Welcome to our “NPT web blog”, an online diary by Police Community Support Officer Mark Dunkley, who talks about his role patrolling the streets of Castleford as part of a busy Neighbourhood Policing Team.
Described as community policing for the 21st Century, Neighbourhood Policing is about getting more staff and officers closer to the public they protect and serve.
More information is available on the following links:
Police Community Support Officers (PCSO)
Neighbourhood Policing Teams (NPT)
You can also view local policing information via the Neighbourhood Policing Team website and even subscribe to free updates by email.
Missing Person Search
09:00:
First job is to check the Briefing, we brief ourselves on a daily basis, so we are up to date on any overnight crime in the area. It also enables us to be aware of what areas are “hotspot” areas (areas requiring special attention due to problems etc) which need extra coverage during our shifts. It also shows us which suspects we should be targeting during our shift.
10:00:
Teaming up with PCSO (Police Community Support Officer) 125 Gregg, we attend at a local meeting, a new joint partnership initiative called the ‘Community Café’, held the first Wednesday of the month between 10am and 12 noon at the Airedale Library, the Square, Airedale. The meeting is attended by ourselves, Wakefield Housing, local councillors and the Fire Service, and is open to any members of the public who wish to voice their concerns about problems with anti-social behaviour and any other local issues. Community meetings are important for PCSOs to attend due to the fact that we can gather useful “intelligence” – information from the public about problems in their area. This means we are able to pass the information back to the police officers on our team and also interlink with other agencies. Hopefully, working together will enable us to tackle the issues that members of the public come to us about.
12 noon:
Return to Castleford Police Station in order to write up the relevant paperwork from the meeting. This is just a general debrief of the “intelligence” we gained, and we decide what to do with it, how and where to pass it on. For example, if we are told about a house involved with drugs then this information would be a priority and passed onto our supervision, and intelligence reports submitted. If it is some information received regarding anti-social behaviour then we would work together as a team by increasing patrols in the area, hopefully solving the problem.
13:00:
Received a call regarding a elderly male gentleman missing around the Castleford area. Myself and PCSO 125 Gregg conduct a brisk local search, checking streets and areas of spare land. Although our local beat is Airedale and Ferry Fryston we cross into other areas if there is an urgent matter.
15:30:
While searching for the missing person, we spot a woman wanted on an arrest warrant in the Carlton Lane Shopping Centre. Radio checks are made of the police database, to ensure she is still wanted, and we then detain her while police officers were summoned, who arrested her upon arrival.
16:00:
Just resumed the search for the missing person, checking behind some buildings, when a radio report came in that he had in fact returned home, and was safe and well. We returned to our usual beat of Airedale and Ferry Fryston. For the final part of our shift we were able to cover the hot spot areas, providing a visible and reassuring presence on some of the estates which require special attention.
18:00:
End of our shift, back to the station, get the paperwork written up, chase up a few quick phone calls, then finish for the day!
Previous Blogs
Drug Warrant Day
On this particular morning we are involved in a special operation involving the whole team. My colleague PCSO Still and I are assigned to the Castleford area, handing out Target Hardening equipment and advising residents on crime prevention and other issues. Chatting to people is also useful for picking up information regarding suspicious activities to feed back into the team. Information like this from the public is essential to enable us to target the criminals in our communities.
While we and other PCSOs are gathering information, the regular Police Officers are completing a number of drug warrants in the surrounding area, targeting drug dealers and homes used for drug activities.
The day panned out like this:
9am.
On duty at Castleford Police Station, briefing by Sgt Haley covering our priorities. Myself, PCSO Still, Riley and Ragsdale assigned to cover Ambler Street and Lisheen Avenue areas in Castleford.
10am.
Arrive on Ambler Street, Castleford, start door to door enquires, talking to residents and completing a questionnaire covering general crime prevention issues, locking doors, not leaving valuables in cars etc. The public are also surprised to hear that one-in-four burglaries are “sneak ins”, criminals getting in via unlocked doors and windows. It is always a nice part of the job chatting to local residents, reassuring them with our presence, and picking up anonymous tips regarding local issues, such as drug dealing, burglaries and anti-social behaviour.
12 noon.
After a busy morning, arrive back at Castleford Police Station. All the information gathered via the questionnaires is handed to Sgt Haley and any other information, regarding criminal activities and likely suspects, is put on Intelligence Reports which go on to the police database.
1pm.
After a quick bite for lunch, head over to my regular beat area in Airedale with PCSO Still. This afternoon we are on foot patrol covering “hot spot” areas, where there had been reported problems. Uniform patrols not only reassures the public but deters crime. We bring the questionnaire to gather more information on target hardening/crime prevention issues.
2.30pm.
We were between houses with the survey form when we spotted someone on our “Target Nominal” list, a person wanted in connection with local crimes. We ask him a few questions, establish his identity, and run a radio check on the police national computer to make sure he is still wanted. It comes back positive, which means we have the power to detain him for the next 30 minutes until a police officer arrives.
2.40pm.
Two officers arrive and the man is arrested and taken through to Pontefract cells. After this, we resume our target hardening and intelligence gathering on Ings View, Airedale, regarding problems in the local area with anti-social behaviour. The two Knottingley PCSO Aaron Riley and Simon Ragsdale also join us to enable us to cover more homes, and more of the community. Many residents say how much they appreciate the visits and how nice it is to see uniformed officers on the beat.
5pm.
Back to the station. Once again we relay back to our sergeants what we have done and hand back the completed questionnaires. Any criminal activity information gathered is transferred to Intelligence Reports. That little snippet of information might be enough to crack a crime, and put a persistent criminal behind bars, so it essential that all useful information is carefully recorded.
6pm
Off-duty at Castleford Police Station, another interesting and productive day, and looking forward to a well earned rest!
Meeting Residents at a Public Surgery meeting
09:00
Early start due to the fact that I and PCSO (Police Community Support Officer) Still are holding a public surgery at Airedale Community Centre, where residents are able to come and voice their concerns. We “self-brief” before setting off in order to compile some background info for the meeting and area. Changing shifts is something that often happens to the team depending on the times that problems and meetings are happening and when we need to be there to address them.
11:00
Actual meeting at Airedale. These meetings are useful for residents to talk to us and get to know what we are doing to try and improve their area. A surgery is vital for PCSOs due to that fact that we are largely an “intelligence” gathering unit, and holding something like this means that we are able to gather information on local issues. Residents get to meet you on a regular basis which is good for developing trust and confidence. The success of the surgeries and other local meetings are probably one of the key reasons that 5 Towns NPT have reduced anti-social behaviour in Airedale over recent months.
14:00
Once the meeting is over, we patrol the “hot spot” problem areas in Airedale and Ferry Fryston. Hot spot coverage of an area is something that a PCSO would do on a daily basis due to the fact that we are a high visibility patrol and spend at least 80% of the day on foot walking the area. We try to cover most areas of the beat, which acts as a deterrent to local suspects, and also reassures the public with our presence.
15:00
Speak with an elderly resident regarding problems he is having with youths most evenings, which appear to be getting worse, and causing some concerns. The way I would try and resolve such a problem is first by assessing the issue and deciding whether it is something that needs the entire NPT (Neighbourhood Patrol Team) Team’s involvement or something I am able to deal with as a PCSO (Police Community Support Officer). We can look at increasing patrols in the area. I also give the resident one of our Security Packs, something we give to vulnerable people which is full of helpful information and advice.
16:00
On a normal shift I would attend the Park area which is called the Green in Ferry Fryston. The schools are closing for the day, and there are ongoing reports of nuisance and anti-social behaviour. I hope my presence will help to reduce this problem. This also gives me chance to talk to local people.
19:00
Off duty for the day, but I first I compile notes from the surgery, to pass onto to the two police officers who work alongside us. The next day we will then talk about how we can deal with these problems and who we need to be targeting.
Another Day on the Beat in Airedale
This would be something of a normal day for a police community support officer working in the Five Towns Neighbourhood Policing Team. The beat that I am assigned to is Airedale and this is one of my typical day shifts.
09:00
Every day whether an early or late shift, we have a briefing conducted by our sergeant. It is at the start of every shift. This lets us know who the target offenders are in our area, and what sort of problems the area is having and also where about these problems are.
10:00
Briefings usually last for around half an hour to an hour and we then make our way onto the streets to perform high visibility patrols. As normal on this day, I hitch a lift through to Airedale with the two constables.
11:25
While on foot patrol I observe a vehicle displaying expired tax, at this point we are able to check the police computer to see if the vehicle has insurance. If it does not then as a PCSO I have the power to seize a vehicle if the owner signs a disclaimer. On this occasion the owner did and therefore we seized the vehicle and waited for recovery to arrive. If the vehicle does have insurance then I would have sent a form to the DVLA notifying them.
12:30
Meet with one of the residents regarding problems in the area. All the information that I receive will be passed on to the constables on my beat. We will then asses how to deal with the problem as a team. In some cases where the problem is persistent we will involve the whole Five Towns Neighbourhood Policing Team in a day of action where everyone on the team will blitz it with a police presence, targeting the problems. This is demonstrated by the success the NPT had on Love Lane, Pontefract, not so long ago.
14:00
This afternoon on foot patrol in the "hot spot" areas in my beat. This is something I would do on most days along with the rest of the Neighbourhood Policing Team. Basically, these are places we are having problems with for a number of different reasons. We therefore make sure that a constable or PCSO will have a presence in the area on a daily basis. This works, and has been a massive deterrent towards reducing crime and other problems. It has also helped with one of our key priorities, to reduce the fear of crime locally.
17:00
Finally for the day I attend a residents' meeting. These are extremely helpful as it gives residents a chance to get to know who I am and gives me the opportunity to hear about local issues. The Neighbourhood Policing Team often works alongside other agencies improving an area, and you will find a policing representative at most key meetings in the area. After the meeting is over it’s time to finish for the day. I will relay what had been discussed to the rest of the NPT the following day, where a decision will be taken on how best to put solutions into place.
Working as a Team
As a Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) and part of the Five Towns Neighbourhood Policing Team, we all work together as a team to improve the local community. This means I regularly get involved with helping the police constables with their tasks.
One of our tasks with the regular PCs is looking for suspects that are wanted on bail, or for other issues. This can involve address-checks or checking the surrounding area where we believe the suspect to be living. We often come across these villains in the community, and can detain them until a member of the team arrives to make an arrest.
Other things that we often get involved with are drugs warrants, and as a PCSO my task is to leaflet-drop in the surrounding area, with leaflets such as “Dob a dealer.” These are partly to reassure the public to explain why officers are operating in their neighbourhood, and to explain that we do act on information given to police by the public, which is essential in combating local crime. We would often spend most of the day in the area after a drugs raid again this was done successfully in Love Lane, Pontefract.
Automatic Number Plate Recognition
From time to time, we assist regular officers with Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) checks, setting up the camera in a traffic car at a busy location. We need to be able to quickly stop the cars if they turn out suspicious.
This clever ANPR camera continually checks passing number plates against a national database, and can instantly tell us if cars are stolen, expired tax, no insurance etc.
These duties are usually undertaken by a small number of PCSOs and Constables.
Public Meeting Points
As a PCSO I feel it is vital to have some means of linking in with local residents on a daily basis. On my Airedale beat, I managed to obtain an office at the local community centre, which means that I stage regular drop-in “surgeries” where residents can pop in and chat about any worries. Some of these I can deal with directly or, if they are out of my remit, can pass them onto other agencies etc.
Being part of a such a high-profile team in a local community, we get asked lots of questions and are usually able to help, either directly, or involving another agency, such as the council.
The good thing about working on the Neighbourhood Policing Teams is that we are always involved with quite a range of issues, which makes the role interesting, and meaning we don’t get left out of things just because we don’t have the full powers of a regular PC.
For example, we were recently called out to an incident involving Travellers on the Xscape car park at Glasshoughton. Most of the Five Towns Neighbourhood Policing Team attended, and we were able to persuade the group to move on, without any problems.
Even though the main part of my job is high visibility patrols in my local neighbourhood, there are so many different aspects of PCSO duties – no two days are alike. I could never consider an ordinary job after this!