Police chiefs are doing what they can to crack down on anti-social behaviour, drug dealing and crime within a large neighbourhood in Reading.
According to Police.uk data, approximately 58 crimes were recorded in the Southcote area this February.
The neighbourhood does have reported issues with criminal activity.
Southcote had a population of 10,985 according to 2021 census data.
The area is centred on Coronation Square, with its library, green and shopping precinct.
Police chiefs recently provided Reading councillors with an update on their operations, with part of their presentation focusing on activity in Coronation Square.
Felicity Parker, Local Command Unit (LCU) Commander for Berkshire West said: “There’s lots of entry and exit points which unfortunately facilitate some criminal activity, so we’ve been working to see what we can do around that.
“There’s been dangerous motorbike riding there, a lot of youths being involved in some level of criminality, but there’s also some under-reporting issues, where people don’t have that confidence of coming forward.
“We’ve held several community events, including football games with the community members and the police officers as well, just to break down some barriers, and specific ways where people can report what’s going on to us so we can understand.
“When we understand that we’ve then been able to deploy some of our more niche resources such as having our drone teams there, some of our traffic units, our dog units and some tactical cyclists.”
In February the police neighbourhood team enacted a search warrant, recovering £200,00 worth of drugs and £10,000 in cash. This resulted in 10 arrests with alleged offenders being released on bail.
The efforts of officers were praised at the meeting.
Councillor John Ennis (Labour, Southcote) said: “I can say personally in Southcote there is effort and work put in, because sometimes it can be an absolute thankless task where you can’t please anybody.
“We must really appreciate police, the work they do and their efforts.”
However, he did express concern about anti-social behaviour escalating into criminal activity, citing a case of criminal damage to properties in Granville Road.
Cllr Ennis said: “It [the criminal activity] is very much mobile in the Tilehurst and West Reading area.
“How do you feel equipped to be facing an increase in anti-social behaviour coming up with the weather getting better, more and more people causing anti-social behaviour and crime, it’s crime a lot of the time.”
Commander Parker replied: “It’s about visibility around the summer, it’s about being smarter about how we deploy resources.
“Yes, we’re going to investigate anti-social behaviour, but if we can prevent it together that’s going to be much more effective.”
The Thames Valley Police presentation was provided to the council’s policy committee on April 7.
