Aycliffe Neighbourhood Police Team Sergeant Mark Edwards continues his regular blog on Aycliffe Today…
It’s Saturday afternoon as I type this, some of the guys are out and about enjoying the (lack of) sunshine as they pound their beats.
So what’s new in the world of Policing? I’m not sure about ‘new’ but here we go…
Our Facebook page continues to remain a forum for comment – if you’ve never checked it out give it a try, see what you think and what side of the fence your own beliefs fall on.
Once you’ve read it I’m sure you’ll get my meaning. The latest topic of controversy centres around the world of off-road biking.
This past week has seen the seizure of a couple of such bikes using powers available to us under anti-social and other legislation.
Some people seem to think this is a waste of resources and that we should focus on serious crime (yep, that was one of the highly original comments).
Is this a serious matter, the activities of these off-roaders? If you were to research our Police incident logs you would certainly identify that a vast majority of Newtonians believe so. But I’ll let you decide.
On the subject of Facebook some members of the team (no names mentioned – Mike Welch!) were determined to get over 1,000 followers to the page before year close. On last check we had reached over the 1,010-mark.
As I’m sure you will have seen from Aycliffe Today some members of the local community clubbed together to buy a wedding card and gift for the forthcoming marriage of our very own Mike Welch (Greenfield and Middridge’s PCSO) to his girlfriend.
This meant a lot to Mike who puts a lot of effort and commitment into his job.
At the end of the day we’re here to do a job and do so without the expectation that we’ll receive a pat on the back when we do something right – but in a day and age of us facing criticism for a great deal of what we do little things like what the local residents have done for Mike allow us to take stock and remind ourselves of why we do the jobs we do.
That said, I’m jealous to death that he gets to go off and enjoy some time in Greece!
On Thursday members of our Serious Crime Team (or CID for those feeling retro!) arrested a 26-year-old male from Shildon in relation to the theft of property from a motor vehicle in the Pinewood Close area of Newton Aycliffe towards the back end of July. He was charged with the offence and will have his day in court very soon.
Anyhow, time for a few court results (you wouldn’t expect anything else from me now, would you?!)
James Peter Docherty, 29, from Redcar, was convicted of handling stolen goods after pleading guilty at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates Court – namely a set of wheel trims. He received a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay costs of £85.
David Welsh, 35, of Newton Aycliffe appeared at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates Court charged with fear or provocation of violence (an offence under the Public Order Act). He was given a community order and had to pay £85 costs.
Graham Goff, 60, from School Aycliffe, appeared at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates Court charged with failing to stop after being involved in a road traffic collision. He was fined £130, ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £15, ordered to pay £85 costs, and received five points on his driving licence.
Until next time…
Be good!
Mark J Edwards
Aycliffe NPT Sergeant