Police response 'too slow'

RINGMER, with a population of 5,000-plus and likely to rise, deserves better policing than it currently gets, claims a parish councillor.

And Stuart Bean told members of the Lewes and Seahaven Police Community Consultative Group that local residents were fed up with trying to report crimes to the police because of the 'appalling' waiting time on the telephone.

He said he had personal experience of waiting 35 minutes to get through.

Cllr Bean was responding to police performance figures which showed there were 144 fewer crimes in the Lewes greater area between April and October than the same time last year.

But he claimed: 'In the majority of cases the general public, even councillors, do not bother reporting incidents any more either to the police or their insurance companies but repair damage at their own expense.

'And when the public do manage to report an incident by telephone, rarely is there any apparent police response.'

As a result, the parish council had set up its own crime reporting system.

A recent incident concerned a boy driving a car dangerously in Ringmer. At least 20 people witnessed it. The boy's identity was known. When police arrived, no statement was taken.

'As a parish councillor I asked the police if they would keep me informed as to action taken,' he added.

'I have heard nothing in more than five weeks. The dangerous problem of boy racers in and around Ringer continues without any known police action.'

The Ringmer Shopkeepers Association had complained bitterly about the lack of a police presence. He planned to call a public meeting to discuss the issues.

Ringmer needed and deserved a regular police presence, he continued.

Chief Inspector Jim Taylor said the new chief constable had already stated that he wanted more policing at a local level.