BLOG: Working with the Community in Oadby and Wigston

Thursday 11th May was my most recent Community Liaison Day in Oadby & Wigston.

Before going, I posted on my Facebook page to ask if local people had any comments or concerns that they wanted me to chase up while I was there. I had several responses including:

• Lack of visibility of the police in Oadby
• Litter in Wigston Magna and South Wigston
• Street lights being switched off at night
• Tesco trolleys lying about in South Wigston

I was able to chase some of this up before going to the area with the following results:

• Lack of visibility of the police in Oadby – In recent days several officers from the area have been moved to police the ongoing protests at Meridian Park. These protests have been mostly peaceful, but at times roads have been blocked, vehicles immobilised and complex structures erected in trees. There have also been concerns that more violent protestors may be on their way. The officers will return to Oadby and Wigston when the protests end. On a more general note, the police are taking steps to be more visible to the public. These can vary from returning to the traditional headwear – that is recognisable at a greater distance than the baseball caps now being discarded – to putting more officers into the neighbourhood. I have also asked the Chief Constable to produce a report on the state of neighbourhood policing. Keep an eye out for this in coming weeks.
• Litter in Wigston Magna and South Wigston – This is not a responsibility of the police, but of Oadby and Wigston Council. Their strategy for keeping streets clean is available on-line here: Oadby & Wigston Litter Strategy.  I have reported the worst instances of street litter to the council, so hopefully these will soon be cleared away.
• Street lights being switched off at night – This is the policy of the Leicestershire County Council. The policy was introduced in 2012, when street lighting was switched off from midnight to 5:30am. Since then the policy has cut annual carbon emissions from street lights from 14,500 tonnes to 1,500 tonnes. However, there have been concerns about road safety and crime. As a result street lights have been turned back at night on a large number of streets and junctions. Meanwhile, if an individual street light is broken, please report it here: County Council Street Lighting Report Form.
• Tesco trolleys – Tesco don’t like losing their trolleys any more than residents like seeing them lying about. The police do, however, routinely report dumped trolleys to Tesco, who then come to collect them. If you are aware of a trolley, either report it to the Tesco store in Blaby Road or phone 0345 677 9874.

But back to my day in Oadby & Wigston. Having arrived in Wigston, I called at the police station in Bull Head Street. I was due to go out on patrol with PCSO Nad to have a look at his regular beat in Oadby. We drove to Oadby before getting out to have a walk around.

We began in the Parade. Within five minutes of getting out of the car, Nad had been greeted by four people who obviously knew him well. And when one reported a problem near his home, Nad knew where the man lived. I was most impressed by Nad’s local knowledge and his obvious commitment to the area.

Having patrolled quite a bit of Oadby, we went to South Wigston. Again we decamped from the car. This wasn’t Nad’s patch, but the PC who was due to show me around was ill. He had, however, sent Nad a list of the places we should visit, and the reasons why. Again, we began at a shopping street, this time Leicester Road. We visited several shops, including Age UK charity shop (where I was impressed by the Coronation window display). Shoplifting was the main concern here. CCTV,  new lighting and partnership with the Council were all being used to tackle the problem. More effort might be needed if the current measures did not work.

We moved on to the shops along Blaby Road in South Wigston. We hopped out of the car to speak to several shoppers here. People seemed pleased to see Nad’s uniform and happily chatted about their experiences of crime (mercifully few) and anti-social behaviour (sadly rather more). Nad made a note of the issues.

Then it was  back to Oadby where I was due to have meetings with local charities who work with victims of crime and the more vulnerable in society. I’m hoping to be able to work with both these bodies in coming weeks and will report back if those projects reach fruition.

Rupert Matthews
Police and Crime Commissioner for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland