Littlehampton teenager given ASBO.

A 16-year-old has been issued with a two-year Anti-Social Behaviour Order after an 18 month campaign of anti-social behaviour.
Harry Braund, 16, of Belloc Road in Littlehampton, was made the subject of the order at Chichester Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, February 3

The ASBO was applied for by Arun District Council’s Anti-Social Behaviour Team in partnership with Sussex Police.

Due to the serious nature of Harry Braund’s crimes, which included theft of cars, anti-social behaviour around the Tesco superstore in the town, illegal riding of mini motorbikes and verbal abuse, the court lifted all reporting restrictions on the case.

The order prohibits him from engaging in conduct which causes or is likely to cause alarm, distress or harassment, engaging in behaviour which is threatening, intimidating, abusive or insulting, damage any property or stealing any property anywhere in West Sussex.

He has also been made the subject of a curfew between the hours of 9pm and 7am and banned from entering various parts of Littlehampton as well as associating with six other named individuals.

Councillor Roger Elkins, Arun’s Cabinet Member for Community Safety, said: “The ongoing behaviour of Harry Braund affected many people throughout the Littlehampton area. Our anti social behaviour team tried on many occasions to work with this young man to change his behaviour. However, he was not willing to change his ways and an ASBO was the final resort,

“I hope this sends a message to Harry Braund and others like him that anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated within the town and that action will be taken by the relevant agencies to stop it. “

Keith Sivyer, Arun’s Anti-Social Behaviour Co-ordinator added: “Arun District Council is determined to take decisive action to eradicate anti-social behaviour in the community whether this is perpetrated by adults or children and we will use whatever legal measures are available to us to achieve this end to protect other residents living in the community.”

Harry Braund will face arrest and imprisonment if he breaks any conditions of his ASBO.

Special posters and leaflets have now been designed containing his photo, name, date of birth and the conditions of his ASBO to inform the public of his restrictions.

They will be delivered to homes and shops in and around Littlehampton to encourage people to help police the conditions by calling 999 if they witness any breaches.

Sergeant Peter Allan said: "I am pleased that the magistrates listened to the evidence presented to them and granted this Anti-Social Behaviour Order. They did so to protect the community from the behaviour displayed by Harry Braund over a long period.

“I hope also that the securing of this ASBO sends out a strong message to those who commit anti-social behaviour and those communities who are subject to it that we will use all available legislative means to provide safer communities for people to live in.”

Sussex Police Authority to decide how much you will pay for policing in Sussex this year.

A meeting of Sussex Police Authority this week will decide how much money Council Tax payers will pay in the next financial year for the policing of Sussex.

The recommended rise for 2010-11 is of 7 pence per week, per average Band D household. The Authority and Sussex Police have worked hard in making sustainable efficiency savings totalling £7.3m which has enabled the Authority to agree 31 additional Neighbourhood Policing officers.

The Chairman of Sussex Police Authority, Dr Laurie Bush, said: “The Authority is keenly aware of the pressures that Council Tax payers in Sussex face and the desire to ensure any increases are as low as possible. The Authority is also aware of the efficiency and performance improvements that the Chief Constable and the Authority has secured, and is proposing, in the policing of Sussex.

“It is therefore of great significance that despite this relatively low rise Sussex Police Authority will still be able to invest in Neighbourhood Policing Teams and tackling serious crime as well as continuing to identify efficiency savings wherever possible. We have also been able to keep to our promise to provide thirty one extra Neighbourhood Police Officers proving our commitment to responding to feedback from communities in Sussex.”

At the meeting on Thursday 11 February members of the Police Authority will hear the recommendations and will debate the outcomes of their decision. This will then form the basis of the budget for the coming financial year.

Be amongst the first to find out the decision by watching the live webcast from 2:15pm on Thursday 10 February at:

http://www.sussexpolice.ukcouncil.net/site/

or follow Sussex Police Authority on Twitter at:

https://twitter.com/sussexpa

'Informed' and 'Involved'.

'Informed' and 'Involved' are two of my most used words. I want to inform our communities about what's going on locally; what we are doing about it and explain to them how they can become involved in placing their priorities for action on the agenda.

We have many ways of keeping communities informed:

Website, Surgeries, posters, Neighbourhood Management Forums, Neighbourhood Watch messaging system, Dog Watch, various local media outlets, Farm Watch, Team Newsletter and more recently, Twitter, to name a few.

I have decided to replace our Team Newsletter with my new blog which can be found at:

http://sgtpeterallan.blogspot.com/

Why the change?

I am really proud of our Newsletter and the part it played in keeping our communities 'Informed and Involved'. I am extremely grateful for the many comments I have received about its content, thank you. I found when it came round to publication time that I was faced with difficult editorial decisions- what's in and what's out. Some pieces were new and others had been in the public domain for a number of days, if not weeks. On occasions I made decisions not to publish some features, so as to not make the finished product too long.

I see my blog bringing the benefits of the same professional look (although I am still getting my head around adding photographs and other gadgets), with news and stories being published as they happen, without waiting weeks for the next edition.

I would, at this point like to single out and thank, PC Dan Bridger who was the technical master behind putting the newsletter together in such a professional format. Thanks Dan.

Please take a look and follow me.

There is a poll contained within the blog and I would really value your views. Please take a look and cast your vote. The poll has been live on Twitter for three weeks and will close on 30th January. I shall publish the results shortly afterwards.

You can find my poll by accessing the link below or via Twitter or my blog:

http://twtpoll.com/m0cn6c

There are so many different ways for people to keep up to date. The world and technology is forever changing. I want to finish by saying that although we are making best use of the many forms of media available, they are not, should not and will not replace the locally accountable, visible and accessible police.

To find out who your local officers are you can visit our website at www.sussex.police.uk or contact your local police station. You will notice that staff's voicemail numbers have been replaced by individual mobile telephone numbers, making it easier to speak to your local officer.

Calls for immediate or prompt police assistance to an incident should continue to be made by calling 999 or 0845 60 70 999.

Thanks for your continued support. Let us know what you think about policing in your area.

Peter Allan

'Informed' and 'Involved' (I want my voice to be heard).

'Informed' and 'Involved' are my two favourite words of the moment. I would like to talk about the many ways people can do exactly that (be 'informed' and become 'involved'), and how your voice can be heard to get the things that matter to you, on the agenda.

Sussex Police have invested heavily in Neighbourhood Policing. There is a name in every neighbourhood (take a look at www.sussex.police.uk) whose role is to work with colleagues, partners and more importantly, you the communities of Littlehampton to reduce crime and anti social behaviour as well as the fear of it.

"I am too scared to go out at night."

"The window in the bus shelter keeps getting broken, crime is really bad."

"There are large gangs of rowdy youths who intimidate residents."

These are all comments that may guide how some people live their lives. From having worked in Littlehampton for nearly ten years I know that in reality they are not true. I do accept however that there are people out there who believe they are true and live their lives accordingly.

We want everyone to enjoy and feel safe in their communities. If you do not, tell us about it.

If you want your concerns placed firmly on the policing agenda you may wish to join one of our many local Neighbourhood Management Forums (NMFs).

What are they and what do they do?

An NMF meets every 8-10 weeks with a cross section of community members to discuss the issues that concern them in their communities. The concerns need not be police related, these are not police forums. Your concern may be a broken street light or the fact that an area is overgrown and full of rubbish. We work with our many partners in a great many initiatives and pieces of work across the whole District.

The group puts forward all the issues that concern them, before they vote on which are the most popular three for action. A plan is agreed as to how that action will be delivered and the community are regularly updated on progress. Although three priorities will be the thrust of the coordinated action, this does not mean that any other concerns will be ignored.

Do you know what your NMF have agreed as priorities?

Do you know what is being done about them?

Do you want to be part of the process of agenda setting?

We are actively looking to increase the representation on our forums, especially from young people. If you want to be part of the solution, please contact your local officer. You can find out who they are via our website or contacting your local police station.

Don't suffer in silence. Be part of the solution. Be 'Informed' and become 'Involved'.