POLICE DETAILS
Avon and Somerset Constabulary - Shepton Mallet Town Neighbourhood

Shepton Skate Park is a popular space for skaters to practise safely. It's a valuable resource which cost thousands of pounds to build and maintain. The park is nearly six years old now and is suffering from a little abuse. The grounds are frequently littered with bottles and cans and the shelters are covered in graffiti. Alarmingly, police recently discovered evidence of persons attempting to set fires in the shelters, even digging up the tarmac surface for this purpose.

Residents have approached the police with their concerns and have asked us for a response.

We will

• Speak to skaters and park users regarding using bins for litter
• Maintain our patrols in the park aiming to curb anti-social-behaviour
• Help Shepton Town Council in their efforts to engage with park users in discussions regarding painting shelters.

At the recent Shepton Town Council meeting, councillors identified litter and graffiti at the Skate Park as a matter of concern and have asked Police to make this into a priority for the neighbourhood team.
We are continuing our patrols and have recently moved on an unauthorised encampment from the car park.
We are continuing to engage with users of the skate park and are passing on positive messages regarding not leaving contact information or social media details in public.

Shepton Town Council have identified the use of e-scooters as a concern for Shepton residents and have asked Police to make this concern a priority.Private e-scooters can only be used legally on private land with the landowner’s permission. They are not legal on any public highway, bridleway or pathway.An e-scooter is a Powered Transporter

The term ‘powered transporters’ covers a variety of novel personal transport devices which are mechanically propelled (propelled by a motor) as well as or instead of being manually propelled. It includes e-scooters, Segways, hoverboards, go-peds (combustion engine powered kick-scooters), powered unicycles, and u-wheels. There is no separate legislation covering powered transporters, BUT given how they are motorised and designed they fall within the definition of a motor vehicle and are covered by the same laws and regulations covering all motor vehicles.

Private and rented e-scooters

An e-scooter may be owned privately or may be rented. Rental e-scooters are available in some larger cities and are easily identifiable. These scooters are road legal as insurance is covered by the hire company.

Privately owned e-scooter cannot be insured and therefore cannot be used on the road, bridleway or public highway.

How are Police dealing with e-scooters?

Our stance is to educate in the first instance. A warning can be issued explaining the law and possible penalties. The rider must understand they cannot ride the e-scooter again. If they are caught for a second time the e-scooter will be seized and destroyed and they will be reported for relevant driving offences.

We have recently been having reports of Anti Social Behaviour in Collett Park by youths after school hours. This has included noise complaints and fires in some of the bins around the park and in the brick shelter. The town team have been doing visible patrols in Collett Park on both our early and late shifts. If you do see the team around the area feel free to approach us and have a talk about any concerns or issues. If you ever come across any issues within the park you can record this online or call 101 to record the crime.

We still receive occasional reports of Anti-social behaviour, but overall we are happy to see that the park is really turning in to a community hub. Our foot patrols continue in the park so if you see us it’s not necessarily due to any incident taking place. Feel free to say hello and advise us of any concerns that you may have.

We have seen an increase in Anti-social behaviour and theft incidents around Townsend. We encourage you to contact us with any information. We have also included this area in our patrol plans.

Shepton Town Council have identified Graffiti around the town as an area of concern and have asked Police to make this into a beat priority.What is Graffiti?

Graffiti is a term sometimes used to describe a form of art but from a policing perspective, in its more general form, it can be anything (not exclusive) from an etching, drawing, sticker or painting onto property either in the open or inside a building.

Is Graffiti illegal?

In Policing terms it is Criminal Damage. The creation of the graffiti can also involve other offences such as trespass, anti-social-behaviour and harassment.

Why? It's just a wall (sign, bus shelter, etc.)

Unless you own the property, it's not yours to paint or write on. There is no permission implied by leaving a wall or other surface unpainted or unguarded.

Offences

You my be arrested for causing Criminal Damage. You may have to appear in court. If you are under eighteen your parents will be involved. You may receive a criminal record, have to pay a fine or you may agree to pay for the damage to be repaired.