Inspector Nick Pinkerton
I am glad to have the opportunity to write about local policing for “Chertsey Life” and it seems natural to first introduce you to your local policing team. As part of Runnymede Borough, Chertsey is served by Addlestone Police Office with the Neighbourhood Team and by Staines Police Station. Staines is the Divisional Headquarters which houses CID and other specialist officers. At Addlestone, we have five rotas of about 15 officers and two sergeants each who provide 24/7 uniform response policing as the Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT). These are the officers you see in marked police cars who are the first responders to incidents such as: burglaries, disorder and road traffic collisions.
We also have a Specialist Neighbourhood Team (SNT) of two sergeants and three constables with twelve Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs). The team’s role is to deal with the chronic issues which need time and most often partnership work to resolve. For instance, there was a recent rise in ASB in the Chertsey Meads area, particularly the car park area. There had been reports of cars driven anti-socially, fires, criminal damage and NOS canisters being used and drinking. The SNT carried out proactive patrols and worked with Runnymede Borough Council and the Community Safety Officer to develop long term solutions. We try our best to be proactive, to stop problems happening now and into the future.
A lot of our work is to keep vulnerable people safe. In Chertsey last month, officers found a woman wandering around late at night in slippers after locking herself out; an elderly female called 999 in a confused state fearful that there were people in her house and a drunken male was found incapable on the side of the road. These are only a few examples of how we are often the first point of contact for people who need help.
You may also have seen us making welfare checks related to the Covid-19 pandemic or working with Surrey Fire and Rescue at the Chobham Common fires scene. Fighting crime has always been central to policing, but increasingly we have a safeguarding responsibility. Often Runnymede officers are the first to come upon a situation that cannot be solved by an arrest alone.
For example, PC Clark and PCSO Street have been supporting a male identified at risk of cuckooing in Chertsey. Their investigation indicated that two people had taken over the victim’s address to use drugs and taken advantage of the occupant who is vulnerable. In such circumstances, we often go to Court to obtain a Closure Order to prevent undesirable people from being in the property. We make sure that relevant experts from partners such as: Community Mental Health, Housing Associations and the local Council work with us to keep vulnerable people safe.
If you would like daily updates on what Runnymede officers are doing, to receive information to avoid scams and make yourself more secure, look up “Runnymede Beat” on Facebook and Twitter and also “In the Know” – https://www.intheknow.community/.
Insp Nick Pinkerton.
Borough Commander Runnymede.