By Deb Thurgood
I am happy to start with another good news story this week. At lunchtime on Monday, a member of the public reported two people behaving suspiciously in Cambridge East. Police conducted mobile patrols but were unable to find them. It was noted that the couple had a distinctive child’s scooter, which they had been seen retrieving from under a hedge.
We next received a report of a matching scooter having been stolen earlier in the day, and you guessed it, CCTV showed it had been taken by the same people. Fast forward a few hours and an eagle-eyed Constable spied the pair in town. As he coordinated an approach, he was hailed by a second member of the public advising they had seen the same duo tagging (graffiti) nearby.
The two were apprehended, the scooter was returned to its owner and the pair will be held accountable for all their actions. Yet again, the combined eyes, ears and CCTV of the community helped us solve the crime. Keep it up!
Another topic that came up this week was trespass. One of our retailers had a situation where a customer was repeatedly being aggressive, and they wanted to know their options. One course of action is to trespass the person from the property. There are many reasons why you may want to trespass a person. They may be displaying antisocial or aggressive behaviour, they may have committed a crime such as theft, or be causing harassment. Being trespassed means that the person may not return to your address for a period of two years from the date of trespass. Only the lawful occupier of the address can issue a trespass note, unless authorisation is given by them, for example for Police to act on their behalf.
You can trespass a person verbally or in writing. It is easier to prove service of a written notice in court if required and the person has the full information and explanation in writing for their reference. If the person then chooses to return, they may be arrested by Police and charged with the offence of wilful trespass.
If you serve a trespass notice, provide one copy to the person you are telling to stay away. Provide a second copy, with a completed proof of service document to Police. We will load an alert against the person you have trespassed and hold a copy for our reference. Retain a third copy for your personal or business record.
As with any order, the key to effectiveness is enforcement. Should you knowingly allow or invite the trespassed person back to the address, you nullify the trespass notice. It cannot then be acted upon in the future. The best approach is to contact Police whenever the trespassed person returns.
Visit Police Website for information and a template, or contact [email protected] .
Have a great week, Deb
