Senior Constable Deb Hann and Dani Hibdige.
I hope everyone relaxed over Labour weekend and had safe travels.
Last week we had another good catch with help from members of the public. A young person escaped from the custody of his caregiver and tried to make a getaway. He stole a vehicle but was immediately seen by police and fled.
Members of the public quickly highlighted his route and soon after we learnt that the vehicle had been dumped in a residential driveway in Cambridge East. We next spotted the youth on an adjacent property as he again ran off. A police dog team tracked him through several properties, locating him nearby to where yet another member of the community had spotted him hiding behind a fence. The youth gave up at that point and is being held accountable. Great teamwork all round.
Stocking up the Cambridge Sharing Shed
This past week we have helped a few people who have found themselves in need of assistance with food. I am an advocate for helping people effectively through connecting them with appropriate support services. Cambridge is lucky to have resources in this regard. Cambridge Community Garden on Vogel Street has a sharing shed with free produce, as does Cambridge Community House on Shakespeare street. If you come across someone in need, the Salvation Army on Williamson Street is also able to assist with food parcels where individuals or families find themselves without food.
Last week our youth aid officer, Constable Danica (Dani) Hibdige began a period of maternity leave. Her temporary replacement is being selected and I know they will continue the good work in supporting our youth. The Cambridge Bluelight committee will continue as usual –members are already exploring opportunities we can offer our youth in 2024. In the meantime, watch out for the Cambridge Bluelight Christmas raffle tickets.
Finally this week, as we begin the lead up to Christmas, we will continue to work with our retail community around loss prevention. Many stores are employing additional staff for the Christmas rush. Be sure that all new staff have an induction including your processes for dealing with suspected or actual theft, aggressive or intoxicated customers and previously trespassed persons.
Often, the best prevention tactic is good customer service, greeting customers as they enter and proactively offering assistance, even more so when behaviours are suspicious. The key thing however is for staff to feel empowered to call 111 immediately a theft does occur or when other situations require urgent Police attendance. Together we make Cambridge a hard target for thieves.
