Make Milton Keynes Safe Again

The Commissioner
The Farmhouse
Thames Valley Police Headquarters
Oxford Road, Kidlington
Oxon, OX5 2NX

Date: 22/11/19

Subject: Appalling policing and increased burglaries in Milton Keynes

Dear Sir,

We, the residents of Milton Keynes (MK), as neighbours, friends and families are living with a constant fear of burglary or theft. Crime in MK has significantly increased, and local groups report over a dozen burglaries a week on social media. Due to lack of confidence with policing and security, we have created neighbourhood watch, surveillance to protect our belongings and each neighbour is looking after one another when we are out and about. In October 2019 alone, 124 crimes were recorded in one of the neighbourhoods in MK.

The unfortunate victims of burglaries report the unsympathetic treatment and response by the police (Thames Valley in this case); generally stating that they are short of resources and there is not enough proactive policing available. TVP have expressed views that the burglars have advanced equipment and vehicles and they are more resourceful than the police. It is appalling to learn that the police views are expressed that they are helpless. An abhorrent view was expressed by TVP to one of the victims of burglary shrugging their shoulder, “you are now off the list, so relax”. This is not a joke, we are appalled by the unsympathetic gestures at a time when people are sobbing due to the significant loss, mainly sentimental and not just monetary.

Many victims of burglaries and their neighbours have reported that police distribute leaflets and advertisement of alarm systems and CCTV installation, advising people to ensure their locks are up to date. A reasonable person knows that alarm systems, CCTV or up to date door locks, do not stop burglaries from happening. The police have a responsibility to carry out their duties and find these criminals so they can be brought to justice.

TVP has specifically mentioned that Asian families are being targeted but the burglars do not discriminate when attempting to steal. Several signatories to this letter have been through either a successful or an attempted burglary. Several people have raised concern that because it’s British Asian households that are being targeted, there is an element of discrimination from the police that they don’t care. This is a very strong sentiment being felt by the communities in Milton Keynes and I urge you to do something about it. As much as I don’t want to believe in this sentiment, I feel that a lot more needs to be done to gain the confidence and trust of the communities that you serve.

Several families have reported that they are unable to leave the house unattended, this is destroying peaceful enjoyment of family life. We have witnessed that people have stopped answering the door for deliveries, as there is a constant feeling of fear that there may be a burglar on the door. Communities in Milton Keynes are confused & worried about their personal belongings whether to take it with them or leave them at home. All because, we have lost reliance and faith in our local police and security services.

The Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) requires all public authorities, including the police, to act in a way which is compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The current situation arisen by the lack of policing or security of personal belongings is an outright breach of Protocol 1, Article 1 (right to peaceful enjoyment of property).

“Every natural or legal person is entitled to the peaceful enjoyment of his possessions. No one shall be deprived of his possessions except in the public interest and subject to the conditions provided for by law and by the general principles of international law.”

We are all tax paying citizen and a significant portion of our council tax bill goes to policing. Our question very simply is that if we must pay between £35-£50 per month to private security & alarm companies monitoring system, why should we bother paying part of our council tax for policing when your performance and commitment to reducing or stopping crimes is next to nothing. It is a shame to see that the Home Office has authorised 6,000 more police officers but none of them are for Buckinghamshire.

We are naturally disappointed that the point has come when living in the UK does not feel safe anymore. The reasons are; increased crime & burglaries, repeat crime statistics, lack of policing, and not seeing a proactive will from the protectors of our communities that burglaries will be reduced.

Our request to you is to provide a plan of action that is visible to us with regards to increased policing; investigating, capturing and bringing these criminals to justice.

Yours truly,

For an on behalf of Milton Keynes residents

Nasir A. Khan
Email: nasir.khan82@outlook.com
Tel: 07565681235

cc:
Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley [pcc@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk]
Milton Keynes Mayor: Councillor Samuel Crooks [sam.crooks@milton-keynes.gov.uk]
Home Office [public.enquiries@homeoffice.gov.uk]
Past MP (MK South): Iain Stewart
Councillor Leo Montague [leo.montague@milton-keynes.gov.uk]
Councillor Vanessa McPake [vanessa.mcpake@milton-keynes.gov.uk]
Councillor Jenni Ferrans [jenni.ferrans@milton-keynes.gov.uk]
Councillor Emily Darlington [emily.darlington@milton-keynes.gov.uk]
Councillor Martin Gowans [martin.gowans@milton-keynes.gov.uk]
Councillor Mohammed Khan [mohammed.khan@milton-keynes.gov.uk]
Milton Keynes South Election Candidates 2019:
Liberal Democrat, Saleyha Ahsan
Green, Alan Francis
Independent, Stephen Fulton
Labour, Hannah O'Neil
Christian Peoples Alliance, Amarachi Ogba
Conservative, Iain Stewart
Milton Keynes North Election Candidates 2019:
Conservative, Ben Everitt
Liberal Democrat, Aisha Mir
Labour, Charlynne Pullen
Green, Catherine Rose