a member of the public asked Sgt Adrian Fallows what had happened to PCSO Baker. Sgt Fallows replied “He’s not working with us at the moment”. In response to puzzled looks from some of the audience, he then added: “That’s all I can say.” Collectively, over the so-called Five Stokes area (Bradley Stoke, Stoke Lodge, Little Stoke, Stoke Gifford and Harry Stoke), this means that ALL of the five PCSO positions are currently unfilled or inactive due to absence. Speaking at a meeting of Stoke Gifford Parish Council on 8th January, where the matter was once again brought up, chair Ernie Brown was insistent that “the parish must have its own PCSO”.
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