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.”