Anti-social use of motorbikes, e-scooters, dirt bikes and quadbikes throughout the area - in particular, issues with youths riding bikes through and nearby into wooded areas.

9 E-scooters and 2 Sur-ron bikes have been seized during regular patrols and planned days of action in the month of June.

The named drivers have been dealt with accordingly for driving with no insurance, and those under 18 have been referred to a driving awareness and education course to understand the concerns around the use of e-scooters and e-bikes.

PCSO Wiggins, Lendrum and Rogers have conducted several Have Your Say meetings in regualr locations where the issues have been caused. We have engaged with several youths and parents, discussing legislation and explaining the thought process when seixing e-scooters/bikes.

Shoplifting, retail crime and violence towards shop workers in Shinfield and Arborfield, specifically Co-Op School Green, Budgens Spencers Wood and Co-Op Arborfield.

PC Smith, Bunting and Edmonds have been fiercely tackling retail crime over the past month. We have engaged with shops and spoken about target hardening and use of CCTV. We have also dealt with 5 offenders for shoplifitng on numerous occasions at our targetted stores, which has led to 15 charges of shoplifting and 2 out of Court Disposals, including banning offenders from the stores. .

A robust approach to tackling retail crime in the Thames Valley has been introduced by the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC). Developed jointly with retailers, business groups and Thames Valley Police (TVP), the PCC’s Retail Crime Strategy sets out tangible actions to tackle shoplifting, retail crime and violence towards shop workers.
The strategy aims to support businesses and create a hostile environment for those who commit crimes in the local economy by focusing on 6 key pillars – Intelligence, Enforcement, Partnership, Prevention, Justice and Reassurance. It also includes the creation of a Business Crime Team within TVP to improve investigations and identify prolific offenders and, with the rollout of Operation Purchase, the Force’s operational response to retail crime, increasing the visible presence of police officers and PCSOs in retail spaces as well as improving the officer response to reports, particularly incidents involving violence towards staff.
A core aim is to enhance the collaboration between businesses and the police to better tackle retail crime in addition to the policing response. To help facilitate this, access is being provided to Disc – an online information-sharing and reporting platform which allows retailers to report and access information about crime such as shoplifting and anti-social behaviour (ASB). The system, which can be accessed as an app, also makes reporting to the police faster and more efficient as users can submit a crime report directly through the platform, removing the need to call 101. We believe these measures will deliver a more visible, targeted and robust response to retail crime, increase the security and confidence of local businesses and help make high streets and retail spaces across the Thames Valley safer for the community.

Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) in the Arborfield, Spencers Wood and Shinfield areas which has had a significant community impact. Specific areas include Spencers Wood rec, High Copse and Millworth Lane Rec.

The Fields Team have conducted 3 days of action, as well as responding to spontaneous incidents of ASB and working with the Parish and Borough Councils to create a longer term solution.
We have interviewed and dealt with 1 youth for Arson, criminal damage and violence to secure entry in relation to an incident at Spencers Wood Rec. The case has been referred to the Youth Justice Unit for a decision.

We are working with an external agency in relation to a long term initiative to help those youths causing ASB to be engaged and work with various projects over the summer to reduce the likelihood of more incidents.