POLICE, CRIME AND ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR UPDATE ISSUE 83: 14 DECEMBER 2023 – 17 JANUARY 2024
CRIME STATS Over the last month there has been a decrease in reported crime, from 594 to 561. Public order offences, arson and criminal damage have increased slightly, with a
significant decrease in theft, from 228 down to 180. As always, the police would like to encourage everyone to report any criminal activity witnessed.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH IN CITY CENTRE On Friday 29th December, members of the Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) visited a hotel in the Old City to speak with children there. These children have come to the UK to find safety after being uprooted from their homes and experiencing several difficult circumstances. Recently, the children had witnessed incidents at the hotel where the police had to use force on individuals present. This impacted the children and caused upset
surrounding perceptions of the police. This visit allowed the children to meet with police officers to repair these observations. The officers spent time with the children by playing games with them, teaching them about police vehicles, introducing them to equipment that police carry daily, and providing them with gifts from the local area. Through the time spent with the children, the team conveyed a positive message of the police and made the children feel at ease in their presence despite the children’s past concerns.
IMMIGRATION OPERATION WITH DRIVERS IN THE CITY In December, Bristol NPT completed a multiagency operation with UK Immigration regarding delivery drivers in the local area. The operation involved stopping and interacting with local delivery drivers in the city to ensure they had the right to work in the UK and that their vehicle was insured for business use. The officers also provided them with advice for navigating in the local area. The operation focused on three key areas in the city that had been previously impacted by anti-social behaviour caused by the illegal use of motor vehicles in pedestrianised areas. One prime area for this operation was Corn Street which is a pedestrian zone during specific hours. During this operation, the police stopped 32 vehicles and communicated with their
NITROUS OXIDE SEIZED FROM ST PAULS PREMISES Police officers and the Police Licensing Officer attended a premises in St Pauls in December to complete a premises licence compliance check. This check followed intelligence about the sale of nitrous oxide on the premises. The possession of nitrous oxide was made illegal in the UK from 8 November 2023. During the visit, several canisters of nitrous oxide were found, as well as several bottles of wine which were on sale, clearly labelled with the name of another store. The Licensing Officer had previously advised the police officers in attendance that they were aware of large-scale alcohol thefts in a city centre store which these bottles could be linked to. The store in question had made efforts to deter the alcohol thefts by writing the name of their shop on the label of the
occupants. One vehicle stop led to a vehicle being seized by the police as the driver was driving without insurance. During the operation, local businesses liaised with officers and voiced their concerns about the danger such vehicles have been causing in the local area and thanked the team for their work.
bottle. The police seized the nitrous oxide canisters and bottles of wine from the premises to prevent any further incidents of resale. The owner of the premises has since been interviewed by police under caution with the case still under investigation.
This occurrence is one example of the collaborative working approach between the Police Licensing Officer and Bristol Neighbourhood Teams.
A MESSAGE FROM PCSO NAT NAYLOR “With winter upon us, there has been an influx of the street community using areas in the city for rough sleeping. Along with this may come aspects of anti-social behaviour (ASB) and environmental ASB. If your business is affected by a rough sleeper, and if you are comfortable doing so, please ask them to move on and report them to StreetLink. If the individual refuses and there is a threat present, please report accordingly for City Centre and Broadmead. These reports help us to locate the individual and guide them to the support they need. A prolific shoplifter was released from prison for a 4-day period after Christmas and committed thefts whilst breaching a Community Behaviour Order. Through the fast work of the BID and NPT central officers, the individual has now been sent back to prison for 30 weeks. We would like to thank all businesses that checked DiSC and made the reports concerning this individual. It was a vital part of this achievement. If you would like to sign up to DiSC, please email info@bristolbcrp.org.
Finally, I would like to wish you all a Happy New Year. I hope you all have a great 2024!”
All of the above information has been provided by Avon and Somerset Police directly.