Burnham is 'second highest patrolled area in Buckinghamshire' amid crime worries, meeting hears

A police official has told residents that Burnham is the ‘second highest patrolled area in Buckinghamshire’ after fears were raised about crime and anti-social behaviour.

Upset villagers reported brazen drug deals and late-night street brawls in High Street, amid a string of crime threats raised at parish council meeting on Tuesday evening (January 20).

Chief Constable Alex Ash and Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber faced a grilling from more than 20 residents in attendance about action from the force over the problems.

One High Street resident, who said she had lived in the village for ten years, said some evenings were plagued by ‘gangs of 40 to 50’ people ‘all hitting and punching each other’.

“We’re talking really big fights,” she said. “I hear blood-curdling screams, I think weapons have been used… it’s not a nice environment.

“They [police] come – but it’s done and dusted by then.”

Another resident said there had been a ‘significant increase in anti-social behaviour in the High Street, including multiple street fights outside a particular pub’.

She said problems were worse during warmer months and included ‘repeated incidents through the summer involving a group of youths throwing objects at buildings and shouting abuse’.

Written questions were also heard at the meeting, including concerns over ‘frequent drug dealing’ in High Street.

Responding to questions about drug crime, chief inspector Ash said the force's ‘neighbourhood patrol hotspot app’ was used to help target areas needing more officers

“That is helping us understand where we need to be there, deploying officers at the right time based on the information the public are giving us,” he said.

“And I can say that, based on our data over the last six months, Burnham High Street particularly, and around the park, has been the second highest patrolled area in Buckinghamshire.”

He said police were ‘taking action in relation to the disorder and the groups’.

“I do know, even only recently, there was a positive action taken about a certain individual – who was a youth, so I can’t provide any further details.

“The team are absolutely dealing with offenders, where we get details and we can identify suspects.

“Sometimes that does take time, but the engagement with yourselves, information from yourselves about times, people, locations, absolutely is our tool to be able to respond in an effective way.”

Burnham Parish Council chairman Marie Hammon asked a question regarding problems with police engagement with the council.

‘Valuable two-way communication’ between parish councillors and Thames Valley Police had been reduced, and crime reports specific to the village had also stopped, Cllr Hammon said.

She added: “Whilst we can ask specific written questions in advance, this has significantly damaged the level of dialogue and community responsiveness.

“What are your plans to encourage and fund better responsiveness with community representatives?”

DI Ash said keeping up the force’s historic engagement had been ‘a challenge for us’ and ‘took a significant amount of resource and time to deliver.’

He said Thames Valley Police was looking to introduce more area-specific crime reports, and did want to improve engagement with the council.

He added: “If it isn't working like that, we can absolutely discuss and I can see how we can improve that because I want it to be natural so we can respond as best as possible to the concerns as they happen.

“And case in point with the high street, if things are happening now, we need to deal with that now.”