Police and crime commissioner Jason Ablewhite confirmed he will keep an election promise to clamp down on illegal parking in Wisbech.
Police and crime commissioner Jason Ablewhite confirmed he will keep an election promise to clamp down on illegal parking in Wisbech.
But he told his police and crime panel he would need to maintain a balance with other priorities for the force.
Cllr Ablewhite made his commitment on parking during a hustings meeting at the Oasis Centre, Wisbech, on the eve of the police commissioner elections.
Wisbech Police in recent weeks has launched an all out campaign to encourage people to park properly by, at times, issuing up to 15 fixed penalty tickets a day.
Coincidentally on the day Cllr Ablewhite was addressing the panel, police in Wisbech were using their Facebook page to detail their latest blitz.
“Local officers have been proactively dealing with community concerns which include parking in the town centre,” they wrote. “Ten fixed penalty notices were issued for illegally parked cars around the town centre.”
In a report to the panel Cllr Ablewhite wrote: “Concerns over careless parking or anti-social behaviour which affects individuals and local communities have to be balanced against resources required to deal with child abuse cases, serious sexual offences, domestic violence and counter terrorism.
“The ability to build capacity which is responsive to the changing nature of crimes and threats faced nationally and internationally, whilst at the same time focussing on delivering priorities that reflect the concerns of local people, will inevitably be challenging for the police service as a whole.”
He added: “Nonetheless, I am committed to protecting frontline policing, delivering an appropriate and proportionate policing response, and importantly putting the vulnerable and victims of crime first.”
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