Problem-solving walkabouts start in crime hotspots

Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Danielle Stone brought residents and local organisations together to try to solve issues affecting Eastfield in Northampton

A series of walkabouts by police and community leaders has started in a county's crime hotspots.

One of the selected areas, Eastfield in Northampton, has seen burglaries and car crime almost double in a year.

The neighbourhood tours have been set up by Labour's Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Northamptonshire, Danielle Stone.

The secretary of Eastfield's Residents' Association said local people wanted to feel confident they were being listened to.

The Eastfield area in Northampton was chosen because there had been a spike in some offences like burglary and vehicle crime.

Last year, there were 33 burglaries in the area, up from 19 in 2022, and there were 40 vehicle crimes last year compared to 23 during the previous year.

Arun Siva, the owner of the Londis shop on Broadmead Avenue, says he experiences a lot of shoplifting

The Commissioner's first stop was a parade of shops on Broadmead Avenue.

Arun Siva owns the Londis shop and does not think shoplifting in Eastfield is taken seriously.

He said: "Our shop got robbed one morning early and we reported it but nothing happened.

"I lost £2,000 and couldn't get that back."

The issues of drug dealing in Eastfield Park and the amount of fly-tipping in the surrounding areas were also highlighted.

Neighbourhood Policing Sergeant Rodney Williams joined the tour around Eastfield

The Commissioner's entourage included police officers, West Northamptonshire and Northampton Town councillors, housing officials and the probation service.

Neighbourhood Policing Sergeant Rodney Williams said he recognised people were not always aware of the action the force are taking: "We could be better at relaying exactly what activity we are doing.

"We do a lot of plain clothed activity around the town as well as on Eastfield in order to tackle criminality.

"With drugs, we've taken action elsewhere in town which has seen crime spiral down here."

Ms Stone said "I want to make sure everyone feels as safe as they can in the area where they live, and part of achieving that is to make sure Police are continuing to engage with the communities they are serving.

“We are absolutely committed to listening and learning from residents, and working with them to identify what actions we can take to improve their quality of life."

Sammie Wakefield, secretary of Eastfield Residents’ Association, has lived in the area for six years

Sammie Wakefield, secretary of Eastfield Residents’ Association, said “Residents want to feel confident that they are being listened to, but they also want to see action, so I think it’s been beneficial for the Commissioner to come and see the estate.

"I’m looking forward to seeing how we can all work together as a bigger group to move things forward.”

Ideas that will now be explored include multi-agency action days, regular litter picks and fly-tipping clean-ups.

Destinations for future walkabouts include central Corby Town Centre, Kingsthorpe in Northampton and Redhill Grange in Wellingborough.