Watford chief inspector Andy Wiseman outlines measures being taken to ensure people feel safe in Watford's town centre and deter offenders.    

Mr Wiseman said: “It continues to be a policing priority for us to provide a regular visible police presence in Watford town centre – not just in order to provide a reassuring presence for local residents, but also in order to deter any possible offenders.

“As well as conducting regular patrols, we have been holding regular community engagement and crime prevention events through-out Watford, with the aim of meeting and engaging with local residents to understand what they would like to see us focus on and to gage any concerns regarding possible crime or anti-social behaviour.

Watford Observer: Watford chief inspector Andy Wiseman Watford chief inspector Andy Wiseman (Image: Hertfordshire Constabulary)

"Officers have also been providing crime prevention advice on how residents can keep themselves, their property and their belongings safe – from hosting free bicycle marking and ‘PL4TE S4FE’ events, to running a stall in the town centre to raise awareness of purse dipping.

“As a force, we currently have more officers than we have ever had before.

"We do have sufficient resources to patrol Watford’s hotspot areas during busy periods, and to respond to incidents when they are reported to us.

"Every day we are assessing intelligence and staffing levels to ensure we have appropriate resources in place.

"We conduct regular patrols in the town centre, utilising both uniformed officers and covert teams.

“Violence against women and girls remains a key policing priority nationally. Several initiatives have been put in place in Watford, including the safe zone area that has been set up inside PRYZM, which is a private room aimed to safeguard women and help them feel safer on nights out, where they can access medical attention and security staff.

"Our Community Safety Unit is currently in the process of organising a training session, due to take place in the coming months, which aims to educate local partners and businesses – including security and door staff – on how to recognise when someone may need support and how to go about reporting suspicious and/or predatory behaviour.

“In terms of the concerns regarding drug activity, this is something we have picked up concerns about via our community feedback.

"Our officers continue to do proactive covert and overt patrols in areas that have been highlighted as hotspots.

Watford Observer: Mr Wiseman said there are sufficient resources to patrol Watford's hotspot areas.Mr Wiseman said there are sufficient resources to patrol Watford's hotspot areas. (Image: Stock image)

"We rely on members of the public to report anti-social behaviour such as drug use and/or dealing, as it helps us to build an intelligence picture which in turn gives us a greater insight as to where we should be focusing our resources.

"Where we can, we will attend and take appropriate action to resolve the problem – however, we must deal with issues in a proportionate manner and allocate resources to locations that require it most, based on call data, demand and intelligence received.

“We will always strive, through working with our partners and local businesses, to ensure that people who live in, or visit Watford can have a safe and enjoyable time.

"Whilst I cannot go into any level of detail about resourcing for operational reasons, it is vital that we are able to ensure public safety and so I would like to reassure the community that these resource levels are assessed regularly and additional officers are brought in when it is deemed necessary.

“We regularly review feedback that comes in from members of the public via our community voice platform, echo.

"It’s really important to us that we continually listen to the feedback of our local residents and community members, not just in order to help us build up an intelligence picture, but also to help us organise patrol plans, as well as to plan any future campaigns and initiatives.

“Anyone who would like to submit feedback can do so by visiting bit.ly/police-watford.

"All feedback is completely anonymous, so please be as specific as possible if you are referring to locations or areas."