Law and order in Clifton, Deddington and Hempton is the responsibility of Thames Valley Police, the largest non-metropolitan force in the country. It covers the historical counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, an area of 2,220 square miles.
The force is broken down into ten police areas. Clifton, Deddington and Hempton are part of the North Oxfordshire Police Area, which currently serves 240,000 people over 600 square miles in the Cherwell and West Oxfordshire districts. This includes Banbury, Bicester, Carterton, Chipping Norton, Kidlington, Witney and Woodstock as well as all the surrounding villages and countryside.
There are seven permanent police stations in the area and part-time police offices operate in Deddington, Upper Heyford, Burford and Eynsham. Britain's first purpose-built mobile police station took to the roads of north Oxfordshire in the summer of 1998 and is now a familiar site. Paid for from sponsorship, the vehicle is designed as a small country police station on wheels and has now made more than 2,000 visits to towns, villages, housing estates and public events.
The day to day policing needs of Deddington, Clifton and Hempton are managed by PC Gerry Doyle who is also responsible for other villages nearby. PC Doyle is supported by Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Lana Smith. Sergeant Dave Hibbert has overall responsibility for policing the rural area around Banbury and Bicester. Superintendent Howard Stone is the police commander in charge of the area.
Parish Police Team 2007, click for more details
If you need to contact the Police on a routine, non-urgent matter (including reporting minor crimes), telephone 08458 505 505 (24 hours service). Or email banburyruralneighbourhood@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk. In an emergency always call 999.
The following introduction from Sergeant Hibbert was received in October 2007:
Hello, my name is Dave Hibbert and I am the Sergeant responsible for the policing of Deddington and its surrounds. The poster supplied shows the rural team as a whole, and PC 2066 Gerry Doyle is the officer who has a specific responsibility for your village, along with our new PCSO 9930 Lana Smith. As from now my officers and I will be visiting Deddington and the other villages with neighbourhood surveys to find out exactly what you think should be the policing priorities in your area. This is part of the move to going live with neighbourhood policing, and we will be setting up a Neighbourhood Action Group (NAG), made up of community representatives, parish councillors, business groups and youths, that will set actions for the Police, local authority or local community perhaps to complete, based on your priorities.
The idea is to give you, the community more say over what happens, and the NAG will be accountable to the community for ensuring that the actions are completed. Hopefully the go live date will be in January when the preparation work should be c ompleted, and the NAG recruited. Neighbourhood policing has been proved to make a real difference to an area, and the better quality of life that brings.
If you have any further questions about NAG's or neighbourhood policing, you can always e-mail the team on the published e-mail address, however it is not for use to report a crime, please use the 08458 505 505 telephone number to do this, or 999 if it is a crime in progress.
Also I would like to assure the community that there are no plans to close the Deddington office for the foreseeable future, and that there will continue to be a presence in the village staffed by our truly brilliant volunteers who help my officers and I on a regular basis, for which we are very grateful.
Regards, Dave Hibbert
Crime and disorder does occur in Deddington, Clifton and Hempton. For the year ending 2003, police recorded a total of 70 crimes committed, which resulted in a clear up of 25 crimes. The biggest crimes were theft of unattended property with 12 recorded, and criminal damage with 13 recorded. Burglary is low, with 6 properties broken into during the year. Car crime has also dropped to an all time low of 8 vehicles either stolen or broken into during the year (in 1999 a total of 35 vehicles were either stolen or broken into across the 3 villages).
Mrs Debbie Tonks, the area's Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinator, and Ron Glynn, a retired police constable, work with parishioners to reduce crime, disorder and fear in the community. If you would like to know more about Neighbourhood Watch or would like to start a scheme in your street or village, telephone Jayne Taylor at Banbury Police Station on 01865 266654.
Speeding traffic often causes problems in the three villages. The police fully support the Government's pledge to reduce the number of road accident casualties and one way they are doing this is by educating drivers about the dangers of speeding. A booklet about the ways in which Thames Valley Police can help with this problem is available from the Speed Reduction Unit, Thames Valley Police Mobile and Operational Support Department, Gowell Farm, Howes Lane, Bicester, OX6 8ZA.
Thames Valley Police aim to work with their communities to reduce crime, disorder and fear as a leading, caring and professional police service. They are doing this by consulting with local people, working in partnership with other agencies to increase community safety, tackling causes rather than just symptoms and applying restorative principles.
The North Oxfordshire Police Area's annual plan gives more details of policing priorities for the area. To obtain a copy, write to Banbury Police Station, Warwick Road, Banbury, OX16 7AE. For a copy of the full Thames Valley Police annual plan, write to Thames Valley Police Headquarters, Oxford Road, Kidlington, OX5 2NX.
See also The History of Policing Deddington.