There was a very well attended Acocks Green South Police Tasking meeting in Lakey Lane Primary school tonight. There was some good news with a reduction of all offences in the area of 32% from February 09 to February 10. Burglary has fallen even faster, by 56%.

Other good news was that the Cresswell Road flats - facing Lakey Lane as well as Cresswell Road - were bought by a developer earlier this year and are due to be renovated and brought back into use as flats within 12 months. It will be great to get, what is currently an eyesore, back into use.

The priorities set for the coming month were:

1) Severne Road Primary School - in particular dealing with parents who drive their kids to school and are not prepared to follow the rules of the road when they drop them off. We were told that a pushchair was knocked over by one car recently.

2) Anti Social Behaviour at the junction of Nailstone Crescent and Roydon Road.

3) Anti Social Behaviour in Northanger Road.

This was the last meeting, before the Police reorganisation means their operational areas will be aligned with the Council’s Ward boundaries. This will help co-operation between council agencies and the Police and is something I’ve long argued for. However in our case it means that we will lose Tom O’Keefe - our Sergeant, who will be moving on. Tom has done a great job for the past couple of years, so I’ll be sad to see him go and wish him all the best, wherever he moves to.

I attended last night’s Acocks Green South Police Tasking meeting at Lakey Lane Primary School. As usual there was a good attendance from local residents and a variety of topics, local and general were covered. An update was given on the previous priorities (from the December meeting, as the January meeting was cancelled due to the snow) was given:

1) Anti Social Behaviour (ASB) at the top of Edenbridge Road and Lakefield Close: Action has been taken with one youth who lives in the maisonettes in this section of Edenbridge road identified. He has been interviewed by the Police and Housing have issued first stage warnings for breach of tenancy against his parents. Other youths have also been identified and referred to the Birmingham Anti Social Behaviour Unit (BASBU) with first stage warning letters sent to all. These actions have led to a significant decline in ASB in the area but a close watch on the area will be maintained for the time being.

2) Parking issues around Lakey Lane School: Officers have partrolled the area and warned parents who have broken traffic regulations. Where these warnings have not been heeded fixed penalties tickets have been issued. In addition, following an idea from a member of the public a “Alcohol Restriction Zone” notice has been bought and put up in the alleyway between Stonehaven Grove and Lakey Lane. This appears to have reduced the drink related ASB in the alleyway.

Priorities for the coming month were set as:

1) Edenbridge Road / Lakefield Close: carried forward from last month as above

2) Tibland Road: Following a recurrance of the previous sporadic ASB in this area, letters will be sent by the Council’s Housing Department setting out tenant’s obligations to keep their children under control. They will be delivered by the Police and will hopefully nip the problem in the bud before it gets any worse.

3) Northanger Road: While the problem of ASB in the area is better than before sporadic problems continue especially around the Greenwood Avenue end of Northanger Road. Attention will be paid to the area by the Police in addition to ongoing work by the Council’s Housing Department to keep the problem under control.

The good news is that crime has continued to fall in the area, with 30 fewer crimes in the period Jan 1 to 29 2010 than the same period a year ago. Within these figures the number of burglaries from homes fell from 18 to 8. However there are ongoing reports of bogus callers in the area so please keep alert to the threat these people are to the elderly and report any suspicious people to the Police.

The monthly Acocks Green South Police Tasking meeting was cancelled this month, because of the bad weather. As a result PS Tom O’Keefe has issued the following update on the priorities agreed at the December meeting:

 1. Edenbridge road at junction with Lakefield close – One of the youths who lives in maisonettes on Edenbridge has been identified as cause /  encouraging groups to hang around his address and cause nuisance, this youth is further mentioned in a number of residents calls and police stops. His address is being visited jointly with housing with view to action being taken and parents advised re tenancy. This youth and his identified associates are being sent warning letters by the Birmingham Anti Social Behaviour Unit as first stage of actions to curtail behaviour. This youth / parents will be receiving a youth intervention referral for reasons as above with a view to forcing a change in behaviour.

 2. School Parking: Lakey Lane School – Officers have been patrolling at said times (2.45 - 3.30pm) with a number of motorists / parents being advised and further fixed penalty tickets have been issued when advice has not been heeded.

Because of the cancelled meeting the priorities will remain the same for the coming month. The next meeting will be in Lakey Lane School at 7pm on Wednesday 3rd February.

I attended the Yarnfield Police Tasking meeting last night. Encouragingly it seems that anti-social behaviour, while still an issue, has declined in the estate since the last meeting. Perhaps as a result fewer residents attended than normal. The police are giving a higher priority, and more rapid response, to anti-social behaviour, and it certainly seems to be paying off.

The priorities set for the coming month were:

1. Anti social behaviour - Mayfield Road
   Local residents have raised concerns that a group of youths are engaging in anti social behaviour and criminal damage in this area.
2. Inconsiderate parking - Wetherfield Road/Tyseley Lane
   It has been reported that vehicles are being parked in an inconsiderate manner on the pavement of Wetherfield Road and close to the junction on Tyseley Lane. This is creating a problem for people using wheelchairs or pushchairs and motorists pulling off their driveways.

Last week we heard good news about crime having fallen in the past year in the Acocks Green South policing area. However Christmas is a time that attracts burglary, so I’m really keen to encourage everyone to take all the precautions they can to keep their homes and possessions safe. The top tips from the police at this time of year are:

1) Don’t leave presents on display; in particular avoid putting presents under the tree until the last possible moment.

2) If you are out at night leave a (low energy) light, radio or tv on, using a timer switch if possible.

3) If you go away ask a trusted neighbour to take in your post, close your curtains at night and leave a light on.

Please also look out for your neighbours. Offer to help with their post if they go away, and if you see them leave a door open or taking a chance in any other way, let them know. Lets do all we can to keep our neighbourhoods safe and the police as quiet as possible over the festive season.

I attended the latest meeting of the Acocks Green South Police Tasking Meeting on Wednesday evening at Lakey Lane Primary School.

New priorities set were:

1) Anti Social Behaviour at the top of Edenbridge Road (by the top of Lakefield Close)
2) Congestion around Lakey Lane Primary School caused by parking at the end of the school day

Anti Social Behaviour was reported to have declined in the priority areas set last month (Tibland Road, Thornfield Road and Northanger Road). Residents were pleased with the progress made by the neighbourhood policing team but agreed on the need to remain vigilant.

The next meeting will be held at 7pm on Wednesday 6 Jan at Lakey Lane Primary School.

The November Acocks Green South Police Tasking meeting set the following three priorities for the coming month:

• Anti-Social Behaviour in Thornfield Road
• Anti-Social Behaviour in Northanger Road
• Anti-Social Behaviour in Tibland Road

Progress has been made in tackling anti-social behaviour in the priority areas (Northanger Road, Tibland Road and Pendleton Road) identified last month, with no further ASB reported in Pendleton Road and levels of ASB in Northanger Road and Tibland Road having declined.

The next meeting will be at Lakey Lane Primary School on Wednesday 2nd December at 7pm.

The most positive aspect of this afternoon’s Full Council meeting was the new Chief Constable of West Midlands Police, Chris Sims, coming along to present to the meeting.

Its a welcome sign of increasing co-operation between the Police and the Council, after years when the old Chief Constable wouldnt attend Full Council meetings, even when invited. He cited official rules, but thankfully they dont seem to get in the way of our new Chief Constable’s desire to get involved in discussing the issues of the day with the Council.

Mr Sims has also helped co-operation by agreeing to align police boundaries with the Council’s Ward boundaries. This may seem a minor point, but it was a real pain having 2 sets of police management to engage with - as we did in Acocks Green, as the boundary between two of the old Police Command Units (OCUs) ran along Olton Boulevard, cutting the Ward in two. Many other Councillors across the City were in the same boat.

From next April the new Police Command Unit Areas will run along Council Constituency Boundaries, so no Councillor will have two OCUs in their Ward. Its a sign that Mr Sims’ actions are in line with his positive words about working more closely with local communities and their representatives. May it long continue.

West Midlands Police have launched a massive operation in “lawless areas” of Birmingham where high numbers of motorists drive without tax, insurance or licences. The two-week zero tolerance initiative will prosecute and fine illegal drivers in Sparkbrook, Sparkhill and those using the Stratford Road.

Insp. Sally Seeley from the Sparkhill neighbourhood team said “Lawless would not be too strong an expression to describe a lot of drivers in these areas. We have given repeated warnings, but nothing seems to sink in, so now we are going in the front foot.”

Police will also be targetting drivers talking on their mobile phones as they pass through the area, illegal parking and taxi cabs that are either unlicenced or unroadworthy.

Police say that much of the impetus for the operation comes from local schoolteachers, residents and businesses. I hope they are right as such support will be important if it is to be successful. It will be interesting to whether the scheme works and if it does, whether they decide to roll it out into other parts of Birmingham.