He explained how the school had had to close the site due to crime, which had included damage to the school’s property as well as burglary. He complained when the police had been called by the school staff had been told that that it was not a police problem; and they had advised staff to go out and speak to groups themselves. Mr Dunn said this wasn’t appropriate and asked what the process was through which he could get the police to act.

I don’t know how Mr Dunn felt, but I was furious with Sgt. Wragg’s initial dismissal of the problem as he apologised for Mr Dunn’s perception that the police had not responded to the problems appropriately. Mr Dunn is not making these things up, it is not his “perception” that is the problem it’s the quality of policing. Sgt. Wragg didn’t only try and suggest the problems were in Mr Dunn’s mind, he tried to suggest the problem was not serious saying a main issue was kids kicking footballs into people’s gardens.

Sgt. Wragg went on to say there were 3-4 transient juveniles who had been living on the school site. He said they had been moved on by the police but had returned.

Both Inspector Kerridge and Sgt. Wragg take this approach of attacking and dismissing points raised by members of the public; they do it in such a systematic and consistent manner that I believe it must be a premeditated agreed strategy. There are parallels with Sgt. Wragg’s approach to mini-motos and motorbikes, which he has dismissed as a noise nuisance, rather than seeing the danger of allowing young children to speed around the roads and pavements of the area on bikes they cannot control as something worth tackling.

I live quite near this area. Many of those who cause problems at the school come past where I live en-route. The local residents are treated in the same manner as the school when reporting problems. I have personally witnessed PCSOs approach youths with motorbikes on the school site only to allow them to ride off down the pavement. Cllr Blair raised the subject of under-reporting of problems. Cllr Mike Todd-Jones spoke in favour of prioritising police action in the area. Councillors agreed focusing on the area ought be a police priority and suggested the police ought try and work better with local residents.

Councillors said the city council’s CCTV was due to be deployed to the area.

While they were aware the school was hoping to re-open its grounds they said they would seek the return of their money if it remained closed.

Cllr Blair reported that as an Executive Councillor was aware that they had not only received money via the North Area Committee but from the Council centrally too, and there were already discussions ongoing in relation to that.

Regarding Rights of Way (RoW) over school property, I’ll been told that such RoWs can be closed without question. This was a change in Law following ‘Dunblane’. I don’t know the details, but I was told by a usually reliable source.
Jim Chisholm, Cambridgeshire.