TOWN traders claimed Haslemere has become a ‘low level crime area’ due to the closure of its police station, at a special meeting last week.

Haslemere Chamber of Commerce president Craig McGowan invited Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner David Munro and Inspector Gary Smith, the newly appointed Waverley Borough Commander, to Hemingways to tell members what the key priorities are now, given the reduction in officer numbers..

Asked how the officer numbers vary between the boroughs in Surrey, Mr Munro said: “Numbers do vary. It is an operational matter and I keep an eye on it.”

The meeting heard Guildford has 22 police constables while Waverley only has 10 for regular duties.

Mr Smith urged everyone to keep reporting crimes so any increase in particular offences was recorded prompting action to be taken.

“We are limited in numbers,” he said. “It’s about how we deploy our officers to do more and be smarter.”

Members seized the opportunity to raise concerns, with many complaining of stretched resources and the difficulty of getting officers to come out. As a result more low-level crimes were going unreported, with the knock-on effect that the town could be seen as a ‘no-brainer’ by criminals with little deterrence.

Both Mr Munro and Mr Smith apologised to Haslemere-based TJ Tree Care, after its director Tom Pearse protested thieves had targeted the company yard three times in less than a year, making off with valuable power tools totalling more than £24,000, but he had been unable to get officers to even come out to the crime scene.

TJ Tree Care was hit on April 1, 2017, on May 1, 2018 and again on November 16 . Each time thieves had forced their way into secured metal ship containers overnight.

Following the second break-in, the company installed CCTV, but it was knocked out by the culprits.

Mr Pearse said: “Some sort of feedback would be good. My seven year-old daughter is asking what the police actually do. This also affects the families of our 10 employees.

“When we reported the second break in, the police called at 11pm, 28 days later, to say they were not taking it further.”

Responding, Mr Smith said: “That’s not right. It concerns the livelihoods of 10 people and someone should have come out. I’ll get the details and make sure someone comes out to you.”

Calls for a proper CCTV system covering the town to be installed were made. Traders complained police only came out ‘a long time after’ businesses had reported thefts to check footage, but most CCTV systems were wiped after a fortnight.

One trader said she had asked the police if they wanted footage of the people filmed burgling her shop but was told they were ‘not interested’.

Another said it was important to crack down on children stealing even if it was just a Mars bar – low-level crimes currently being increasingly disregarded – because the culprits could go on to become career criminals.

A Haslemere insurance broker, who said he saw at first-hand the misery caused, protested: “If the police do nothing then the people committing the crimes will just carry on. We are getting more and more frustrated.”

Town councillor Simon Dear said his organisation was keen to discuss with police installing official CCTV coverage but had tried to get in touch ‘unsuccessfully.’

Mayor David Round told the meeting: “We need more cops on the beat”.

Mr Smith told traders he was new to his role and keen to communicate with the community. He said: “I have two sergeants in East Waverley, which includes Haslemere.

“Haslemere is relatively unique and I recognise we could do better. In the last two months, I have added an extra community support officer to police Haslemere.

“The town already has PCSO Amy Champion-Smith and now also has PCSO Davina Smith.

“That’s a direct recognition that the police presence is not as visible as it could be and we could do better.”