Villagers plan late night crime patrols
CRIME has been in the spotlight with an apparent increase in stabbings and shootings.
But it is not just the hotspots in Huddersfield that are causing concern.
In rural Shelley, villagers are currently planning to launch their own late night security patrols.
A dozen people turned up to a meeting last night to potentially volunteer as amateur security guards.
The plan has been hatched after a nasty mugging in the village on Friday and a belief that the number of burglaries in the area has surged.
Chris Barrow, landlord of the Flying Ferret, said a resident had posed the idea to a local police officer and had been told it may be possible.
They are now checking their legal position to see if they can monitor the streets from a clearlymarked vehicle and film any suspicious activity.
Mr Barrow, said: “There seems to have been an upsurge in burglaries in the area, and there was the mugging.
“As a backdrop to that, I thought perhaps we need to do something that could be a deterrent.”
Mr Barrow has already compiled operating procedures for what would be dubbed ‘Shelley Security Patrols’.
They suggest groups of two or three volunteers would work two-hour shifts, patrolling the streets in a marked vehicle, with the occupants wearing high-visibility clothing.
They are intending to record their patrols using CCTV or dashcams.
Mr Barrow said he was not worried about putting himself in danger.
“It’s not a vigilante operation,” he said.
“We wouldn’t get involved in anything, the volunteers would just be a visible presence.
“If there’s anyone acting suspiciously we would contact the police, we wouldn’t get involved in challenging anyone.”
The current plan is to launch patrols between the hours of midnight and 4am.
He added: “We’re talking with the police to see if we’re allowed to put something out there and what the laws are.
“If we don’t have the blessing of the police, we won’t be doing it.”