Milton Keynes Community Safety Partnership

Parish Warden, John Franklin together with Police Community Support Officer, Johnathan Cowling is working to make Shenley Church End Parish a better place in which to live and work.

John and Johnathan's posts are both funded by Shenley Church End Parish Council, though Johnathan receives his work duties from Thames Valley Police. These duties are centred on Milton Keynes Community Safety Partnership's core agenda to reduce crime, fear of crime and anti-social behaviour. They include confiscating alcohol and tobacco from under-age consumers, gathering intelligence on and dispersing groups acting anti-socially and stopping individuals cycling on the borough's pavements. In addition Johnathan keeps an eye on parking, carries out road checks on vehicles, arranges the removal of abandoned vehicles and the seizure of others, such as Mini Motos, which may cause alarm or harassment to local residents.

Johnathan Cowling comments:

'Patrolling the streets is a great way to build good relations with local residents and to make them aware of the true level of crime and anti-social behaviour in the Parish. This is often much less than residents think it is and engaging with them enables me to identify any potential problems and to deal with many of them before they escalate into anti-social or criminal activity.'

Police emergencies apart, members of the public wishing to report crime or anti-social behaviour in the borough should telephone Thames Valley Police's non-emergency number 0845 8 505 505. This is also often the best way to contact SCE's PCSO, Johnathan Cowling.

John Franklin, Parish Warden, is the Parish Council's representative on the ground, and the man who provides retailers, residents and their children with a vital link to the many and diverse organisations that can make Shenley Church End Parish a better place in which to live. These include local schools, youth groups, Milton Keynes Council, and the Probation service.

John says:

'If I can't fix a particular problem, then the chances are I know a man, or woman who can. I love my job because it affords me the potential to meet with everyone living, working in, or just visiting the Parish; and to work with them to make Shenley Church End Parish an altogether better place to be.'

John's job is so varied it's best to review a week in his diary to give you a better idea of just how he engages with the local community. It begins with a meeting with Chrissy Ashby, Parish Clerk followed by a foot patrol of the Parish, a talk with a group of kids in a Secondary School about the experience of being bullied, discussing some possible strategies to avoid being bullied. There's a Halloween event organised by the Parks Trust over at Shenley Wood where he tells ghost stories, a stint as a Youth Leader at the newly established Crownhill Youth Club, and a coffee morning with some older people living in sheltered accommodation who relish the opportunity to make a fuss of his Pat dog, Shadow. Then on to a meeting with MK Councils' Wildlife Officer over two ponds that need cleaning and another at MK Council concerning the Rights of Way Improvement Plan and its impact on the Shenley Church End Parish Then there's a small matter of being walk leader

on the Primary Care Trust's Walking for Health programme, Friday night street football and finally a Parish Officers meeting to attend before walking his two dogs home, possibly chatting over the week with PCSO Johnathan Cowling as he goes.

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