Great to catch up with Matthew Barber, the Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner. With more police officers in the Bracknell and Wokingham area than in 2010, detecting crime and dealing with local issues is a top priority.
Many residents are also concerned about antisocial behaviour, which is why I took action to have ANPR cameras installed in Birch Hill and The Meadows in Sandhurst. I will continue to champion action to curb anti-social behaviour.
Another major area of concern is shoplifting, violence and abuse towards retail workers has been increasing, much of which is carried out by organised gangs. This has resulted in the Fighting Retail Crime Action Plan that will:
Create a new offence of assaulting a retail worker;
Expanding the use of electronic monitoring for prolific shoplifters;
Maximising the use of new technologies for the prevention and detection of retail crime;
Designing out crime, reducing the opportunities to steal and sell stolen goods; and
Making it easier to report crime and share information between businesses and police.
