Witney News - Carterton Neighbourhood Management Update

Carterton Neighbourhood Management Update

Sgt Mark Smith provides this month's update: "During the past few weeks there have been more problems associated with youths gathering at locations in the town centre, in particular at the Co-op. These gatherings have led to reports of antisocial behaviour; we have had damage caused and also burglaries to commercial properties. On one occasion yellow paint was used to damage a premise in the town centre. Police patrols have been targeting the town centre to deal with these problems, however, we can only be a part of the solution. The question has to be asked "Do the parents of these youths know where they are or what they are doing?"
This very issue has been highlighted recently in the press and I feel that we need to address the issues in Carterton before they become a real problem.

"As part of our patrol we will be taking details of the youths we come into contact with and a letter will be sent to parents detailing the incident and these will be followed up to encourage parents to take responsibility for their children. We cannot allow a situation to develop that allows this behaviour to effect the lives of residents using the town centre. Of course where offences are identified we will be making arrests and dealing with offenders.

"On a more positive note we conducted an operation this month with Trading Standards aimed at detecting sales of alcohol to underage drinkers. A series of test purchases were made in conjunction with Trading Standards and I'm pleased to say that all the premises checked in Carterton and West Oxfordshire refused to sell alcohol to underage consumers. These operations are conducted periodically to ensure that the licensing laws are being complied with.

"Since the start of this year Brize Norton has suffered a number of burglaries to the primary school, Elderbank Hall and the sports pavilion, and a number of people have had their cars broken into. This has caused the residents great concern and the school has lost some valuable computer equipment. I'm pleased to say that we have made a number of arrests at local addresses and recovered stolen items."