Engaging and enforcing - our officers in the community

#TogetherForBedfordshire | Engagement and enforcement are two of the vital keys in community policing and our teams around the county have been hard at work in both areas.

The Dunstable and Houghton Regis team has been taking action around illegal car meets: One vehicle seized and a number of drivers issued with legal warnings. We know that many car enthusiasts enjoy meeting responsibly, but we also know that reckless driving, excessive revving, and other anti-social behaviour are a real worry in the community and we will continue to deal with them with robustly.

Road safety was also at the heart of Operation Windscreen in Bedford, focusing on anti-social driving behaviour. We stopped more than 30 vehicles over a three hour period with 11 offences reported. Three high-powered e-scooters were also seized. Our aim is to reassure the local community as well as enforce against persistent behaviours and problems.

After a fire last weekend at the Barton Hills National Nature Reserve, our Rural Crime Action (RCAT) Team is warning against the use of disposable barbeques in unauthorised areas. Extensive damage was caused to this Site of Special Scientific Interest by a bbq carelessly disposed of in undergrowth. As the summer heats up the risks increase; please take care.

Meeting and talking to residents is a vital part of community policing – hearing what’s going well, what’s not going quite so well and what the local issues are. So, our teams regularly spend time on community engagements at shops and meeting places like these officers from our Bedford Community Policing team who visited sites in Kempston and Bedford.

And working with partners is also vital to make communities safer and more welcoming for everybody. Officers from our Luton Community Team spent time helping out at an Environmental Action Day on Abbey Drive in Luton addressing anti-social behaviour, littering and fly-tipping.

Information we receive from the community really helps the way we deploy resources and tackle crime.

Don’t forget you can report issues directly to us using our webchat facility here, https://www.beds.police.uk/ -  or call 101.

You can also report anonymously at Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.