Wokingham Borough Connect
 Keep safe in Wokingham Borough
Our month of events organised alongside Involve Community Services has now finished. Over the course of the month, residents and staff have had the opportunity to attend a wide variety of webinars.
Week one featured Vickie Robertson, founder of local charity Kaleidoscopic, talking about domestic abuse; a session on technology enabled abuse and the chance to hear about the resources available for practitioners, parents and children from Stay True to You.
There then followed a series of webinars around keeping safe online, several of these were aimed at parents and carers. If you missed the chance to attend these you, can find information and advice on Internet Matters or South East Cyber Crime Unit. The session from the NSPCC sold out, but you can watch a recording.
The final week brought the opportunity to hear more about Tellmi a free app for young people where they can talk about anything. The app is pre-moderated and available all day, every day. It allows young people to share their experiences from anxiety to autism, dating to depression, or self-harm to self-esteem. There was also a session on child exploitation.
We are still gathering feedback and information about the numbers attending but initial comments included:
‘Brilliant and most helpful, thank you.’
‘Real eye opener - thanks for all the advice and pointers for more actions!’
 Helping our children make 'Positive Choices'
Carrying on the theme of keeping people safe, February also saw the second running of our Positive Choices event for Year 7 pupils, with nearly 370 pupils from three local schools attending over two days. It was run in partnership with Thames Valley Police and our local neighbourhood team.
Sessions were delivered by Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service, Thames Valley Police, our own Community Safety team, SoulScape and Storyy Group.
The various workshops included positive decision making and life choices, explored the themes of healthy and unhealthy relationships and highlighted the risks in relation to weapon crime and exploitation, fire safety and water safety and included opportunities for reflection and discussion.
It was hopefully fun and certainly interactive, with our new virtual reality kit adding real-life insight, with the aim of giving the students the tools and information they need to make their ongoing life decisions, helping them shape their own futures and to remain safe while doing so.
On the final evening, there was a session for parents, guardians and other partners where the key speaker was Stuart Stephens, the father of local schoolboy Olly Stephens, who lost his life to knife crime in 2021. Stuart shared their story, discussed the challenges of social media, bullying and the need to support and create safe spaces where children can ask for help.
 Graffiti workshop is a great success
In half-term, the Prevention and Youth Justice Service in conjunction with On the Level Productions ran an incredible graffiti workshop with some of our children, creating powerful canvases with messages against bullying and serious violence.
The canvasses will be on display at Shute End until Friday 7 March.
The children had a great three days, producing two large colourful canvases, plus canvas bags and t-shirts. New friendships were made and the staff involved were able to build stronger relationships with the children they support.
The impact was clear from the comments from those who were there: "I don’t know what I would have done this week without this workshop"; “I enjoy spray painting and I can do it here without getting in trouble”; “When I started, I thought my art was horrible and then I could practise and get better”.
This project was made possible by the local police commissioner's Partnership Fund.
 Helping you to detect rogue money lenders
An information event about illegal money lending is being held in Wokingham on Wednesday 12 March.
Visit The Bradbury Centre in Rose Street from 6pm to 7.30pm to learn more about what illegal money lending is, how to check if a lender is legitimate and how to spot a loan shark. No booking is required and refreshments will be served from 6pm, with a presentation starting at around 6.30pm.
There will be an opportunity to meet with members of the Public Protection Partnership's Fraud and Scams team.
If you have obtained a cash loan that came without any paperwork and with a high rate of interest, the person is threatening you or took documents or valuables from you, then you might have borrowed from an illegal money lender.
You can find out more and report an illegal money lender with Stop Loan Sharks.
For help with the cost of living crisis, paying your bills or financial support please visit our Find out more on our website.
 Bike marking, shoplifters, school traffic and ducks
Here is what your local Wokingham North Neighbourhood Policing Team have been getting up to recently. They cover Earley, Lower Earley, Woodley, Winnersh and Twyford and the surrounding areas.
PC D’Amaro, crewed with PCSO’s Ispas and Sparks, hosted a Bike Marking event at the University of Reading, with the aim of deterring would-be bike thieves in the area. They try to arrange as many of these as possible, but you can register your own bike on BikeRegister, which is the national database.
PC’s Young and Bogdanova arrested an outstanding suspect for 22 shoplifting offences around the area. After originally being dealt with by Reading officers, he was taken to court and remanded for three weeks awaiting sentencing. As they were unable to interview him during his three weeks, he was subsequently rearrested for his outstanding offences as he left court.
PC’s Young and Bogdanova attended Reading Blue Coat School in Sonning to assess reports of drivers jumping red lights. No drivers were seen jumping lights, but one driver was issued a ticket for use of a mobile device while driving. They also returned to The Piggott School in Wargrave after reports of queues blocking traffic and witnessing inconsiderate driving during school pick-up times. One parent was issued a fine for blocking a cycle lane, forcing students to cycle into oncoming traffic.
PCSO’s Elson and Ispas, crewed with PC D’Amaro, visited Earley St Peter's School to provide a show and tell of their role in the community and the kit they use. The morning also saw them create their own key rings with their own fingerprints.
And finally: During a routine foot patrol, PC Simpson-Holland and PCSO Ispas came across the first signs of spring, albeit early. Ducks and Ducklings had wandered off the nearby lake and were making their way to the road side. Officers guided them safely to their destination.
While you should always use 999 if a crime is in progress, or someone is in danger, less urgent matters can be reported by using the survey for your area: Twyford; Winnersh, Earley or Woodley.
Cracking down on illegal working
Last year, on an intelligence led operation, Home Office immigration enforcement officers visited Tai Pan restaurant in Crowthorne.
There, they found two workers that had overstayed their visas and had no right to work in the UK. Both workers admitted to not having had their right to work checks undertaken and admitted to being paid in cash, being provided with food and accommodation as part of their payment package.
The illegal workers were arrested and taken into immigration custody. The business, which held a premises licence for the sale of alcohol, was issued a civil penalty of £80,000.
Illegal working encourages people to enter the UK illegally and put their lives at risk. It can also undercut legitimate businesses; negatively impacts the wages of lawful workers; and has be linked to tax evasion and modern-day slavery. Employing illegal workers also undermines one of the four licensing objectives: the prevention of crime and disorder.
Home Office Immigration Enforcement applied to review the premises licence, with a recommendation that the licence be revoked.
A hearing was held in February by elected members of the Licensing and Appeals Sub-Committee, and attended by Wokingham Borough Council Licensing Officers, Home Office Immigration Enforcement and Thames Valley Police to determine the review.
The premises licence holder did not attend. The sub-committee considered the options available to them and decided, with regard to both local and national policy, to revoke the licence.
The restaurant has since reopened under new management.
 Join the World Autism Awareness Day event
Come and join us for the Wokingham World Autism Awareness Day on Wednesday 2 April, from 2pm to 7pm at the Oakwood Centre in Woodley.
Everyone is welcome. Book your free ticket online and drop in at any time that suits you.
On the day, you’ll have the opportunity to:
- Learn more about the All-age Autism Strategy and take part in action planning
- Find out about local support, services and activities for neurodivergent people and their families, directly from local charities and community and statutory organisations, including domestic abuse charities
- Participate in workshops to learn more about autism, including communication and sensory differences
- Join activities, including Brickies LEGO
The event is hosted by The Autism Partnership, made up of organisations, groups and individuals in Wokingham Borough. Together, we develop plans and drive progress, led by the local autistic community and their families.
We’re running a competition to design a logo for the Autism Partnership. It’s open to all who live, go to school or work in the borough. Visit our website to find out more and take part.
|
