Serious Violence Archives - Office of the Police & Crime Commissioner for Surrey

A partnership initiative to improve safety in Redhill has resulted in 54 arrests along with the recovery of drugs, cash and knives.

Surrey Police’s targeted activity is part of a comprehensive community plan to reduce crime and help foster pride in the town centre.

Earlier this year, Surrey Police, Reigate & Banstead Borough Council, the Police and Crime Commissioner and YMCA East Surrey announced they had joined forces with local partners to address crime and anti-social behaviour in Redhill.

This action followed a survey for residents and visitors to the town which highlighted community concerns around anti-social behaviour (ASB), drugs, shoplifting and violent crime.

Over the past six months, partners have been developing and implementing measures to reduce crime in Redhill. The project adopts the College of Policing’s ‘Clear, Hold, Build’ framework, which brings together police, partners and the community to disrupt serious and organised crime and importantly, sustain a reduction in criminal behaviour.

This is a three-phased approach where targeted disruptions aim to ‘clear’ offenders from Redhill, followed by sustained intervention to ‘hold’ the area free from crime. The ‘build’ phase focuses on preventative work, driven by the community, to address the root causes of ASB and crime in the town.

As part of this initiative, Surrey Police is conducting proactive operations within Redhill to target and remove criminals operating in the town. This is some of the police activity that has taken place over the past two months:

54 arrests for offences including drugs, drink driving, assault, shoplifting, going equipped for burglary and immigration offences.
20 people charged and 39 community resolutions for lower-level offences.
200+ searches with 26 drug seizures, along with the recovery of £17,700 in cash and seven knives.
Joint operations at Redhill train station with British Transport Police and rail enforcement officers to target county lines drug dealing.
Night-time patrols of the town centre with plain clothed behaviour detection officers to identify suspicious or predatory behaviour.
Work with local businesses to conduct days of action focused on stopping shoplifters.
11 joint licensing visits with Reigate and Banstead Borough Council to support premises in keeping patrons safe.
Patrols of the surrounding road network to disrupt criminals and target driving offences.
Regular community engagement in the town centre and with local schools.

Reigate and Banstead Borough Commander Inspector Jon Vale said: “This initiative is about reducing crime in Redhill for the long-term.

“Surrey remains the fourth safest county in the UK, but from speaking with residents, we know there are concerns about specific patterns of behaviour within the town.

“It’s important that we are challenging all levels of criminality, as often it can be through disrupting offences such as anti-social behaviour and shoplifting we can see the links, and look to prevent, serious and organised crime in the area.

“The increase in arrests reflects the targeted operations taking place in Redhill and I want to reassure residents that it’s this activity that is helping us to identify and root out criminal behaviour.

Crime crackdown

“The collaborative effort from partners and the community has been fantastic, and the sustained work on measures within the community I hope will have a lasting impact.”

Safer Redhill is supported by funding secured through the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, including £265,000 of Safer Streets funding and £58,000 from the Community Safety Fund.

Surrey Police is working closely with Reigate and Banstead Borough Council and YMCA East Surrey to implement some of the measures made possible through this funding which support the ‘hold’ and ‘build’ phase of the project, such as a new youth bus.

Council leader Councillor Richard Biggs said: “It’s exciting to be part of Safer Redhill, which is bringing partners together to take pride in the town centre and make sure everyone can enjoy the many great things Redhill has to offer safely.

Dozens of arrests

“Our community safety, enforcement, licencing and cleansing teams are all working closely with the police and YMCA youth workers to address both the causes and effects of anti-social behaviour and crime.

“The response from local businesses, the Redhill Business Guild and community organisations has been amazing.

“My thanks go to all involved in this project and I want to encourage people living in or visiting Redhill to get involved too and report any concerns they may have.”

Surrey’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Lisa Townsend, joined officers in Redhill on Thursday to observe an operation to target shoplifting in the town.

‘Redhill is a hostile place for criminals’

She said: “Our local police teams are working incredibly hard to ensure Redhill is a hostile place for criminals, so I am delighted to see this the impact this targeted action is having in the town.

“Initiatives like Clear, Hold, Build show just how important close partnership working is for agencies to identify problems and tackle them effectively them for the benefit of our local communities.

“I know that anti-social behaviour, violence, drug dealing and shoplifting have been key issues that have blighted the town centre and we are determined to drive this sort of criminality out of Redhill.

“I hope the sustained activity will continue to make the area a safer place for local residents and help restore pride in where they live.”

A FUNDING BOOST of £1million to combat anti-social behaviour (ASB) and serious violence in hotspots across Surrey has been welcomed by Police and Crime Commissioner Lisa Townsend.

The money from the Home Office will help increase police presence and visibility in locations across the county where issues are identified and tackle violence and ASB with powers including stop and search, public space protection orders and closure notices.

It’s part of a £66m package from government that will begin in April, after trials in counties including Essex and Lancashire cut ASB by as much as half.

While neighbourhood crime in Surrey remains low, the Commissioner said she was listening to residents who identified ASB, burglary and drug-dealing as top priorities in a joint series of ‘Policing your Community’ events with Surrey Police this winter.

Concerns about visible policing and drug use also featured among the 1,600 comments that she received in her Council tax survey; with over half of respondents selecting ASB as a key area they wanted Surrey Police to focus on in 2024.

In February, the Commissioner set the amount that residents will pay to help fund Surrey Police in the year ahead, saying that she wanted to support the Chief Constable’s Plan to tackle issues that matter most to local people, improve crime outcomes and drive out drug dealers and shoplifting gangs as part of major crime fighting operations.

Surrey remains the fourth safest county in England and Wales and Surrey Police lead dedicated partnerships for reducing ASB and tackling the root causes of serious violence. Those partnerships include Surrey County Council and local borough councils, health and housing agencies so that problems can be tackled from multiple angles.

Police and Crime Commissioner walking through graffiti covered tunnel with two male police officers from the local team tackling anti-social behaviour in Spelthorne

Anti-social behaviour is sometimes viewed as ‘low level’, but persistent problems are often linked to a bigger picture that includes serious violence and the exploitation of the most vulnerable people in our community.

The Force and Commissioner’s office are focused on the support that is available to victims of ASB in Surrey, that includes help from Mediation Surrey and the dedicated Surrey Victim and Witness Care Unit that are funded by the Commissioner.

Her office also plays a key role in the ASB Case Review process (formerly known as ‘Community Trigger’) that gives residents that have reported a problem three or more times over a six-month period the power to bring different organisations together to find a more permanent solution.

Sunny photo of Police and Crime Commissioner Lisa Townsend speaking to local Surrey Police officers on their bikes on the Woking canal path

Police and Crime Commissioner Lisa Townsend said: “Protecting people from harm and ensuring people feel safe are key priorities in my Police and Crime Plan for Surrey.

“I am delighted that this money from the Home Office will directly boost the response to those issues that local residents have told me are the most important to them where they live, including reducing ASB and taking drug dealers off our streets.

“People in Surrey regularly tell me that they want to see our police officers in their local community so I am really pleased that these extra patrols will also raise the visibility of those officers that are already working every day to protect our communities.

“Surrey remains a safe place to live and the Force is now the biggest it has ever been. Following the feedback from our communities this winter – this investment will be a fantastic complement to the work that my office and Surrey Police are doing to improve the service that the public receive.”

Chief Constable for Surrey Police Tim De Meyer said: “Hotspot policing cuts crime through highly visible policing and strong law enforcement in the areas that need it most.  It is proven to tackle problems such as anti-social behaviour, violence and drug dealing.  We will use technology and data to identify hotspots and target these with the traditional policing that we know people want to see.  I am sure that people will notice improvements and I look forward to reporting our progress in fighting crime and protecting people.