ARTHRITIS CARE GRAYSHOTT JUNE 5^th

MEETING

A large group of members filled the Village Hall for the June meeting at which PCSO Jim Leggatt was to be the guest speaker – albeit 8 months late as he was due to speak to us in October but was sent off to attend an unexploded wartime bomb on the south coast.

Opening the meeting Chairman Sybil Saunders welcomed the return of several members after ill health with special mention for Cliff Williams whose recovery had proved to be a very long and difficult journey.

Police Community Support Office Jim Leggatt is responsible for community policing in Headley and Grayshott and is a civilian employed by the Hampshire Constabulary to deal with community issues that the police really don’t have time for – think back – how long is it since you actually saw a ‘Bobby’ on the beat!

Police officers sometimes spend as little as 20% of their time out of the Station but officers like Jim spend around 80% of their time on ‘accessible patrol’

Jim’s talk about his work proved to be one of the most interesting we have had for a long time – working in the community he is able to get to know many people and deal with a variety of community issues which are very important to residents. Often he can subdue a group of noisy young people, taking away their alcohol and cigarettes if they are under age is very effective! And just ‘being there’ on a visible patrol is enough in many cases to keep anti social behaviour to a minimum.

If a more serious crime does occur his local knowledge can often help to track down the culprit and by visiting schools, youth clubs and cubs etc he can get to know the youngsters and they him before they reach an age where problems might occur. Many people will report incidents to him which they wouldn’t bother a regular policeman with and this all helps make our area a pleasant place to live.

After talking about his role Jim invited questions and there were many! We learnt from his answers that he works a 10 week rolling shift pattern up to midnight, which means that the undesirables are never quite sure when he is going to show up in Headley or Grayshott. The training is 5 weeks intensive training at a police centre and 5 week tutoring with a PCSO and in fact Jim brought with him Lynn Anderson who is nearing the end of her tutoring period and will shortly be out on her own in the Farnborough area.

We learnt about his powers of arrest, how he can call on the police for back up in an emergency and the fact that the responsibility a PCSO has is at the discretion of their local Chief Constable within set guidelines, In Hampshire they are given very wide powers less so in Surrey. When the new toilet block is finished in the village Jim will have an office there which will make him even more accessible.

At the end of the afternoon Jim and Lynn joined the very appreciative audience for a cup of tea and sandwiches.

PLEASE REMEMBER THE MEETING ON JULY 3^RD IS OUR SUMMER BUFFET LUNCH AND IS AT 12.00 FOR 12.30. Tickets must be bought in advance from Shirley (01428 643625)