Dismay over policing policy

RINGMER Parish Council is unhappy with the level of policing in the village. And members listened with dismay on Thursday last week as rural beat manager PC Bob Nye outlined the new policing regime. He told the council that the new chief constable Ken Jones wanted greater neighbourhood policing. The old community beat officers were, therefore, now becoming part of a Lewes police local support team. Individual officers would no longer have dedicated beats. Incidents would be dealt with by any member of the team. Cllr Bob Truman, manager of Forbuoys, said he used to see the local police officer regularly at his store to discuss in a general way what was going on in the village. This had not happened lately and information on crime was being lost. The village wanted a police presence, he added. PC Nye said he appreciated that people wanted face-to-face contact with police. He would be that person, although he did have a large area to cover. The number of police officers covering the area would not be reduced, he added. In fact the division as a whole would see an increase, But Cllr Stuart Bean said: 'There is a great deal of concern here about having a regular police presence for a village this size. 'We do have social problems. 'I am very disappointed to hear there won't be a Bill or Bob or Fred that everyone speaks to about regular problems.' Cllr Linda Chapman said: 'This is a worse situation than we had before. It is devastating. We need to feel secure and we need police around. I am disappointed.' Parish clerk Nick Hall said there was concern at the level of vandalism in the village which often went unreported because of the perceived lack of police response. There had also been problems at the village hall and around the shops. Harder information needed to be gathered on the incidents and a strategy evolved to deal with them. He asked that local people report incidents of vandalism to him. PC Nye said vandalism was a growing problem in many areas. There had been a problem in the grounds of Delves House and a number of young people were going to be spoken to. Cllr Pauline Lewis suggested there might not be enough for young people to do in the village, a point that chairman Cllr Bob Peters disputed. PC Nye suggested that the council investigate the possibility of supporting the idea of a youth shelter a place where young people could congregate. l The local support team is made up of eight officers with direct and shared responsibilities for Lewes, Newick, Barcombe, Chailey, Ringmer, Plumpton and Kingston.