Managing Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour
The parish council set up a working group to look at crime and behaviour that impacts on the lives of residents. This was prompted by the increase of visitors to Eynsford during the pandemic and lockdown period whilst options for getting out and about were limited.
A report and notes from our final meeting are attached here: CCTV within Eynsford report Dec 2020.pdf ; CCTV working group_ public 14 January 2021.pdf
We have reviewed particular areas of concern, and have consulted with Kent Police about the best ways in which to report and manage crime and anti-social behaviour.
Areas we have investigated are as follows:
- Lack of Social Distancing (particularly on Riverside and around the ford): we will be putting up additional signage about this.
- Anti-social behaviour: we have obtained advice from Kent Police which is attached here . Please report all incidents to the police.
- Lack of Toilet Facilities: we will work with local businesses such as the Tea Rooms to provide toilet facilities for visitors.
- Littering and Rubbish: An additional bin was installed on Riverside in the autumn to help to deal with the quantity of litter left at Riverside during the summer months. We are also lobbying Sevenoaks District Council about bins to separate recycling from general waste.
- Use of BBQs: signage is already up on Riverside. We will see whether this can be improved. Police have been informed about the byelaws.
- Misuse of river by 4x4s and horses: we are re-installing the chain across the river and will continue to monitor the situation, involving the police if necessary.
- Nuisance Illegal Parking: We have worked with SDC to create 'no loading/waiting' zones at areas at Riverside that suffer from illegal parking which often causes blockages. This has been approved and will be installed in April 2021.
- Drug use: reports of drug use should be sent to the police. A leaflet about this is included here.
- Local Watch Schemes: we discussed how to raise general awareness of crime in the village and how to encourage reporting and sharing of information. We have set out our ideas in more detail below.
Here is a useful presentation provided by the police about different types of crime and how to report incidents you may witness. Reporting is important, event for minor incidents, as this helps the police to join the dots and see patterns of crime. More reports of crime also bring more policing. Crime Awareness Campaign
Here is a report from our local police officers for 2020-2021.
Local 'Watch' Groups
We would like to encourage YOU to set up local groups within the village to monitor and report crime. We know that some streets already have WhatsApp or email groups that they use to share information. This is a great way to share information about crime or suspicious activity. It would also be great if your group leader could be in touch with neighbouring streets/areas, so that the information is 'passed along the chain'.
Important things to consider:
- Ask permission of people in your group to use their phone number or email address as it may be visible to others.
- Report all incidents to the police using 999 or 101 as appropriate.
- Communicate with the next group in case the criminals are working through the village.
- If people in your group have CCTV on their properties this information might be useful to the police.
- Let us know if you have set up a group (or have one already)
- Not everyone is online, or has a smartphone. Please be prepared to share information with some residents in other ways.
Thank you