A day in the life of an Elf on the Safer Neighbourhood Team, Bakewell

A non-stop day in the Bakewell area yesterday starting with a visit to Bakewell Infants school where we engaged with the kids and Elf collected some names for the nice list.  He commented on how amazing it was that you hear the kids shouting and laughing as they ran up towards school but then suddenly became very quiet and shy when they saw Elf, full of smiles and cuteness but walking into school nicely holding their parents hand.  Anyway,   a positive result.  Some kids already on the nice list and many with a little more work will get there over the next couple of weeks.

On a more serious note inbetween the festive fun, Elf had to spend some time in the office as no amount of his magic was going to resolve the Burglary issues we are currently having as these are reliant on evidence so he had to take a step back and let the professionals take over.  As you can see from the photos it didn't stop him exploring, he updated Santa with his findings and as he was left alone a while he had time for some mischievous fun.    

Following on from the initial investigations by our Response team and CSI, The Safer Neighbourhood Team officers were joined by their colleagues in Neighbourhood Acquisitive Crime Team (NACT) to carry out more in depth house-to-house enquiries following on from the recent Burglary on Aldern Way, Bakewell.    NACT specialise in investigating Burglaries, whilst each Burglary is investigated individually they also compare it to similar crimes carried out in the area to see if they can identify any similarities to link them together ie vehicles used, method of entry, forensics, number of suspects.   The house-to-house enquiries are extremely important as they make people aware of what has happened so they can keep an eye out for any further suspicious activity but also they offer reassurance to both the victim of the crime and neighbouring residents.  Through talking to residents we can also identify any further lines of enquiry which may lead to the identity of the suspects.  We are also very aware that not everyone uses social media or our Community Voice messaging service and they may have missed our appeals for cctv / witnesses along with crime prevention advice so it is also an opportunity to speak to these people.

In between the visits we attended Join us for a Cuppa at Bakewell Library, which Elf particularly loved as he got chocolate biscuits and later in the day we went to Aldi, Bakewell for a Crime Prevention Event. PCSO Radcliffe took the opportunity at each event to speak to local residents about concerns they have in the local area in order that we can take their issues into consideration when we set our next priorities, which are currently being reviewed.  If you too would also like to have your say on what we focus on for the next quarter, or to highlight any issues to us you can do so by replying to this message and providing a contact number for us to get back to you.

Today we're back out in Bakewell Town Centre engaging with local businesses.  If you see us, come and have a chat!!  

Bakewell Safer Neighbourhood Team