Today, all councillors received this letter from the most Senior Police Officer in Bath & North East Somerset:

Dear Colleague

Total crime reduction -8.6% compared to last year
Crime detection 36.4%
Customer satisfaction 85.5%

The recent discovery of Melanie Hall’s body was a shock to us all and our heartfelt sympathy goes out to her family. I had reason to spend most of a day with Mr and Mrs Hall as we dealt with the press conferences that followed the discovery of remains on the slip road just off the M5. I was overwhelmed with the great dignity in which they managed the very difficult intrusion of the media into their world yet again. Their sense of purpose in ensuring that the right messages came out which stood the greatest chance of causing someone to make that one phone call necessary for a breakthrough in the case was self evident. I thought they both spoke with emotion and very eloquently in what must have been very difficult circumstances. I know the investigative team are working as hard as they can and the recent BBC Crimewatch programme focused heavily on the case. Our local attention has been a focus on the fact that someone still in the Bath area must know something and now is the time to come forward. The Bath Chronicle has had some excellent articles which have been very supportive of the investigation. Let us hope that the one piece of information needed emerges to enable us to find Melanie’s killer.

We also received notable publicity in relation to a case were it was alleged that 35 officers had attended a house and sprayed a large number of party goers with CS spray including a 12 yr old girl in order to arrest a man. We have received a complaint which unfortunately prevents us from putting our side of the story forward. This seems very unfair especially as the story printed was a long way from the truth and lacked a balanced perspective. I wish I had 35 officers to deploy all at once!!

On a better note we had an excellent result in relation to a distraction burglary. These crimes are particularly nasty as they prey on the vulnerability of the elder by usually pretending to be an official person gaining entry to a person’s house on a false pretence and then distracting that person whilst they or an accomplice steal. The act itself is often bad enough but the impact on elderly people’s lives can be significant. We fit what is called a ‘memo cam’ to the front doors of people who have been a victim to help to protect them from being a victim for a second time. These devices take a picture of people calling at the door. On this occasion a memo cam had been fitted on a victim’s home and a man came to the house and again tricked the elderly person and stole from them. The memo cam activated and as a result we had a good quality picture of the person who didn’t take too long to find and has now been charged and remanded in custody. Catching these unpleasant and nasty people is always a major success.

In Bath City centre we have commenced our build up to Christmas with a range of initiatives linking in with the shops/ pubs and clubs. This includes increased and more visible patrols on foot in the city centre. We will continue to use the CCTV to good effect. It is most helpful to see the Council running an initiative of putting ‘portaloos’ in key places over busy times. I know residents are very annoyed at the amount of urinating in doorways that goes on. Alongside this initiative we will crack down on anyone who doesn’t use the facilities provided.

Kind regards.

Yours sincerely

Gary Davies
Chief Superintendent
B&NES District Commander