Shirebrook Crime statistics 2021+2022
All the data presented below have been taken from www.police.uk Before we dive into details- what you see in the lead picture is one of the first CCTV cameras installed by STC. The system is still under construction, and many more cameras are waiting to be installed. That is one good news, but I have many more good news in this article. So sit down, relax- this time S247 is full of hope, joy and overall good vibes.
Let me anticipate the facts and announce in advance that the tables, charts and spreadsheet screens below show a much-anticipated change in the trend of the general crime level in our town. This shift came a few months after the historic elections in May 2021, when Derbyshire residents decided to replace the Police and Crime Commissioner selected from the Labour Party list and trusted their safety to Conservative Party candidate Angelique Foster.
2021- CAN WE GET BACK TO LIFE, PLEASE??
We will remember 2021 as the year of recovery from the Pandemic. However, after almost a year at home, people have rediscovered that meeting others is not always as nice as we remember. As you can see in the table showing the number of recorded crimes in the main population centres in our region – in 2021, Shirebrook was still the town with the highest crime rate in the region.
I can only guess that during the first months of her work, the new PCC spent loads of time cleaning up the mess left behind by the previous PCC. During the last months of Labour PCC and three months right after the election, we have seen an exponential increase in crime. Labour PCC seems to be more involved in the election campaign than in his job. The new PCC quickly moved into her new role, but no matter how hard you work in a new place- you need time to adjust and learn. She quickly announced that she plans to change the PCC Office’s approach to fighting crime. A few months after taking the helm, Angelique Foster announced a new policing strategy for rural areas that were not included in the PCC strategy before. Rural crime is a type of crime that affects us the most. Creating a new platform and establishing new ways to fight crime that so far went under the radar was, for me, like a light in the tunnel.
All of this coincided with the arrival of the new police officers to Shirebrook, promised by PM Boris Johnson before the 2019 election. I was, therefore, personally looking to the future with hope. However, I knew it would take some time to turn the ship “Shirebrook” from its collision course with the crime iceberg.
2022- CAN WE GO BACK HOME, PLEASE?
This year, the “grace period” for Angelique Foster has ended. Everyone expected and demanded results. Pressure on PCC grew. Many doubted that the introduced changes in the strategy and the sound management of funds (PCC grants for tacking ASB) would finally start to transfer into effect. We are halfway through the year now, so we can look at the data and predict more or less how we will end up this year. So what is the crime rate in the first quarters of 2022? Here is the table:
TADAAAAAA!!!!
Not only are we not in first place in terms of crime. We have dropped to third place-the first time since I have drawn up comparisons. That’s not all. If you compare the last few months of Labour Party PCCs with a similar period of Conservative Party PCC, you can’t help but notice that crime was lower in each of those months!!!
Angelique Foster has corrected the course of our “ship” towards safe waters, and now is the time to shout “FULL AHEAD!”
FULL AHEAD! ALL HANDS ON DECK!
When everything is going according to plan, it is the most suitable time to start planning the next steps. One of the points of my election manifesto in 2019, 2020(cancelled and moved to 2021) and 2021 was to force STC to build CCTV. Here is the proof, an excerpt from my 2019 election leaflet:
In 2021 Labour-led STC spent more than a quarter of the million pounds on “leisure” and zero pounds on crime prevention. Labour still take Shirebrook for granted, but there is a noticeable shift in the behaviour of Labour Councillors. Between 2013 right up to my first try to get into STC- there was not a single investment from BDC in Shirebrook. A year and four months since I started a political battle from inside of STC against Labour “do-nothings” in Shirebrook:
we have CCTV;
we have better worded and prepared minutes from meetings;
we have a chance for a multimillion investment in Crematorium;
there are talks about refurbishment works at Market Square;
we have never seen better transparency of STC actions;
we have several FOI data dumps showing how mismanaged STC was up till now;
we paid back debt after years of hiding it and rolling at the cost of thousands of pounds.
All that thanks to ONE councillor out of the usual “clique” who was able to apply the right amount of political pressure at the right place.
If I lose the election in May 2023 and leave STC – I will leave my town in a better state than I found it when I joined STC. I am immensely proud of what I have achieved so far, but I also recognise how much work remains to be done.
CCTV? DONE! WHAT’S NOW?
One of my main goals has just been achieved. So what’s next? Now there are two things to work on. First, we need to identify the remaining high crime risk areas in our town in consultation with the police and begin preparations for expanding the monitoring system currently under construction in Shirebrook.
I declare that Shirebrook should have security cameras on EVERY ENTRANCE ROAD to the town. In this way, we would scare off all criminals who come to us in search of loot: drug mules, drug dealers, burglars, and thieves. I am 100% sure that this would positively impact further reducing crime.
At the same time – we need to revive the idea I wrote about over a year ago: “Bolsover District CCTV Partnership”. We need to call out councillors from other Parish Councils and coordinate the construction of the headquarters to which all the CCTV cameras in our local Councils will be connected. All councils that would like to join this project would have to finance the construction of their CCTV network themselves and decide to pay an annual fee that would be used to pay for staff costs, space rental and other costs. Some time ago, after I presented this idea at an STC meeting, there was a rumour in our district’s political corridors that the BDC was probing for such an idea.
BDC is completely controlled by the “heroes” of the Shirebrook Labor Party: Fritchley, Kane, Peake and Dowes. Some of them (Peake, for example) wear more than ten “hats” (sit on three different councils and several committees). I am sure the political forces of the BDC “don’t have time” to take this project seriously.
It took six years for these people to build the most straightforward system in Shirebrook. Something as complicated as a Partnership will probably take them a decade or longer. Hence – even before this article’s publication- I started looking for allies in other councils who, like me, see the potential offered by close monitoring of high-risk sites. I will raise this issue at the STC meeting if I am successful.
Finally, like the icing on the cake – a small chart with an arrow lowering the level in the direction that satisfies every good person.
STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
All the data I presented above is a massive success for the police and the PCC – for the first time since I started collecting data on crime (2017), the rate began to decline. It is also a success for the Shirebrook residents. They went to the election booth, took responsibility, and rejected someone they weren’t happy with. They gave a chance to someone new, hoping that something would change. So far, it looks like the residents have made the right choice. We should all keep our fingers crossed for Angelique Foster and the police officers from our police station to make this new trend last as long as possible!
I don’t want to toot my own horn, and I won’t. In this case- I don’t deserve any praise. All I did was put political pressure on the Labour-led STC. From this point, I must emphasise that CCTV is mainly the “child” of Cllr Brian Murray-Carr. It is the responsibility of all present and future councillors to build the next floors on the foundation created by the hard work of BMC.
THIS IS JUST A BEGINNING
With each month in the position of PCC- Angelique Foster gains more experience and knowledge. She will get better every month. So are the new police officers who joined the ranks of the Shirebrook police station. Every day they will gain knowledge, gain new experiences and skills, and be better aware of the specifics of our region. I know it from experience. When I got into STC, I was completely green and confused, but today I notice more and more often that I am starting to feel more confident in the Chamber.
Even though I have not received any induction or training on the rights, duties and specifics of a councillor’s work to this day, it seems to me that my effectiveness is increasing. Nevertheless, it is a pity that Labor-led BDC ignores the potential of better-trained employees (in this case, councillors). It is apparently in someone’s interest that the “new/young” councillors know as little as possible.
Sylwester Zwierzynski info@shirebrook247.com
