Bonfire night has been with us this week as the nights draw in. Last year we saw a decrease in reported crime and anti-social behaviour during this period and Halloween, and I hope that this trend will continue this year. The team have worked extremely

Bonfire night has been with us this week as the nights draw in.

Last year we saw a decrease in reported crime and anti-social behaviour during this period and Halloween, and I hope that this trend will continue this year.

The team have worked extremely hard to combat this behaviour and we would urge anyone to report these incidents to us.

I am very pleased to be able to report that currently across Royston town and the rural area we have a decrease of all crime by 5.6 per cent, and additionally we have an increase of 6.4 per cent in our detections of crime.

These figures when compared to last year are a good improvement, and demonstrate the hard work being put in by the team.

There is still a lot of work to do and I hope that these trends continue.

Over the last six months we have introduced local police surgeries, and have so far held them in Burns Road, Queens Road, and on the Twigden estate.

The next is planned on November 18 between 6pm and 8pm at the Meridian School car park.

These continue to be an ideal opportunity for you to speak face to face to the team, and raise any concerns that you may have, and I would urge you to meet your local police officer and PCSO at these events.

Recently we delivered more than 1,000 letters to residents of Royston offering crime prevention surveys.

We had an overwhelming response and are still in the process of completing these surveys.

To everyone who is still waiting for a survey, please bear with us and it will be done.

PCSO Lamb is in the process of making contact with everyone and organising the visits.

Once we have completed this round, the team will look to letter drop and complete further surveys across the town.

Meanwhile, PCSOs Brabrook and Kennedy will continue to organise them across the rural area.

Finally, it is with some sadness that I have to announce that I will be leaving Royston this month.

Sergeant Richard Jones will be taking over from me.

May I thank residents for making my time here enjoyable, and especially my colleagues at the police station, and my partners from the council for their hard work, enthusiasm, and sense of humour!

If any of you would like to contact the new sergeant Richard Jones, please do so on 01438 757926 or via e-mail at: richard.jones@herts.pnn.police.uk