Notes from Pc Bradley Community Beat Manager.

On August 18^th I will have moved on to a new post within the force.

Firstly I have to say that I have enjoyed my past 4 ½ years as community beat manager for Cambourne. I have met a lot of very nice people and a lot of people with the community of Cambourne at heart.

I appreciate that there have been some problems in the village and I am sure that there will continue to be challenges for all of us.

From my dealings with members of all the services in Cambourne, there is little doubt that a lot of people are working very hard to make Cambourne the village most people want it to be.

There is still a lot of hard work to be done and although there are lots of services and support agencies in the village working hard, some of them need help and I would urge anyone who has some time on their hands to offer their services to the youth and the people organising events and clubs for the village.

I would also urge anyone who is interested in engaging in neighbourhood watch to contact Eric Spoelstra at Histon Police station on 0845 456 4564, with new houses and streets developing all the time, it is a good way of getting to know your neighbours and helping each other out.

My biggest ask to help the new officer in Cambourne would be to report everything. I know that some people will say “what’s the point the police won’t do anything” but with the recent complaints we received about anti-social behaviour it is apparent that when researching this type of problem at a later date it is difficult to judge the extent of problems without them being reported. I would urge anyone to report incidents and give a statement if necessary to take action against anyone who wishes to spoil the village but if you really cannot do that, an anonymous report is better than none at all. With the inception shortly of neighbourhood panels which will give those villages within the neighbourhood the opportunity of bidding for the police to deal with issues in their own village, documentary evidence of the problems support your claim.

I have found that in general things that are nipped in the bud get a much better reaction than those that are left to fester, sometimes an amicable chat with the person you are having problems with has an acceptable outcome for everyone.

Please do not give the criminals an opportunity to make you a victim, secure your property and outbuildings and consider other deterrents such as lighting and gates rather than waiting to be a victim and taking up the advice “after the horse has bolted”

There will always be the few that spoil it but in general I have found the youths in the village very well behaved and it is a shame that some have to engage in anti-social behaviour. Some of which, in my experience do not live in Cambourne. If you have young children or teenagers please be mindful as to where they are in the evenings and not just accept that they are staying round a friends house. I speak from experience when we visit parents to advice them that their drunken son/daughter has been taken to hospital and the parents are not sure where they are supposed to be. I hasten to add that this is not necessarily an issue for Cambourne alone.

I have been contacted regarding the lakes in Cambourne by the wildlife trust, who are concerned about youngsters swimming in the lakes. I appreciate that the weather has been very hot and the temptation is there but there are hidden dangers within the lakes and this must be appreciated.

Finally, I would like to express my thanks to all those who have supported me over the last few years. There are too many to name and I am sure that they will continue to support both the new Community beat manager and John Bunyan who is now in post as the community support officer.

There is an answer phone system set up in the neighbourhood office at Histon where non urgent messages can be left for the team. The non emergency number for Cambridgeshire Police is 0845 456 4564.

Goodbye and again many thanks.

Chris Bradley

Pc 1030