Little Gaddesden –November 2016
November 2016 crime & ASB figures*
Offence / No. in parish / No. in DacorumDwelling Burglary / 0 / 33
Burglary Other / 0 / 51
Criminal Damage / 0 / 118
Vehicle Crime / 0 / 141
Anti-Social Behaviour* / 0 / 273
*ASB is not defined as ‘crime’ however it has been included in this table for your information as it can affect the wider community and we (police) are jointly responsible with local councils for dealing with it. Recordable ASB includes neighbour disputes and noise nuisance, as well as issues such as regular rowdy behaviour in public places.
Further details/other crime
I am pleased to say that there has been no recorded crime in the Little Gaddesden area in November. However, there is on-going concern regarding deer poaching on the Ashridge estate. Police are conducting investigations and are working with Ashridge estate management and Anglo Deer Management. If you are concerned about suspicious activity please do call police so that we can follow up any leads.
Please make sure that sheds and outbuildings are securely locked, valuable items hidden or covered from view and locked or immobilised within the building. Please consider marking items such they can be identified and make a note of make model and any serial numbers.
Every year police recover large amounts of lost or stolen items that cannot be returned to their owners because there is no way of identifying them.
Please consider registering valuables for free at this is an easy way of recording items from jewellery to bikes such that if lost or stolen and recovered they can be identified and returned.
For more details on crime in your area please visit. Enter a postcode to see the ‘crime map’ for the local area.
Visit for crime prevention advice or call your local PCSO Lee Clements via the 101 non-emergency number or 07740745169.
OWL Neighbourhood watch
We are still recruiting and would invite any resident of the parish to sign up and receive messages from the police about what’s going on the area. All we need to sign you up is an email address and/or telephone number and you can start to receive information.
To sign up to OWL or for more information please email
Police Surgery
A police surgery will take place outside the shop/Post Office in Little Gaddesden onThursday, December 22between noon and 12.30pm.
Useful information
You can follow your local team on Twitter @BerkoPolice
Little Gaddesden Parish Council area is covered by Police beat code D2E. The allocated officer for that area from the Safer Neighbourhood Team is PCSO Lee Clements.
Visit where you can find the latest police and crime news, crime prevention advice and people wanted by police.
Police non-emergency number 101. (In an emergency always use 999).
Contact Crimestoppersanonymously with information about crime on 0800 555 111.
Sergeant’s message
November was a busy month supporting the council, Rotary Club and British Legion with Bonfire night, Remembrance Sunday parade and the Festival of Lights. It has been, as always, a lovely experience to work closely with local residents who volunteer their time and energy to make these events look and run as well as they do. I know that there is a tremendous amount of time and effort put into making these events successful to the benefit of the town. It has been good to see the volume of local residents supporting and enjoying these events, and to have time to meet and speak with many of you.
Last month I reported that there had been a spree of thefts from motor vehicles. Whilst two people were arrested and are currently on bail with conditions not to enter Berkhamsted, there have been a further 13 thefts from vehicles this month. The vehicles currently being targeted are, in the main, for power tools or opportunist where valuables have been left on display. This is a crime pattern currently being seen across the surrounding areasand we are working with Thames Valley and Bedfordshire Police to reduce the impact of this crime. I would urge everyone to consider what they are leaving in their vehicles, especially in the run up to Christmas. If you see anyone acting suspiciously around vehicles please contact police. Always dial 999 if you see a crime in progress.
There have been a number of arrests made in relation to shoplifting in the town, resulting in two offenders being placed in prison on remand until after Christmas and a further two charged to court and banned from the relevant stores. In total, eight shoplifting offences have been attributable to suspects caught by police. The Safer Neighbourhood Team will be out over the Christmas period in the town in plain clothes and uniform to try and prevent these offences from happening.
There has also been theft of a collection tin at St Peters Church on November 14. If you know anything about this please call 101 quoting crime ref D2/16/1089. In addition, the cross (pictured) has been taken from St. Marys Church. It could have been taken anytime between March and July.
The Christmas period is a time to be extra vigilant in relation to your own and neighbours properties. Please secure your home before leaving it and do not leave valuable items on display. If you have any concerns please visit the Hertfordshire Constabulary website, where there is lots of advice and a self-assessment checklist.
I wish you all a merry and safe Christmas whatever you may be doing.
Sgt Adele Hopkin
Berkhamsted and Tring Safer Neighbourhood Team
Police and Crime Commissioner Message
Sometimes you forget just how big Hertfordshire is, but when you spend a day driving around it you soon realise its real size. I did just that recently, when I spent a day crossing the county visiting all 10 districts promoting my new Community Safety and Criminal Justice Plan. We covered 150 miles and made 15 visits, mainly to key stakeholders and partners to discuss themes from the new plan which is currently in its consultation period until January 16th, 2017.
By law I have to produce a plan within the first year of being elected as PCC. This is the third version of the strategy, called ‘Everybody’s Business’. It’s named this, because I think we all have a responsibility to help keep our beautiful county safe, and I was pleased to meet so many people doing just that.
An early morning drive along misty roads took me to the village of Little Gaddesden in Dacorum, where a Speed Indication Device has recently been installed through the Road Safety Fund.
I had a chance after that to meet with the new Governor at the Mount Prison in Bovingdon. I want local people to have a greater say in how offenders are managed and I’m proposing local oversight of how rehabilitation works in Hertfordshire. A quick car journey through Watford into South Oxhey and I had a quick chat with one of the projects, called ‘ You Can,’ which help adults with complex needs – people who can often end up in contact with the police, but with the help of projects like this, can be given the support to transform their lives.
In a visit to Kingfisher Court, in Radlett which is run by the Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (HPFT), I met the managing director, Sandra Brookes. The Trust provides mental health services in Hertfordshire and we work very closely with them around providing support for people in mental health crisis, to whom the police are often asked to respond. We have a proud record in Hertfordshire of not putting such people in police cells and Kingfisher Court provides a superb health-based facility where the appropriate care can be provided. We are also working with the Trust on expanding street triage services across Hertfordshire where police and mental health professionals respond jointly to people in crisis.
I then travelled into St Albans and visited the local Fire Station. An important part of my Community Safety and Criminal Justice Plan is to improve the ways in which blue light services work together so we can provide a better service to the public. I met fire fighters to discuss the work they are already doing to improve community safety and the opportunities we have for the future.
Staying in St Albans, I paid a brief visit to the Crown Court. A major new focus of my second term in office will be on the criminal justice system and particularly how it can provide a better service to victims. There are too many delays and inefficiencies at the moment and I want to encourage all the agencies involved to work more closely together to tackle some of the problems.
I visited the University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield, to speak about the partnership work we do there, particularly around restorative justice and then moved on to Welwyn Garden City to visit Beacon, Hertfordshire’s victim care centre. While there I met staff who have been doing brilliant work in supporting many thousands of people since I launched this service 18 months ago. I now want to build on the success of Beacon and expand the range of services it can provide.
My journey continued to Stevenage to visit BeNCH Community Rehabilitation Services (CRC) and the National Probation Service, to discuss ways of working more closely together to reduce re-offending. We need to make sure offenders get the right support and supervision so that they are not drawn back into criminal behaviour.
Another purpose of this engagement day was to highlight my commitment to protecting local policing, and I saw a great example of this in Hitchin when I met Chief Inspector Julie Wheatley at the local police station. Julie is one of 10 Chief Inspectors running local policing teams in each borough and district in Hertfordshire. They are all committed to providing an excellent policing service in their local patch and because they are local, they can be accountable and visible to their local community for how they do it. Next it was on to East Herts and a local business which is doing its part to promote community safety. Insurance brokers, Daines Kapp in Ware, have signed up to my Employer Supported Policing scheme which encourages people to join the Special Constabulary by ensuring they are given some additional paid leave each year to do policing duties.
I then found time for a meeting with local councillors in Hertford before moving on to see a further example of the success of our volunteering strategy in action when I met the local Volunteer Police Cadet group in Turnford.
My whirlwind tour concluded in Watford where I took a look at its thriving night time economy and some of the policing challenges it poses.
It was a long day but a very rewarding one and a reminder not only of what a great place Hertfordshire is in which to live and work, but of the great people who are doing their bit to keep it that way.
My draft plan is now out for consultation and I want to know what your views are on it. I urge you to have your say and share your comments through the online survey on the PCC website You can also send your comments to or by letter to the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire, 15 Vaughan Road, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 4GZ by 16th January 2017.
Finally, I would like to finish by wishing you and your families a very peaceful Christmas and a happy and healthy 2017.
David Lloyd
Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire
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