NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH

The 13th Annual General Meeting was held at Broadstone Middle School on 4th May 2000. The Chairman, Denis Phillips, welcomed guests who included Superintendent Chris Dennis, Inspector Peter Domini, Nick Wyer (Home Beat Officer) and his predecessor PC Chris Bickerstaff. Gordon Kerr represented the Streetwise campaign, and guest speakers Mr. Steve Bulgen and Mr. Roger Hall.

A list of apologies for absence including Councillor Annette Brooke and the Chief Constable Mrs Jane Stichbury was read out.

The Minutes of the A.G.M. held on 29th April 1999 were proposed by Mr. Jack Horwood, and seconded by Mr. Bob Kent, and having been approved were duly signed as a true record.

The chief item arising from the Minutes was the matter of the increased risk caused by the ever increasing number of abandoned vehicles. The police were only able to act as quickly as the law permitted and were always conscious of the cost indirectly to ratepayers of having abandoned vehicles removed. They were further hampered by the frequent discrepancy between the last registered keeper and the last owner, who were often not one and the same. Part of the problem appeared to be the charge levied by scrap merchants when they accepted cars for crushing as compared with the sum previously paid by them for cars which were no longer required. Close cooperation between the Police and the Consumer Protection Service should shorten the time that potentially dangerous vehicles were left where they had been abandoned. The Chairman gave his opinion that Insurance companies should contribute towards the cost of removal.

The Secretary, Babs Benstead, reported on crime figures. These have fallen from 364 to 297, a reduction of 18%. Members were reminded of the need to be vigilant even when in their own gardens as there were reports of walk-in burglaries and distraction burglaries. She reported on the updated Ringmaster system and pointed out that the message was secure unless the PIN number was known. Some members were not advising changes in telephone numbers which resulted in others receiving unexpected Ringmaster calls. The safety house was visited several times last year and most visitors thought it very worthwhile to see various safety related items in situ. It was confirmed that laminated I.D. cards would continue to be made available to co-ordinators by Bob Gould. In answer to a question the Secretary reported that there were approximately 2650 dwellings covered by Broadstone Neighbourhood Watch and that this represented about half the houses in the area. It was necessary to spread the word to non participants.

The Chairman gave an account of the meetings that he and the Secretary had attended during the year. He also took the opportunity to thank Chris Bickerstaff for her help during her stint as our Home Beat Officer.

The Treasurer, Mr. Jim Groves, assured the meeting that the financial situation of the Watch was sound. Donations had amounted to £1434.46 and although the cost of printing had increased slightly there was a net surplus of over £600 resulting in a credit balance of £2345.

ELECTION OF COMMITTEE

The Chairman, Secretary, and the rest of the Committee were unanimously elected en-bloc. After aquestion from the floor, other members of the Committee (Coordinators) identified themselves to the meeting.

The Treasurer made a presentation to Chris Bickerstaff who responded with thanks and a congratulatory message for the continued success of Broadstone Neighbourhood Watch.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

Superintendent Dennis answered a question from the floor about the police use of a helicopter which had caused some residents in the Springdale Road area disturbance for approximately an hour, late one night.

There was considerable discussion as to whether Watch members who had not made a voluntary contribution to funds were eligible to discounts for home insurance. Mrs Coles wanted each member to receive a copy of the Crime Bulletin. The Treasurer stated that this would double the printing costs. Resolved not to change the existing format. After an interval for refreshments, during which raffle tickets were sold, the raffle was drawn.

The first guest speaker was Mr. Steve Bulgen, a Consumer Protection Officer. His department which numbers 47 staff has a wide range of responsibilities. Some of these such as Weights and Measures are obvious but are as diverse as checking for heavy metal in local shellfish beds and licensing Poole Arts Centre. Enforcing dog fouling regulations is an emotive subject and the problem of waste disposal looms larger as the government pile on the charges for the use of land fill sites to "persuade" councils to use more efficient ways of disposal or recycling. He also dealt with the problem of bogus callers on the doorstep and the proliferation of misleading mailshots suggesting that the lucky recipient had won a valuable prize.

Mr. Roger Hall, Team Leader with the Crown Prosecution Service, gave a polished and witty after dinner speech. This was enthusiastically received by those members who had remained after the formal business of the meeting had been concluded but not obviously so wholeheartedly by the police element of the audience. Mr. Hall explained the criteria that had to be satisfied before a prosecution is embarked upon and gave a figure of 12.5% where charges were not proceeded with. He appeared to insinuate that the judiciary, magistrate's courts and the government of the day should all share the responsibility for punishment not fitting the crime. Certainly not the fault of the Crown Prosecution service!!

previous | Archive Summer 2000 | next

Say you saw it on "Broadstone NET"