Information request as to why reports of cruelty and abuse to disabled people in sheltered housing is ignored by Avon and Somerset Police.
Dear Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner,
As a severely handicapped person living in sheltered housing in Bath on two separate occasions now I have visited the Avon And Somerset Police in order to sign a statement that I have personally experienced extreme long term cruelty and abuse from the management of the Curo Housing Association.
On each occasion I was advised by the duty desk staff that this was not allowed as this particular housing association is outside of the jurisdiction of the police.
Will you please explain as to why I was denied my rights to officially report the hate crime and cruelty which I have experienced, and why any housing association should now be seen to be exempt from the law when it comes to the abuse of disabled people?
Yours faithfully,
Mr J. Lewington
Thank you for contacting the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC). This is
to acknowledge receipt of your message.
Emails are one of the best ways of communication with the PCC, but you
will appreciate that the PCC receives a considerable number of letters,
emails and telephone calls every day, as well as face-to-face meetings at
public events. Please kindly accept that correspondence will need to be
prioritised and if a response is required, the PCC will aim to reply
within 20 working days.
You can stay up-to-date with the work of your Police and Crime
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Yours faithfully
Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner Office
Avon & Somerset Police & Crime Commissioner, Valley Road, Portishead,
Bristol BS20 8JJ
Tel: 01275 816377 / Fax: 01275 816388
[2]www.avonandsomerset-pcc.gov.uk
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Dear Mr Lewington,
Thank you for your email.
As the contents of your email concerns me and relates to an operational
policing matter, under the independent direction and control of the Chief
Constable, I have passed the details to Avon and Somerset Police and they
will follow up your concerns and reply to you directly. Please expect a
response within 20 business days.
Avon and Somerset Police will provide a full response and in my oversight
role I have asked to be updated accordingly. However, if you are
dissatisfied then please contact me again via this email address.
I hope that this action is helpful to you.
Yours sincerely
Sue Mountstevens
Police and Crime Commissioner
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Helen Riddell would like to recall the message, "Case 21460 - complaint concerning lack of police action ".
Dear Mr Lewington,
Thank you for your email.
As the contents of your email concerns me and relates to an operational
policing matter, under the independent direction and control of the Chief
Constable, I have passed the details to Avon and Somerset Police and they
will follow up your concerns and reply to you directly. Please expect a
response within 20 business days.
Avon and Somerset Police will provide a full response and in my oversight
role I have asked to be updated accordingly. However, if you are
dissatisfied then please contact me again via this email address.
I hope that this action is helpful to you.
Yours sincerely
Sue Mountstevens
Police and Crime Commissioner
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Dear #PCC,
Despite your concerns I still have not received *any* form of a reply from the Avon and Somerset Police force, direct or otherwise within the twenty day timeframe which the law allows.
Will you now please answer my question.
As there had already been a death of another vulnerable tenant living in this supported housing for disabled people, and in similar circumstances to those which i wished to report, I can only have hoped that your response to a member of the public attempting to raise your awareness would have been far more professional than it has been to date.
Yours sincerely,
Mr John Lewington
Thank you for contacting the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC). This is
to acknowledge receipt of your message.
Emails are one of the best ways of communication with the PCC, but you
will appreciate that the PCC receives a considerable number of letters,
emails and telephone calls every day, as well as face-to-face meetings at
public events. Please kindly accept that correspondence will need to be
prioritised and if a response is required, the PCC will aim to reply
within 20 working days.
Information about how we use your personal data can be found in the PCC’s
Privacy Information and Privacy Notice [1]here
You can stay up-to-date with the work of your Police and Crime
Commissioner by signing up online to receive regular newsletter at
[2]www.avonandsomerset-pcc.gov.uk.
You can also follow her on Twitter @AandSPCC and @SuMountstevens - or by
liking us on Facebook.
Yours faithfully
Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner Office
Avon & Somerset Police & Crime Commissioner, Valley Road, Portishead,
Bristol BS20 8JJ
Tel: 01275 816377 / Fax: 01275 816388
[3]www.avonandsomerset-pcc.gov.uk
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Dear Mr Lewington,
Thank you for your email on 11 June 2018 seeking an urgent response to
your original email sent to me on 5 May 2018.
I replied to you on 24 May 2018 to acknowledge your original email and to
advise that due to the nature, it had been transferred to Avon and
Somerset Police and that they would be in contact within 20 business days
- which will be due on 22 June 2018.
Prior to sending you my reply on 24 May 2018, I initially sent your
enquiry to the Avon and Somerset Police Freedom of Information team, who
advised that due to the nature of your enquiry and it not being a Freedom
of Information request that it should be sent elsewhere within the
Constabulary and therefore this is the reason why my response to your
email took a few weeks.
Upon receipt of your email dated 11 June 2018, I have made enquiries and
have asked Avon and Somerset Police to respond to you as soon as possible.
I trust that this interim response meets your requirements, however,
please do not hesitate to contact me again should you require.
Yours sincerely
Sue Mountstevens
Police and Crime Commissioner
Tel: 01275 816377 Ext: 66377
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Dear #PCC,
Thank you for clarifying the situation.
I was unaware that from the time an information request is transferred over from one department to another there is a further twenty day time frame to reply.
As now my information request has been sent back to the Avon and Somerset police team to deal with once more, who can i expect to answer my questions and by what method of communication?
Yours sincerely,
Mr John Lewington
Thank you for contacting the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC). This is
to acknowledge receipt of your message.
Emails are one of the best ways of communication with the PCC, but you
will appreciate that the PCC receives a considerable number of letters,
emails and telephone calls every day, as well as face-to-face meetings at
public events. Please kindly accept that correspondence will need to be
prioritised and if a response is required, the PCC will aim to reply
within 20 working days.
Information about how we use your personal data can be found in the PCC’s
Privacy Information and Privacy Notice [1]here
You can stay up-to-date with the work of your Police and Crime
Commissioner by signing up online to receive regular newsletter at
[2]www.avonandsomerset-pcc.gov.uk.
You can also follow her on Twitter @AandSPCC and @SuMountstevens - or by
liking us on Facebook.
Yours faithfully
Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner Office
Avon & Somerset Police & Crime Commissioner, Valley Road, Portishead,
Bristol BS20 8JJ
Tel: 01275 816377 / Fax: 01275 816388
[3]www.avonandsomerset-pcc.gov.uk
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Dear Mr Lewington,
Thank you for your email below.
As the contents of your email relates to an operational policing matter,
under the independent direction and control of the Chief Constable, I have
passed the details to the relevant department of Avon and Somerset Police,
specifically the Neighbourhood Policing Team with responsibility for your
locality and I have been given the following assurances.
The issue has been assessed by the local policing supervisor and it is
felt that the matter is a civil dispute between yourself and the housing
association responsible for the property where you previously lived. No
recordable crimes have been committed from the circumstances that you have
provided to them. Should you have any evidence of a criminal offence then
please contact them again and they will take full details and investigate.
I am aware that there are specialist support services provided in your
area under the umbrella of Bristol Hate Crime Services who have access to
specialist disability support groups. Perhaps they could advise you
further and assist you with this.
As you may know, my role as Police and Crime Commissioner is strictly
outside of any operational policing matters, such as Police Officer
deployment, etc. which are under the independent direction and control of
the Chief Constable. However, I hold the Chief Constable to account for an
efficient and effective delivery of the Police and Crime Plan and I
welcome feedback, comments (negative and positive) and ideas from members
of the public, such as yours, aiming to improve the quality of policing
service and for organisational learning such as efficiencies and
effectiveness, where appropriate.
I hope that this action is helpful to you.
Yours sincerely
Sue Mountstevens
Police and Crime Commissioner
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Dear #PCC,
Thank you for your reply to my enquiry.
I am not in any way satisfied with your response particularly as the Avon and Somerset police refused to record any of the details of the crime involved.
Neither would they view the evidence for themselves, or take any form of statement from me the very moment that they were made aware that the abuse which i was experiencing involved the management of the Curo Housing association and which involved my own personal safety.
At the time this housing association was already under investigation for the death of another tenant in Curo supported housing and i could only have hoped that any further reports from disabled tenants were taken seriously when tenants came forward, but clearly this was never going to be the case and I cannot help wondering how many other disabled people in minority groups this has occurred to or have been in this situation.
Possibly the information supplied back to you by your staff is incorrect?
From the inference of your reply this may reference any one of over twenty previous incidents of gunshot, arson and acid attacks towards myself and other associated hate crime attacks that took place at my home address in Pennard Green Bath and which I have experienced from my neighbours in reference to my sexuality and disability.
It is unfortunate that despite regular occurances and reports to the police, these crimes have been allowed to continue on a regular basis by the beat team management in Bath for over twelve years without any criminal convictions ever being obtained and very little if any evidence that any investigations were ever made.
Equally it was not at all surprising while the beat manager who visited my home after these incidents was also making the grossest and most inappropriate homophobic comments regarding the vehicles I drive.
You have to admit Mrs Mountstevens, there has been a long term consistent pattern of complete failure with the Avon and Somerset police to act on gay and disabled hate crime appropriately in the past when it has been reported and at an apparent reluctance to investigate.
And so why you feel now that the same local police beat team that has neglected so regularly and so often in the past to protect my home and person can now deal with this matter appropriately is beyond me.
Quite sincerely,
Mr John Lewington
Thank you for contacting the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC). This is
to acknowledge receipt of your message.
Emails are one of the best ways of communication with the PCC, but you
will appreciate that the PCC receives a considerable number of letters,
emails and telephone calls every day, as well as face-to-face meetings at
public events. Please kindly accept that correspondence will need to be
prioritised and if a response is required, the PCC will aim to reply
within 20 working days.
Information about how we use your personal data can be found in the PCC’s
Privacy Information and Privacy Notice [1]here
You can stay up-to-date with the work of your Police and Crime
Commissioner by signing up online to receive regular newsletter at
[2]www.avonandsomerset-pcc.gov.uk.
You can also follow her on Twitter @AandSPCC and @SuMountstevens - or by
liking us on Facebook.
Yours faithfully
Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner Office
Avon & Somerset Police & Crime Commissioner, Valley Road, Portishead,
Bristol BS20 8JJ
Tel: 01275 816377 / Fax: 01275 816388
[3]www.avonandsomerset-pcc.gov.uk
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Dear Mr Lewington
Thank you for your additional email on 27 June 2018.
Please may I initially clarify that my replies to you are not a response
within the remit of the Freedom of Information Act, they are responses to
your emails regarding how Avon & Somerset Constabulary have dealt with
your complaint about Curo Housing and other incidents.
I acknowledge that you make a serious statement that there have been “over
twenty previous incidents of gunshot, arson and acid attacks towards
myself and other associated hate crime attacks that took place at my home
address in Pennard Green Bath and which I have experienced from my
neighbours in reference to my sexuality and disability.”
May I reiterate two important points from my last reply to you:
1. Should you have any evidence of a criminal offence then please
contact the Police again and they will take full details and assess the
information in accordance with standard National Decision Making processes
regarding the level of risk, harm and threat.
2. There are specialist support services provided in the Bath and North
East Somerset area, such as Bristol Hate Crime Services (LGBT Bristol):
[1]https://www.bhcds.org.uk/ , who have access to specialist support
groups. For advice, support and assistance. Please view the website here:
[2]www.lighthousevictimcare.org .
This includes SARI:
[3]https://www.lighthousevictimcare.org/org...
.
You outline a number of occurrences where you have been unhappy with
members of the Neighbourhood Policing Team in Bath and in particular you
mention inappropriate homophobic comments made by one officer.
If you feel that the quality of policing service or conduct of a police
officer is below the standards expected then you can make a complaint, if
you have not already done so, to the Professional Standards Department
(PSD) of Avon and Somerset Police. You can do this in a number of ways:
on-line, by post, by telephone or in person and I have given more detail
about each of these choices below:
To make a complaint online, please complete a form on the Avon and
Somerset Police website at:
[4]https://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/co....
Alternatively, you can write as much detail as possible and post your
complaint to the Professional Standards Department, Police HQ, Valley
Road, Portishead, BS20 8QJ.
You can also email:
[5][email address].
If you prefer to make a complaint in person then you can go to an Avon and
Somerset Police Station/Enquiry Office, such as the One Stop Shop at 3-4
Manvers Street, Bath. However, please be aware that this may involve a
wait for a relevant Officer to become available and therefore it is better
for you to telephone ahead of your visit, by dialling 101 – the
non-emergency number – where you may prefer to make your complaint over
the telephone at that time. When you telephone Avon and Somerset Police
on 101, please tell the Call Handler that you wish to make a complaint and
they will explain the process. If you are telephoning from outside of the
Constabulary area then please specify that you want Avon and Somerset
Police.
The Professional Standards Department (PSD) of Avon and Somerset Police
manage complaints against the Police, handled locally and under the
direction and control of the Chief Constable, unless it is most serious
and then it is investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct
(IOPC). As Police and Crime Commissioner I have no statutory power to
investigate allegations of inappropriate conduct by Police Officers below
the rank of Chief Constable or against the quality of policing service.
However, I have a statutory duty to have oversight of Avon and Somerset
Police in handling these complaints and I take this very seriously.
Thank you for taking the time to write to me again, regrettably in this
instance highlighting your complaint against the Police, including the
homophobic comments which is a serious matter. The Professional Standards
Department is led by a Superintendent and I know that he and his
complaints Investigation Officers – as well as local Officers -
investigate complaints fairly, proportionately and seriously, in a manner
as timely as possible.
I hope this information on the ways of making a complaint is of help to
you.
Yours sincerely
SUE MOUNTSTEVENS
Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner
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