Operation Accent is a year old this week and we have been looking to see what has gone well, what we could do better and what we could do differently. 

At the heart of the operation is a team of dedicated and motivated people, many of whom do not work for Sussex Police.

Many are Outreach Workers who have great language skills and an ability to put people at their ease.They have worked with us to inform people arriving in the UK what they can expect from the Police and other public sector organisations.

What we have learnt over the past 12 months is that we have to change our style of Policing, taking into account the cultural differences.In essence we need to recruit more people from our  Eastern European community. It’s no good trying to work with the community when your workforce does mirror it .

Our PCSO recruitment opens tomorrow morning and we are really keen to hear from any one who is from Eastern Europe to join us at Arun ..

If you want to know more have a look at the website  from 0900 tomorrow. http://tinyurl.com/c76yza9

I could sit here bathing in the substantial crime reduction that we have achieved in Arun but I won’t .Community safety is so much more subtle than that.

What do you mean I hear some say ? Well we have had 1274 fewer reported crimes on Arun, with a 25 % reduction in burglary and similar reductions across the board on various crime types but that’s not good enough in my humble opinion..If you have been a victim of crime this year you need to feel safe in knowing what we and our  partners are doing to reduce the chances of it happening again.

What we are about on Arun is working with our partners to change behaviour long term and to drive out antisocial behaviour and crime. Where that doesn’t work we will use all of our powers to stop such behaviour, which means arresting people.

Over the past 12 months we have really focused on those who do  not chose to engage through Operation Impact. Over 200 people have been arrested and 75 search warrants executed.

I’ve not gone soft nor missed the point. I understand that some people need a 2nd chance and we should facilitate that but where they don’t please be sure of what we will do to stop offending.

It’s not about hitting a target but focusing on the victim and doing the best we can ..  

Long may that continue 

I think I’m going to adopt this motto as it sums up what we are doing on #Arun and starting to see the benefits 

Ten years ago I know exactly what I was doing this weekend ; Photocopying handouts and doing all sorts of things getting ready to welcome the first PCSO’s into Sussex.

Initially funded by the Home Office for 3 years, I wonder where we would be today if it weren’t for our PCSO’s, some of the most highly motivated people we have working within the Policing Family.

As a newly promoted Inspector my role was to develop a recruitment process,the  training programme and set out what their role was and how they worked alongside police officers in Sussex.

They were a new breed - not warranted but still designated with some powers. The public and Police Federation were in some areas sceptical as to what they could achieve and headlines such as ‘Plastic Police’ were unhelpful, but I am glad we persevered.

None the less the first 22 completed their initial  course, were designated with their powers by the Chief Constable and made their way out onto the divisions to lay the foundations for what has today become a pivotal role. 

As ever, Brighton embraced them assigning a highly motivated Sgt to tutor them and  I remember the Home Office rep paying them a visit,  wandering along St James Street with John and Cheryl, who sadly is no longer with us but very much in our thoughts .

Villages in the North and East of the County were very supportive and a number of parishes seeing the value wanted to fund additional posts and West Sussex looked to introduce them into the local schools 

Over the last  10 years we have seen their role evolve. Those working on Arun are making a real difference, care passionately about what they do and I know this is replicated across the country. 

Many believed it was a stepping stone for those wanting to go on to become Police Officers and we have seen that happen for a few and it has really helped the integration.However, many of the original 22 are still with us working hard as part of the bigger  Extended Policing Family.

I may have been tasked with developing the initial training and recruiting  well over another 300 PCSO’s between 2003 and 2006 but I think they have taught me a great deal and we should celebrate their success and achievements .

To find out more  have a look at this link http://tinyurl.com/bdljgcv

                  Happy Anniversary Sussex PCSO’s !!   

A couple of weeks ago we reviewed what we had achieved under the Operation Accent banner. Around the table were sat a number of really motivated people who over the past year have just got on and worked together, engaged with partners and the Eastern European Community and achieved some notable successes.

I am very talkative, but I made the effort to really listen to what they were saying and saw a sparkle in their faces, something which had probably motivated them a number of years previously to apply to join Sussex Police.

There’s the investigators who have worked tirelessly to bring offenders to justice and some comfort and safety to the victims. Working hard with CPS to secure conspiracy charges and gain the confidence of the victims and ultimately the community.

Then there’s Sgt Glenton and the team, they have worked hard visiting farms, surgeries and churches to reach out to the community to understand what their needs are, their concerns and fears. Rad has taught us so much over the past few months. 

Our partners have been very supportive locally, at county  and even national level and without their support we couldn’t have made the progress we have.

Arun and Chichester need large numbers of people to work the land and those who travel from Europe travel miles to do a back breaking job that not many Uk citizens won’t do. Without them many local businesses would go to the wall and we should welcome the workers as best we can. 

What we don’t welcome are individuals who prey upon the workers using violence, threats and isolation to impose their will.Over the past 12 months we have built strong links with partners businesses and members of the community to identify those individuals, 

I’m not too naive to believe this is the finished product. We still have  so much to achieve . Many of the workers did not trust the Police in their home country and therefore it takes time for them to feel comfortable in our presence in the UK

There is also a large settled community within Arun who have migrated from Eastern Europe. Second and third generations are growing up, going to local schools and making a real contribution to the local community.  

We should try to embrace all of their differences and work hard to understand difference and build upon the foundations dug over the past 12 months under the Op Accent banner.

Over the next 12 months Op Accent will be working across Arun and Chichester as well as also focusing on under reporting of crime within the Eastern European community. Trying to find ways to improve reporting across a number of crimes that are unseen by many but nonetheless scar so many people.

Crimes such as Domestic Violence and hate crime.

The work has just begun Operation Accent is a year old but it’s key to reducing vulnerability across Arun and Chichester. Something everyone deserves surely ?

Today has been a day that has reinforced for me and the various departments and partners what can be done to support our communities within Arun and by the communities in Arun. 

All of these examples have been referred to in press releases but I wanted to reflect on what that really means. Some of the incidents still have ongoing proceedings so I am not able to discuss the details . If you take a look at  the links you will get an over view of all of them.

http://tinyurl.com/b4hymo4

Operation Accent has been running for 10 months and this investigation was at the heart of what we have been trying to achieve long term; Reducing  vulnerability within the community , improving individuals lifestyles,  and the contribution they are able to make, myth busting and where necessarily tackling criminality. The verdict has had a lot of coverage here and in Poland and sends a very clear message out to those who chose to intimidate and prey on those who are vulnerable within our many different communities in Arun

http://tinyurl.com/b5o5z3h

This relates to a Pub in Felpham which saw an police led operation on the 23rd December. Over the past 2 years we have been working with the local community and our partners to address the complaints and incidents linked to the premises. Today saw the premises having its license revoked a very serious step and matter for all concerned.

The evidence offered by the Police and West Sussex Fire and Rescue provided a sanitized and objective stance. The representations made by members of the local community were very personal, disturbing and yet sobering ( if you forgive the pun). Yes they had moved to the area knowing there was a pub there , what they didn’t expect was for people attending the premises to think it acceptable to behave so appallingly on a regular basis. 

Licensing objectives are used to set a standard that not only the local community, but visitors and those working within a licensed premises can expect to be upheld by all.

I listened to one individual asking me why she should have to wheel a relative out into the road in their wheelchair as a result of bad parking linked to the pub. This may not seem very high on the police priorities but for me I have been there in that position and it’s not right and is another challenge you take on whilst trying to look after someone who is not well and wants the least of fuss made.

http://tinyurl.com/azbd4vs

In terms of Mr Miller  - he was arrested in the early hours thanks to the public. Again we had been working to locate him and had completed all of our ongoing lines of enquiry and we knew that without the help and consent and  information from the community we would struggle to find him in the near future.

Whilst everyone deserves the opportunity to change or reform their behaviour it is important that we do all we can to bring individuals to justice, not only does it prevent further offences it may deter others.

You may think that there are only be a few officers on duty across Arun who can overtly be identified as police officers, but we have other resources working  with us who are not so easily identifiable as Police. Their role is to target those affecting people on Arun; be it through antisocial behaviour, criminality and or drug dealing.

More importantly we have the eyes and ears of the public working with us and are able to achieve a great deal with this help and information . People may not feel comfortable in leaving their name or number but have used the 101 or crime stoppers number to leave us the information. Those snippets  may go on to become last piece of the jig saw puzzle and without it  we may never see the true picture.

Long may it continue - So please if you know something,don’t keep it to yourself let us know - you may help us prevent further offences,help us reunite victims with their property or stop some one from becoming a victim. We don’t need your name  just call  Crime Stoppers - 0800 55111 or look at the website.     

We have an ongoing programme of surveying victims of crime and ASB asking a number of questions one of which is as below  .. This is a very positive one of several I read today ..

Q What is it that makes you feel satisfied/dissatisfied with how you were kept informed of the  progress?

A Because they couldn’t do any more than they did. They phoned me to say the person involved is appearing in court the following day. After he had been in court they phoned and sent a letter to tell me what the outcome was.

Just about to drop the officers concerned an email.. This is what it’s all about 

Happy birthday from the Amex to the well known Football Intell Officer

Arun District Police are currently recording a 13% reduction in recorded crime compared with the same period last year. This of course we welcome and to date this means 874 less victims of crime in our area.

Much of the police work we do is done in the background and to date this year we have completed over 60 evidential search warrants where the intelligence has proved sufficient for local magistrates to authorise our entry and search. The vast majority of these warrants have been successful and we will continue to act where the information is sufficient.

We need information from people in the community to act and I am very grateful to continual stream of information that we receive.

On Monday 19th November we recruited the help of over 50 police officers from all parts of Sussex to facilitate 5 simultaneous drug search warrants in this area. All five warrants were successful and a number of people were arrested, drugs seized and assets seized under the proceeds of crime act.

Local councillors were invited and 11 joined us for the briefings and attended the warrants to observe this work. I am grateful that they took the time to see what we are doing to protect the community.

We will not let up in our continuing efforts to make this area safer and thank everyone locally who is helping us.

If you have any information about crime in your area please do contact us or if you wish to remain anonymous you can report your concerns to the independent charity crime stoppers on 0800 555 111.

Don’t let the drink decide this Christmas.