The Forum

The principle of ‘Policing by Consent’ is a long standing philosophy of British policing, in which policing is underpinned by public approval. Through local accountability and demonstrable impartiality, trust and confidence of communities is maintained. It is also in part why policing in the UK is performed by regional forces, rather than a national force.

Definition of Policing by Consent – 9 Principles of Policing

Clearly, however, there must be force-wide, national priorities, for example organised crime and terrorism. Police forces throughout the UK need to balance these with the more local demands of neighbourhood policing, just as essential in maintaining the confidence of the public.

A statutory requirement is laid down by the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, that a chief officer of police must:

1. make arrangements for obtaining the views of persons within each neighbourhood about crime and disorder in that neighbourhood;
2. must make arrangements for providing persons within each neighbourhood in with information about policing in that neighbourhood;
3. and arrangements must be made for regular meetings between persons within the neighbourhood and police officers with responsibility for supervising or carrying out policing in that neighbourhood.

This feedback assists prioritisation of resources, whilst the forums give the opportunity for the public and the Police to discuss priorities in an informed way.

The Chiltern & South Bucks Policing Issues Forum exists therefore for the benefit of the entire local community. It is relevant to anyone with concerns about crime, or interested in crime reduction and prevention. It should also be of interest to all who would like Chiltern and South Bucks to be a better, safer place to live and work.

The Chiltern & South Bucks Policing Issues Forum covers the following neighbourhood areas: Amersham, Burnham Farnhams & Taplow, Chalfonts, Denham & Gerrards Cross, Iver Stoke Poges & Wexham, Missendens.

These correspond with six Buckinghamshire Council Community Boards. Our footprint straddles three parliamentary constituencies!

The Chiltern Community Forum and South Bucks Community Forum were set up originally at the instigation of the former Chiltern District Council, and working with the Thames Valley Police Neighbourhood Policing teams. Following the creation of the unitary Buckinghamshire Council, the two Forums have been combined into the Chiltern & South Bucks Policing Issues Forum. It meets every 4 months and is chaired by Andy Garnett with vice-Chair Graham Young. Meeting times and venues are published on this web site, by Thames Valley Police, via social media, and by mailshots to residents, Community Boards, Parish and Town Councils, and other groups.

Representatives of Thames Valley Police attend all meetings. It is important to stress that anyone is welcome to attend and participate at meetings.

Some issues flagged up by residents cannot be tackled exclusively as a policing matter. Some sit more in the remit of Buckinghamshire Council. It may be appropriate to refer some local issues to Community Boards, to seek a community solution. For issues that require a broader, perhaps, multi-agency approach, the Community Safety Partnership is available.

The Crime & Disorder Act 1998 gives the police and local authorities powers to join with other organisations to form a local Community Safety Partnership. In Buckinghamshire, this partnership is carried out by the Safer Buckinghamshire Board.

Organisations that work in partnership with the Safer Buckinghamshire Board include:

• Thames Valley Police
• Buckinghamshire & Milton Keynes Fire and Rescue Service
• Buckinghamshire Clinical Commissioning Group
• National Probation Service – Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire
• Thames Valley Community Rehabilitation Company
• Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner

The Safer Buckinghamshire Board also works closely with many other organisations including community and voluntary groups and local businesses.

Read the Safer Buckinghamshire Plan 2023-2026

Neighbourhood Policing areas of focus for the coming period are set by reference to the results of the Forum’s online survey, and discussion at the Forum meeting.

Ahwead of the meeting, residents are invited to complete an online survey to express their views and preferences. The process and the available choices are explained in detail on our Neighbourhood Surveys page.

Information from the survey is collated, analysed and presented at the Forum’s public meeting. Deciding ‘focus areas’ through the Forum’s surveys and meetings enables residents’ concerns to help guide the agenda for the coming 3 to 4 months. Decisions are announced on this website and elsewhere. Once decided, focus areas become part of the daily planning and reporting routine for officers and PCSOs.

Progress reports are presented by Thames Valley Police at the following meeting, and also within the Police’s quarterly Neighbourhood Policing Newsletters.

It’s important to clarify that the survey and the choices relate to the work of the Neighbourhood Policing teams. These are small teams within (as the name implies) our neighbourhood. They are just one part of the Local Command Unit covering Buckinghamshire, which has other functional teams. Of course, the teams support each other as required. Elsewhere within Thames Valley Police there are specialist teams dealing with national and force policing priorities. We are asking residents what the harms/concerns are that they would like to see prioritised within their daily routines. For most of these crime types, statistics are available by neighbourhood on the POLICE.UK website.

The issues or concerns in the survey are:

• Anti-social Behaviour
• Burglary
• Criminal Damage and Arson
• Drugs
• Possession of Weapons
• Public Order
• Rogue Traders and Scams
• Speeding
• Theft from Vehicles
• Theft of Vehicles
• Violence and Sexual Offences
• Other (for respondent to specify):

Naturally, our officers police and respond to crime and harms as they occur, not just those on the list.

Please visit our Forum Meetings page.

The POLICE.UK website contains considerable information on crime and policing within local neighbourhoods. This includes a local crime map, information on the policing team, local policing priorities, performance, news and events and nominating a project for ‘community payback’.

Your local area pages can be accessed below:

Amersham page on Police.UK website
Beaconsfield page on Police.UK website
Chalfonts page on Police.UK website
Chesham page on Police.UK website
Denham and Gerrards Cross page on Police.UK website
Iver, Stoke Poges and Wexham page on Police.UK website
Missendens page on Police.UK website

The Chiltern & South Bucks Local Police Area covers six Community Board areas. These set priorities and form working groups to tackle matters of community importance. Residents are actively encouraged to attend meetings to hear about what is happening in their local area and have their say.

Policing and community safety is one of the topics common to all Community Boards. But the task of participating actively in the meetings of 6 Community Boards is logistically challenging for our Neighbourhood teams. The Forum helps with this. The Community Forum meetings have proved to be a popular platform for interaction between residents and Police. Meetings enjoy senior representation from Thames Valley Police and where appropriate, guest speakers and subject matter experts. Where specific community safety items are tabled at a Community Board meeting, the intention is that Police will attend meetings and be available for discussion.

Information from Buckinghamshire Council on Community Boards.