Town council and MP fighting for greater police presence in Leighton Buzzard

Following a motion passed on January 25, the council is seeking the assistance of Mr Selous to organise an online meeting with Minister of State for Policing and the Fire Service, Kit Malthouse, to represent their concerns over the current policing situation.

Up to three town councillors will attend the meeting and present a number of key aims, which include: a policing plan for the town with a local consultation, new increased space for a policing base close to the town centre, and “an adequate allocation of Leighton Buzzard-based officers to produce improved police response times, commencing with an increase in dedicated policing of four hours in respect of the night- time economy on Friday and Saturday nights”.

Conservative leader Cllr Steve Jones said: “I was very pleased that the motion was passed unanimously.

“I hope that Leighton Buzzard can have some form of public-facing office - somewhere where they can interview local people and have a physical presence; at the moment people have to travel to Luton or Bedford for an interview, or officers visit will visit people’s houses, meaning fewer officers out in town on the beat.

“There are concerns in the community - particularly, the trouble [pre-pandemic] with Friday and Saturday nightlife was that the response time was too slow. By the time police arrived, the trouble makers had disappeared somewhere else.

“The police are doing what they can. But it would be good to have an increased presence, particularly after midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.”

He added: “The Leighton Buzzard Community Policing team’s move to the fire station was good to a certain extent, as it’s in town, but they work from a small Portacabin. If a member of the public visits, they are unlikely to find anyone there as the small team will be out and about.

“I have nothing against the local policing team, who are doing an excellent job. We know that operational policing is the responsibility of the chief constable; but given population expansion it needs to be revisited.”

A report written by Lib Dem councillor Steve Owen was presented on January 25 and detailed a recent virtual meeting on November 18 with 10 councillors, council officers, Mr Selous, and Chief Constable Gary Forsyth.

Mr Selous had raised his concerns about night-time policing and cited complaints made to him by licensed trade managers, and taxi-drivers, and other businesses. He also argued that with overall growth in police numbers an even greater number of police should be based in the town.

Meanwhile, the councillors highlighted their concerns about the “cramped premises” next to the fire station in Lake Street, arguing that it did not give sufficient space for a public enquiry point or a functioning Community Hub.

Talking to the LBO, Cllr Owen claimed: “The meeting didn’t go particularly well in the sense that Andrew Selous said ‘this [the policing situation] is not going well’, and the town councillors and myself said ‘things are not going great’. But the answers from the chief constable were essentially that he thought policing in the town was fine.

“I said, ‘Chief constable, you don’t seem to be listening. People around you aren’t happy’.

“He wasn’t disposed to spending any more money improving the location - the broom cupboard [the police base at the Leighton Buzzard fire station].”

Cllr Owen also claimed that since the sale of Leighton Buzzard police station to Central Bedfordshire Council in 2016, PCC Kathryn Holloway had “failed in her promise to provide visible policing in Leighton Buzzard”.

He now hopes that, together, the town council and Andrew Selous MP can set the wheels in motion for change.

Commenting on the January 25 meeting, he added: “I am pleased that it was passed unanimously. It shows the strength of feeling of councillors about the lack of response we’re getting over policing.

“I certainly think they [the aims] are achievable. The chief constable will immediately say the problem is that you have got to make the choice between having police officers on the ground or having buildings, but when I was on the police authority, we achieved both. I can recall very clearly when we decided to have an increase of 80 officers in the county and to spend one-and-a half million on the refurbishment of the [Leighton Buzzard] police station in 1992.

“We have not heard from the chief constable since [November 18]. I don’t think he sees it as a priority to have a dialogue with the community.

“I think if we are going to get what we want, we may need a new chief constable, one who is prepared to listen to people.”

Mr Selous said: “Policing in the town remains a huge concern of mine, notwithstanding the great work done by the police officers which we have.

“The town has grown considerably and yet we have many fewer officers based in it than in the past. More officers are being recruited and police budgets are rising, although we still have a funding formula that does not reflect the severity of crime in Bedfordshire. I have been working with the police to encourage more reporting by the public and more feedback on that reporting by the police.”

Responding to the council and Mr Selous, Bedfordshire Police Chief Constable Garry Forsyth told the LBO that community policing “is extremely important”.

He said: “I understand that people want dedicated officers and visible policing in their towns and villages.

“However, we do need to balance that with also being able to respond to the biggest threat of risk and harm in our county.

“We are dealing with an increasing number of incidents, more complex issues and new pressures, including Covid-19 demands.

“While we are responding to these challenges, we have continued to work hard to ensure all of our community teams are fully resourced, and those officers are carrying out a fantastic job supporting the specific needs of each area and responding to local issues.”

He added the way people were interacting with the police was changing, with 8,000 visits to the force’s online reporting centre in December.

“Working with our communities remains of the utmost importance to us and with a fully populated and dedicated community team in the area we will continue to tackle these local issues together,” he said.

Police and Crime Commissioner Kathryn Holloway said: “Leighton Buzzard has the highest level of community policing that it has had in recent memory.

“I committed to the creation of a Community Policing Hub of a sergeant, PCs and PCSOs and a shared inspector when becoming PCC.

“The fact that so many of this team are known by name and in person by so many of our town councillors, and especially by the local MP, shows how high an impact they have had on problem solving in the town with notable successes.

“Before I become PCC there was no community policing to speak of anywhere in the county as this had been stripped out as a cost cutting measure.”

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