Prestonians have been voicing their concerns about crime in the city centre to the police on Facebook.
An e-PACT meeting with Preston Area Police covering the city centre took place on Tuesday evening where issues including begging, parking and increased tensions in Deepdale during the Jonjo Highton trial were raised.
Rich Hopkins said: “Hi Preston Police.. I love these, they are great. Please keep them up. My question. Are there going to be increased patrols around St Georges given Jonjo’s trial is on and tension is running high? The best I can describe it is there is a completely different vibe in the air people are more cautious and vigilant than usual, seems more out of expectation that events will occur than anything. Was pretty tense afterwards. I guess it hitting court has raised fears again as despite reports in the media St Georges is pretty placid. Cheers.”
Preston Police said: “Cheers for the comment Rich, yes there is increased patrols at the moment, I’ll pass your post over to the St. Georges teams, can I ask you to report anything that causes you concern. Thanks”
Joseph Horan said: “I walked through the city centre from Church St to Fylde Rd. This was at about 8pm, and on the way I was asked for money 16 times of varying different individuals. Yesterday, two beggars where sat outside Margaret Masons shouting at the top of their voices for someone to give them ‘f”ing’ money.
“This has only started happening recently and it is quite intimidating to a lot of people, especially new people just coming into the city for university. Is something being done about this?”
Preston Police said: “Preston Area Police Hi Joseph, thanks for the comment on our post for Ady. as for begging, we’ve recently ran an operation in an effort to get beggars off the streets and getting them help they need to get sorted, a couple of the none co-operative beggars were arrested and we applied for court orders on the back of the arrests but unfortunately they were rejected. We’re currently planning another operation, just waiting to hear back from our colleagues Blackpool Area Police who have been successful in obtaining court orders preventing persistent beggars from causing problems. Please report any beggars on 101 or doitonline.lancashire.police.uk thanks.”
Rachel O’Brien said: “Do you know anything about the theft and attempted theft of bikes from ashton community science college yesterday. My son is now afraid to ride to school as it appears they are using bolt crops to cut through locks inside school grounds.”
Preston Police said: “Preston Area Police Hi Rachel I don’t, unfortunately I’m not able to check at the minute but I’ll check tomorrow morning and get back to you. Generally speaking if you invest in a quality D-Lock and secure it some something solid you’ve not got much to worry about. If you email me at PrestonCity.NPT@lancashire.pnn.police.uk I can arrange for your sons bike to be registered on Bike Register for free. Thanks”
Dianne Sowerby said: “How many accidents are there to be at the junction of fisher gate/corporation street before clear instructions are shown. Is it a roundabout or not”
Preston Police said: “Hi Diane, I can’t get an actual figure as to how many collisions have been reported but I’m sure it’s a very low number, lower than the number of collisions prior to the new road layout. Unfortunately we don’t manage the traffic infrastructure I’d recommend emailing fishergate@lancashire.gov.uk”
The full Q&A session is available in the Facebook post below. If you’re using our app click here to read it.
You can sign up to the e-PACT’s by liking the Preston Area Police Facebook page or using the In The Know service.
Did you take part in the chat? Do you think it’s a good idea? Do you identify with the issues raised? Let us know in the comments below