Sep 28, 2008
Cllr Daisy Benson takes Thames Valley Police hotline campaign to national stage
Cllr Daisy Benson, Lib Dem Safer Communities Spokesperson on Reading Borough Council took her campaign highlighting the poor response of Thames Valley Police’s anti-social behaviour hotline to the Lib Dems Annual Conference this week where she highlighted problems with Thames Valley Police’s anti-social behaviour hotline
Speaking in a debate on new Lib Dem crime reduction and policing policy on Sunday, Cllr Daisy Benson said:
“In order for Neighbourhood Policing to work as it was intended, local people must have confidence that they are being listened to and that the Police are acting on the real crime issues people are encountering locally.
“In Reading, local people who report crimes are struggling sometimes even to have their calls answered, and whey they are, operatives do not know the area because they are based in an out-of-town call centre and lack local knowledge.”
“This experience is putting many people in Reading off reporting crime and the lack of feedback from Police when they do report makes them wonder if there is any point in reporting issues”
Cllr Daisy Benson will also be highlighting these problems with Police chiefs at a meeting of the Safer Reading Campaign at the end of September.
Cllr Daisy Benson said:
“Local people will stop reporting crime if they feel they are not being listened to. Thames Valley Police must act now to improve their service to local residents in Reading, if Neighbourhood Policing is going to be effective in tackling crime in our local communities.’
Editor’s Notes:
- Daisy spoke in a policy debate on “cutting crime and catching criminals” which aims to bring in policies to make the Police more accountable and more in touch with local people’s priorities. More details can be found here
- More details on Daisy’s campaign can be found here:
- As part of her campaign, Daisy raised problems with call centre response to calls from members of the public earlier in the year with Members of the Home Affairs Select Committee, and in July at a meeting of the Safer Reading Campaign.
- More info on theThames Valley Police hotline can be found here.
