Maria Miller recently visited Sainsbury’s alongside Cllrs Stephen Reid and Rebecca Bean to view new CCTV cameras which have been installed to deter dangerous car meets.
Maria said, ‘’We know that there used to be problems with dangerous driving and illegal car meets at the Sainsbury’s carpark. In the past, some irresponsible drivers would meet here – especially at night – to rev their engines and perform dangerous stunts like doughnuts.
“Not only is this behaviour dangerous to other carpark users, it’s also very noisy and causes a huge disturbance to local residents. As a result of this activity Sainsbury’s proactively installed number plate recognition cameras to deter these events. It was encouraging to hear that since they have been installed, problems in the carpark have significantly reduced.
“Since last summer, many people contacted me about car meets taking place in other parts of Basingstoke and I have been in regular contact with the Police and local councillors about this issue.
“It is welcome that the police are now taking increasing levels of action against those involved in illegal car meets, including issuing fines and impounding uninsured vehicles. As a result of these enforcement measures, I am pleased to report that illegal car meets have significantly reduced in Basingstoke, bucking the trend being seen across other parts of Hampshire.
“However, work does not stop here. We must continue to make Basingstoke an unappealing place for these events to take place by reporting them to the police as soon as they occur. If you believe an illegal car meet is going on, please contact the police on 101 or on 999 in an emergency.
“We must continue to work with the police to create safer streets and safer communities. Basingstoke roads cannot be used as a racetrack.’’
If you believe a car meet is going on the police can be contacted on 999 in an emergency, on 101, or online using this link https://www.police.uk/pu/contact-the-police/
Vehicle crime can also be reported through Hants SNAP, which is a police initiative that targets road traffic crime. More information and details of how to upload dashcam footage can be found here: https://www.hampshire.police.uk/police-forces/hampshire-constabulary/areas/hants-snap/hantsnap/hants-snap---report-an-incident/
