How your ‘Humber Talking’ detects crime

Message from Humberside Police:

When we ask for your help in providing information to 101 or through Crimestoppers, whether it’s in regards to suspicious behaviour in your area or suspected drug dealing down your street, it really does go a long way in tackling criminal activity and making your community a safer place to live.

We need to build the bigger picture as to what’s going on in an area to be able to take action, and you play a vital role in helping us.

But just how does the information you provide lead to action on the ground? One Hull North PCSO explains.

PCSO Shaun Casson has been part of the Hull North neighbourhood team for over two years. He was contacted at the beginning of the year by a local resident who was concerned that a house in his local community was involved in dealing drugs.

PCSO Casson said: “After being contacted by a member of the public about possible drug dealing at a property in Bransholme, I knew I needed more information to help build a picture as to what was going on in the area.

“The first thing that sprung to mind was our community engagement initiative Humber Talking. 

“We launched the initiative back in October 2018 and have knocked on over 95,000 doors to date with thousands of residents having completed the survey and telling us what it’s like to live in their street, what problems exist and how we, along with our partner agencies, can help to make it a safer place.

“With this in mind, I recruited the help of two student Police Officers and together we surveyed over 150 neighbouring properties. The response was overwhelming, with a number of residents also raising similar issues and identifying potential drug dealing in the area.”

So what happens next? Information we gather from Humber Talking surveys is often sent to our Divisional Intelligence teams who are able to build what is known as an intelligence package to assist in being able to obtain a warrant.

PCSO Casson continued “It’s a real team effort. With the help of our intel team, a warrant was issued by the courts to search the property suspected of drug dealing and with support from our proactive task force Operation Galaxy, a warrant was executed.

“A quantity of suspected class A drugs were recovered from the address as well as suspected stolen power tools. Four people were also arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply class A drugs and handling stolen goods.”

Whilst this was a great result, PCSO Casson was not entirely content as he describes the next steps he took: “Ideally we want to secure a property like this so we can gather all the evidence needed for our investigation and stop the address being used for criminal activity.

“Obtaining a Closure Order on the property helps with this, and by speaking to local residents again using Humber Talking once more, we were able to ascertain how suspected criminality is affecting their daily life, which assisted in a Closure Order being granted by the courts.

On 14 February 2019, Hull Magistrates Court imposed a three month closure order on the property, preventing anyone from visiting the house.

The four arrested were released under investigation while officers carried out their enquiries.

With the help of Humber Talking Shaun was able to let all 150 neighbouring properties know about the positive result that they’d been a part of.

PCSO Casson concluded: “The public’s help and support is vital for us to deal with ongoing issues such as drug dealing, as has clearly been the case here. Once we have the information, we will do all we can to take action and disrupt criminal behaviour.

“Humber Talking allows us gather real time information that we can use to make a significant difference on the ground. It gives residents the opportunity to play a key role in making their communities safer.

“By us speaking directly to people and asking them questions about their neighbourhood, we are able to direct resources to problem areas and make a real difference to people’s lives.”Whose door will we be knocking on next? If you have any information or any concerns in your area, please do call us on 101 or anonymously contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.