A Message from Your Local Officer – Local News

Good afternoon all,

Your local officer, PC 28670 Jamie Christian, here! With the run-up to Christmas now in full swing, it continues to be a busy time for our team. Here is a snippet of some of the things I’ve been up to:

Meeting with Portsmouth City College

I am in the process of arranging a meeting with the principal of Portsmouth College, primarily to discuss an increasing number of pedal cycle thefts at the college. In addition, at our community meeting back in October, a number of you raised the issue of students using e-scooters and riding them dangerously along Tangier Road. I will also be raising this with the principal to see what we can do to address some of these concerns. I am hoping that this meeting will be held in early to mid-January, so I will update you with the outcome.

If you know someone who rides their bike to college, please make sure that they take a good-quality, heavy-duty D-lock with them. These can be purchased from Amazon, locally in stores like Halfords, or at the Eastern Police Investigation Centre, Airport Service Road. We are seeing thieves targeting bikes with poor-quality locks or those that simply don’t have any, making it all too easy for them to steal.

Meeting with Vivid Housing

I had a meeting with housing officers from Vivid Housing this morning to discuss ongoing issues at a number of their properties. This allowed us to identify emerging issues and consider what action needs to be taken. It also allowed us to discuss addresses where we have persistent problems. We are planning some joint visits in the next few weeks to try and tackle these issues.

Supporting our DPT colleagues

Although I am designated to the Baffins area, there are times when resourcing means we are required elsewhere in the city to help out with other live incidents. This week, it has ranged from a broken-down bus in a live lane, which required traffic management and recovery, to searching for high-risk missing persons. Earlier in the week, PC 28834 Chris Middleton (the Fratton beat officer) and I were called to assist colleagues in the Fratton area following reports of a stabbing. When dangerous jobs like this come in, it’s right that officers with the appropriate equipment are deployed to deal with the potential threat. Both PC 28834 Chris Middleton and I are trained to carry, and if necessary, use, Taser; hence we were deployed. Thankfully, we had no need to deploy our Tasers on this occasion.

As a police officer, carrying a Taser is voluntary and means that there are a number of officers in the city who do not carry them. While the use of Taser is (rightly) highly scrutinised when it’s deployed, they are a very effective and safe way to deal with some of the threats we face.

Other bits…

I have also stopped a vehicle for having no MOT while driving down Litchfield Road – ticket issued; conducted welfare checks on a vulnerable male; been out on foot patrol; popped into St Cuthbert's Church coffee morning for a chat with residents; scoped CCTV in relation to a burglary, to name but a few!

As always, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or crime-related issues you wish to discuss. Please make sure any reports of crimes in action (i.e., taking place there and then) are reported via 101 or 999, whichever is appropriate.

Enjoy your weekend!

PC 28670 Jamie Christian