Royston Community Team

Rural Watch

August 2008

Covering Arbury, Ermine, Weston & Sandon Wards.

Dogs are a subject that comes to Police notice from time to time; it is the responsibility of the owner to control their dog. This means that if your dog has escaped from your control you still could end up being help responsible for the animal’s actions. If you walk your dog you must be able to control it, if not it must be on a lead.

Over the past few months sheep worrying by dogs has become a problem in our area and the Mordens in South Cambridgeshire. The first instance was on three lambs all about nine months old. One of the lambs died and the others where heavily traumatised and in need of treatment by a vet.

All three lambs had been attacked on their front legs and the dead lamb had most of it wool on its side pulled off and the body scratched and bruised.

Of the two that survived one still cannot walk properly while the other has recovered.

As dogs will normally attack the neck or hindquarters of a sheep it seems that this attack must have been by a small dog, or dogs, probably a Jack Russell.

Since then a number of ewes, which have had lambs a foot, have been found dead in another field. In these cases there have been no marking on the sheep to suggest they have been attacked. However once dogs have been into a field and ‘played’ with sheep they will often return for further games. Sheep will run away and if chased will sometimes just give up and die. This could have happened in these cases.

What can appear to be a harmless bit of fun can be a brutal and nasty way for a sheep to die. This is why sheep worrying is considered a serious offence and dogs found doing it can be put down.

It is incumbent on dog owners to ensure that stock in fields are not worried by their dogs and that dogs are kept under control at all times.

Ashwell	West end / Newham way	25/07/08 1105 - 1130	32 veh / 30 mph / 23.5 mph
Ashwell	Station rd (40 limit)	25/07/08 1030 - 1100	18 veh / 41 mph / 32.8 mph
Bygrave	Upper Bygrave	25/07/08 1255 - 1320	18 veh / 31 mph / 27 mph
Barley	High Street	22/07/08 1450 - 1530	37 veh / 42 mph / 29.5 mph
Barkway	Royston Road	23/07/08 1305 - 1335	40 veh / 46 mph / 30.4 mph
Therfield	Police Row	24/07/08 1405 - 1430	11 veh / 33 mph / 26.9 mph
Newham	Ashwell road	25/07/08 1210 - 1240	36 veh / 35 mph / 27.5 mph
Weston	Damask Green Road	25/07/08 1500 - 1530	24 veh / 28 mph / 24.8 mph
Rushden	Moon and Stars	24/07/08 1500 - 1525	17 veh / 40 mph / 28.1 mph
Hinxworth	High Street	25/07/08 1140 - 1205	16 veh / 29 mph / 22.5 mph

Enforceable checks in Red

We have now conducted two local beat surgeries in Royston, giving the community the opportunity to come and meet, great and speak directly with the officers that patrol your town. The first was held in Queens Road and the second in Burns Road, further are planned across the town. At each of these meetings we have received numerous comments and questions from local residents. All of these are currently being followed up and if you visited us and approached us we will get back to you with an update.

In most cases the conversations with the residents went something like this;

Resident, “What are you doing about the continuing … it has been going on for ages.”

Officer, “When did you last tell the Police about this?”

Resident, “Oh, I have never called you about it before now.”

My colleagues and I try very hard to provide a visible policing presence at all times of the day and night. We target areas where we know or believe that there is ongoing anti social behaviour or criminal activity. However, most of this information comes from our eyes and ears, the residents and community. If we are not told about a problem we have difficulty solving it.

I would urge everyone to report those suspicious incidents, the van parked in a strange location or seemingly watching a business premises, the person loitering at a strange time of the day or night, something amiss with a neighbour who you haven’t seen for ages, empty alcohol cans or other evidence of anti social behaviour, loud unexplained noises, anything which is out of the ordinary or suspicious that might mean there is or has been some criminal activity should be reported to Police.

Royston Town and the Rural area remain a low crime area and by working together we can ensure that it remains that way.

If any of you want to contact me, please do so on 01438 757926 or via e-mail at: peter.frost@herts.pnn.police.uk

G4E; - Ashwell, Hinxworth, Bygrave, Newnham & Caldecote

Vandals used a sharp implement to pierce the fuel tank of a car parked in Radwell Lane, overnight of Sunday, 6^th, July. (Crime no. G4/08/698).

G4D; - Barkway, Barley, Reed, Nuthampstead, Newsells, Kelshall & Therfield

Thieves stole the catalytic converter from underneath a Nissan Navada pick up parked at Cokenach Estate overnight of Sunday, 6^th, July. (Crime no. G4/08/685).

Youths caused damage to the window of a house in High Street, Barley when they threw a brick from a moving vehicle in which they were travelling. The incident occurred at 10.50pm on Saturday, 19^th, July. (Crime no. G4/08/735). At 11.30pm a window belonging to house in High Street, Barkway was smashed. (Crime no. G4/08/736).

G3C; - Sandon, Wallington, Rushden, Clothal & Weston

Sometime during the course of Wednesday, 9^th, July, thieves stole several items of farming machinery from a yard situated in Roe Green, Sandon.

(Crime no. G3/08/385).

An unoccupied house in Rushden Road, Sandon was broken into overnight of Friday, 11^th, July. Whoever was responsible removed a ground floor window and its frame leaving it on the ground, before apparently making off from the area empty handed. (Crime no. G3/08/393).

Total for 2003 – 2004 = 80

Total for 2004 – 2005 = 26

Total for 2005 – 2006 = 6

Total for 2006 – 2007 = 17

Reported Hare coursing Incidents in our area.

	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Jan	Feb	Mar	April
03-04	3	13	28	3	8	13	9	3
04-05	4	13	4	0	4	0	1	0
05-06	0	3	0	0	1	1	1	0
06-07	0	4	4	6	1	0	2	0
07-08	3	10	4	6	9	2	4	3

Number of Hare Coursing and Nuisance Vehicle Patrols Carried Out.
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	July	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
07								3	3	3	0	3
08	9	5	6	8	8	2

Last time we attended

RUSHDEN	02/07/08	SANDON	26/03/08
THERFIELD	26/03/08	REED	05/03/08
BARKWAY	15/07/08	BARLEY	04/02/08
KELSHALL	21/04/08	NUTHAMP	01/05/07
ASHWELL	06/02/08	BYGRAVE	04/02/08
CALDECOTE	05/01/07	WESTON	13/03/08
RADWELL	29/04/08	WALLINGTON	02/07/08
HINXWORT	14/02/08	CLOTHALL	02/07/08

Area	Last Meeting	Next Meeting	Location and Time
G4E	8^th May 2008	19 November 2008	Parish Rooms Ashwell
G4D	12^th February	9^th October 2008	8pm Reed Village hall.
G3C	20^th May 2008

Locality

Members

Martin Dingemans, Howard Marshall, Simon Holtom, Robert Law, Teddy Faure-Walker, , Steve Jarvis, Andrew Young, Tony Hunter, Peter Shuttlewood, Keith Bone Christine Schwick, Janette Kingsley.

Meeting

22/12/07

Tasks set

1. High visibility patrols in daylight hours at weekend in a bid to Reduce Incidents of hare coursing, Nusience Motor cycling and Nusience 4 X 4 use.

2. Continue with crime prevention and evidence gathering thus keeping crime as low as possible.

3. Continue with speed checks by PCSO’s to monitor vehicle speeds; enforcement was not considered a good use of resources.

Please click on the below link to meet some of the people we wish to becomes friends with.

http://www.herts.police.uk/CCTV/gallery.htm

Rural Watch

Jan

RUSHDEN

SANDON

THERFIELD

ASHWELL

BYGRAVE

CALDECOTE

Please click on the below link to meet some of the people we wish to becomes friends with.