Reports of low-level criminality are commonplace but a recent spike in thefts from cars saw the Longmoor Neighbourhood Policing Team issue advice to residents on how to protect themselves.
In all the incidents, entry was gained to vehicles parked in Bordon and electrical and personal items were taken. Seven separate thefts were reported over a single weekend in August.
Some residents took to social media, complaining there was “zero (police)presence in the area”, compounded by “a lack of police stations”.
But Hampshire Constabulary said it continued to have a proactive role in reducing crime.
“The East Hampshire Neighbourhood Policing Team is pretty much staffed to full establishment,” a police spokesman told the Bordon Herald. “There is a response and patrol team providing cover 24/7 and we are also supported by the joint-operations unit.”
In relation to thefts from cars, officers are “using various covert tactics to try to catch offenders”, however they “do need the public to follow the advice”, and people should remember “to not leave valuables in vehicles”.
Whitehill Town Council discussed crime on Monday, September 3, after incurring a £5,000 bill to repair property vandalised that very morning.
Town clerk Andrea Mann told the chamber that the council’s glass bus shelters - said to be “vandal proof” - keep getting smashed. This has been ongoing since 2016 and, in a report to the council, she said the vandalism “increased in 2018 and some shelters have been targeted more than once”.
“Are there other suppliers of bus shelters because these ones clearly aren’t vandal proof?” councillor Duncan Sanders wondered.
But the clerk explained that the town council had purchased them from the leading supplier, meaning to break the toughened glass vandals must have employed significant effort.
The result can be “quite dangerous” and sees people sitting with their back to the traffic, with no barrier behind them, as well as the risk of cuts from shards.
Councillor Adam Carew said this anti-social behaviour was “utterly disgusting” and ultimately impacts the taxpayer. He wondered if the council could put CCTV cameras on shelters.
Councillor Phillip Davies said, as long as the town council informed the police, it would be “totally appropriate” to install surveillance.
The cost - said to be “considerably cheaper” than replacing just one pane of glass - would be quickly justified if it deterred vandals. But it is likely only some of the council’s 23 shelters would be covered.
As well as the danger, cost and inconvenience, Mr Carew said this kind of crime gives a certain “impression” about the area, which is set “to be regenerated”.
Councillor Andy Tree agreed it was a good idea to highlight the financial impact of vandalism. “The only problem is the people who smash the shelters couldn’t give a monkey’s about taxpayers’ money being wasted,” he added.
Members agreed they have a duty to repair the shelters and prevent further vandalism, and will explore the possible use of CCTV.
Hampshire Constabulary added: “We encourage the local community to sign up to the free Hants Alert messaging system, where we communicate directly with the public – and they can select the areas they’re interested in and the type of information they would like to receive. We’d also ask anyone with information regarding these incidents, such as potential suspects, to call 101.”
Town council leader Mark Davison told the Bordon Herald: “The lack of police or police-community-support-officer presence on the beat is not a new thing for the town. It is something I have been complaining to the police about for years, but continually get fobbed off with excuses and funding issues.
“I do not, however, believe it is just a problem for Whitehill and Bordon, as you are hard pressed these days to find a bobby on the beat anywhere.
“It is about time that the police got back on the streets and started proactively preventing crime, rather than reactively failing to respond to it.”
Councillor Andy Tree added: “With an increase in population (as the town grows) and the closure of Whitehill and Alton police stations, a physical police presence is essential to give confidence to the community. While I understand that patrols can be dispatched from any area, it can not be right that Aldershot Police Station is the closest main physical presence. I want to actively encourage the police to have a presence in the new Whitehill and Bordon town centre - perhaps in a public services hub.”
There is also a perception that criminals are more audacious locally. Last month (August 17), ram raiders hit Halifax in Farnham, leaving a stolen JCB telehandler forklift at the scene of the crime and making off with the cash machine. In June a similar incident saw Bordon Tesco’s ATM ripped from the store and a digger abandoned in the car park.
The Spar in Lindford, Bucks Horn Oak Service Station on the A325 and Lloyds Bank in Liphook are just a few other sites targeted in 2018.
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