Good afternoon all,

The latest edition of the West Wight Neighbourhood Policing Team’s newsletter is here, reflecting on what the team were up to in September.

During the month the team continued, and are still continuing, to carry out speed checks in areas where members of the public have identified problems. 

The information provided to police around this has come from a range of sources including members of the public responding to our Let’s Talk surveys, talking to us at beat surgeries or approaching police whilst on patrol. 

Community Speed Watch, which is a voluntary scheme, also carry out speed checks and hand over the information to the police. If there is an area that you feel needs to be looked at, please let us know and we will add this to the list. You can contact the team by emailing west.wight.police@hampshire.police.uk

The Yarmouth Neighbourhood Team held a Cycle Security marking event at West Wight Community Centre, Freshwater. It was a very successful event with 30 bikes registered. Further cycle marking events will take place and will be advertised on social media. Marking your bike is a great way to ensure your bike is easily traceable back to you if it is recovered by police as a result of theft, for example.

Members of the Wight Rural South team joined horse owners with the annual “Pass Wide & Slow” event in Wroxall. This event is organised nationally to make road users aware of the dangers of not giving enough room to horses on the highway.

A relaunch of the Newport Shop Watch scheme was held and 12 businesses attended and signed up to the scheme. Since this initial meeting other businesses have expressed an interest in joining and other businesses are being canvassed by members to enquire if they want to join. 

Cowes PCSOs have been visiting the schools in the area to introduce themselves, and will be making routine visits. We are going to arrange to hold cycle marking events at the schools so that students and parents can bring their cycles along at the end of the school day and have their bikes security marked.

A speeding operation was conducted in Cowes by the local officers and PCSOs. Three vehicles were stopped for excess speed, and we hope that the team’s presence deterred other drivers from driving in a dangerous or anti-social manner. The team will be carrying out this type of work again, and we will endeavour to keep you updated.  

Please note that Cowes police station, situated on the High Street, will not be open in November as there are going to be works going on outside the front and side of the property, and so access to the building will be limited for safety.

If you need to speak to the team, you can send an email to the West Wight Police email address. But if you need to report a crime, please call the relevant phone numbers – 101, or 999 in the event of an emergency/a crime is ongoing. Or, you can use the report tool at www.hampshire.police.uk