Crime-hit Wellingborough estate 'left behind by police' say political leaders as they urge officers to intervene

Local political leaders have asked the policing minister to intervene after claiming officers aren’t doing enough to tackle crime on Wellingborough’s ‘left-behind’ Queensway estate.

North Northamptonshire Council member Matt Binley – with the backing of fellow ward councillors King Lawal and Paul Bell, NNC leader Jason Smithers and MP Peter Bone – is urging the police to act after residents raised serious concerns over crime levels on the estate.

But police say they have made great strides during the past twelve months – and say they can’t ‘arrest their way out of the problem’.

In the aftermath of the killing of Dylan Holliday, 16, community leaders held a public meeting and pleaded with the authorities to make real, positive change in the area.

Police officers said they wanted to find practical solutions to the issues facing the estate.

But seven months on, locals say nothing has changed.

Now MP Peter Bone has written for Crime and Policing Minister Kit Malthouse to ask him to take up the matter with Northamptonshire Police.

Cllr Binley told the Northants Telegraph: “Since the tragic murder of Dylan Holliday last year ward Councillors for Queensway have been calling for a greater police presence on the estate. We have seen lots of other serious crime take place on the estate since then, least of all a recent serious aggravated burglary.

“The community are asking for the police to engage with them, to talk to them, along with more stop and searches to take place in the area, it’s not just about knife crime but also drugs and other offences.

“Residents have made it clear to us that the police need to get out of their cars and engage with the residents, build trust and find out what is going on in the estate. Just driving around in their cars will not do this. We have to say this is what we have witnessed for ourselves as well.

“As ward councillors we would ask that the chief constable appoint a dedicated police officer and police community support officer to the Queensway estate.

“We feel that as a left behind area, it is being left behind by the police as well. They rush in to break down some doors and leave as quickly as they arrived. We’ve invited them to come along to the ward surgeries held every week courtesy of St Mark’s Church, but they aren’t interested.

“We call upon the police to carry out more legally justified and proportionate stop searches and engage with the community.

“We have listened to the residents and community groups and ask the police to listen to the community they serve.”

Jason Smithers, Leader of North Northamptonshire Council, said: "I fully support the three ward councillors in what they are trying to achieve for their communities. It's only fair that the local community's voice is heard, and I would be happy to meet with community members to listen to their concerns first-hand and look towards a multi-agency solution."

Peter Bone MP said: “I strongly support the initiative from the three Councillors for Queensway. I have written to the Minister for Crime and Policing asking him to take the issue up with the Chief Constable of Northamptonshire Police Nick Adderley and the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold.”

A Northamptonshire Police spokeswoman said: “Having met with the police officers in charge of policing Wellingborough in recent times, the ward councillors on the Queensway estate will be aware of our commitment to this area and the operation we have running that was specifically designed to tackle crime in this part of the town.

“Operation Revive is a multi-partnership project involving North Northants Council, as well as other partners, which looks to address the issue of violence and anti-social behaviour in Wellingborough, with a particular focus on the Queensway and Hemmingwell estates.

“It has six officers dedicated to it, supported by an investigative team, and since the operation was launched this time last year, a number of warrants have taken place resulting in multiple arrests and charges as well as the seizure of drugs and drug-related paraphernalia.

“However, we are also very aware that we cannot arrest ourselves out of this problem and have been working with our partners to find other, more preventative ways, of solving the issues at hand.

“We have organised regular uniformed and plain-clothes patrols of hotspot areas, have visited local schools to speak to young people, installed knife bins across the north of the county, and have set up a dedicated email address so that we can have a direct link to the community and listen to what their concerns and ideas are.

“We have also been working on breaking down area design barriers to make committing crime in Wellingborough harder and improve the look and feel of the local area, for example installing metal barriers in the Queensway area to deter nuisance motorcyclists that illegally use the town's parks and pavements. This is just one example.

“A lot has been achieved in the past 12 months, not least a visible and sustained commitment to this area of Northamptonshire.

“However, we are aware of the importance of building on the work already taking place and we would like to reassure the ward councillors, but most importantly the residents in this area, that they will continue to see a sustained partnership approach under Op Revive in making these areas a safer place to live.

“If residents in Wellingborough have any concerns or anything they would like to see us particularly focus on, please contact us on [email protected].”