Maria said, "Being out on patrol lets me see first-hand how our local Police neighbourhood teams are working with the community to combat crime. Police patrolling our streets is important to residents and local business, but it's also the way that the Police builds its knowledge of local crime patterns and trust in our community. There has been real pressure on Police numbers in recent years often with our officers being pulled into areas of higher crime in the south of the county.
''I want to see even more visible policing in Basingstoke, which is possible now because of the significant increase in warranted police officers in Basingstoke.
“Most crime figures in Basingstoke have fallen since 2010 with overall crime down 52% and robbery down 70%. The local Police are focused on keeping it that way. In recent months, we have seen a rise in unacceptable nuisance caused by a small number of people engaging in anti-social behaviour around the centre of town. I want to see more visible policing to tackle and deter this sort of nuisance behaviour from escalating into more serious offences.
"All too often these individuals are school-aged, acting with impunity, thinking wrongly that the rules of decent behaviour don’t apply to them. Tackling this takes parents, schools and the whole community to act together.
Basingstoke is a great place to live but we must remain watchful and it is incredibly encouraging that by the end of the year Basingstoke will have 50 new police officers. These officers will increase capacity, allowing the police to make Basingstoke an even safer community".
