THE "shock" announcement of a plan to move Whitehill's police response team to Alton will concern residents, a councillor claimed this week. But Hampshire Police have issued reassurances that response times would not be affected. However, despite these assurances from police, Whitehill town councillor Adam Carew said: "Residents will obviously be concerned to read that Whitehill's police response team is moving to Alton. This news comes as a bit of a shock as councillors were only notified yesterday (Tuesday)." East Hampshire Chief Inspector Phil Kedge said: "We are examining the possibility of the response teams being relocated from Whitehill to Alton, where there can be improved operational control and greater efficiency. "Our partners are currently being informed of these proposals. "Alton is the centre of our intelligence-led policing unit and is the custody centre for the district. These changes would allow officers more time on patrol and the communities of Whitehill and Petersfield should have no concerns with respect to response times." It is understood that after being briefed in Alton, officers will travel to Whitehill, from where they will respond to incidents. Chief Insp Kedge said: "Officers will not respond from Alton, but will be directed to police from the Whitehill and Petersfield stations. "All officers will also be trained to a higher level of response driving and we will receive more higher- performance response vehicles. "Response times across the district in attending emergency calls will improve as a result and the three areas of Alton, Whitehill and Petersfield will retain their dedicated Safer Neighbourhood Teams of local officers and PCSOs. "All staff are looking forward to the challenges ahead in working with partners and local communities and striving to continue to make East Hampshire a very safe place to live, visit and work. "Like me, I hope that the public are very proud and grateful for the dedication of all officers and staff. Mr Carew said: "The police believe this centralisation will make them more effective, so we shall have to wait and see. But it seems strange all this is happening at a time when our town could be about to double in size to become the largest town in East Hampshire. "If the police have to come all the way from Alton to incidents in Whitehill that would add another 20 minutes to any response time. But my understanding is that is not what is happening here. "Police units will be deployed from Alton to Whitehill and Petersfield stations immediately after their duty parades and will make full use of the Whitehill Police Station. "We value our police in Whitehill and Bordon and if anything we want to see far more police on our streets. " The announcement follows the publication of statistics that show East Hampshire has experienced significant reductions in crime across the police command areas of Alton, Whitehill and Petersfield, making it one of the safest places to live in Hampshire. Overall, crime has reduced by six per cent in 2007 -2008 (5,654 crimes), compared to the previous year (5,994). This success has come from proactive work in targeting those who are responsible for crime in the district. Many of the area's persistent offenders have been remanded awaiting trail or have received custodial sentences. The increase of resources in town centres and the use of dispersal orders have helped produce a 13 per cent reduction in violent crime. Over the year, officers have issued on-the-spot £80 fixed-penalty notices to reduce antisocial behaviour and the police will continue to adopt a zero- tolerance approach towards those who feel that it is appropriate to bring disorder to local communities. There has been an increased supervision and monitoring of licensed premises and test-purchase operations have identified a number of premises that have sold alcohol to underage children. As standards and monitoring has increased, the levels of violence have decreased with a significant downwards trend. Through intelligence-led policing and increased community engagement with crime-prevention advice, burglary has reduced by 15 per cent compared to last year. A key strategy has been targeting locations where burglaries have occurred and inviting residents to crime prevention Operation Shutout meetings. Chief Insp Kedge said: "It is a tribute to the hard work and dedication of police officers, police staff and our partners that we have achieved these reductions in crime. One of the most significant developments for the district has been the launch of the first Street Watch scheme in Four Marks, with members of the public patrolling their own communities to reduce low-level problems. "This scheme should present an example to other areas, where people need to take greater responsibility for their own communities."
