Articles......

The Island is one of the safest places to live in Britain and I think we should make sure it stays that way. Community Policing is a better way to address local issues before they get to the Police Force itself.

There is a necessity to bridge the gap that has been created between the community and the Police Force itself because of our busy lives.

With a Police Community Support Officer in our neighbourhood we don’t need to have meetings any more, we have Beat Surgeries where we can just drop in once a month or as often as you need and just pass on some local information. It is a good idea, because the Beat Surgeries are very informal and friendly. If you wish to make a complaint, or to discuss something privately we can arrange that too. Gradually members of the public are dropping in to tell us what concerns them. We can’t have eyes at the back of our heads and many hands make light work of keeping our community a nice place to live.

I don’t want my position as Neighbourhood Watch Co-Ordinator to become another tier of law enforcement. I’m, here to help bridge the lines of communication between residents, community policing and law enforcement.

Neighbourhood Watch teams, up and down the country are needed to act as a link between police, local authorities and the public. It is acknowledged that crimes of violence and theft can be expected to rise during the economic down turn. 

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We have to learn the Highway Code and answer written questions about it before we are able to obtain a driving licence. We teach our children the Highway Code when at School and they know they need lights on their cycle and appropriate head gear.

Here in the Isle of Wight, the Police and Highways authority are able to adopt a more relaxed attitude to parking than elsewhere in Britain. It needs just a little thought so that we maintain that easier attitude. Think about access for the emergency vehicles that need to reach a home that is on fire or someone taken critically ill needing urgent medical attention.