PC Rain and the mounted horses!

Hello,

It was my turn for the nights weekend again covering the night time economy in the City Centre of Southampton so I thought I would let you know how it went! Friday night was wet - which is always helpful - PC Rain is our best friend when the pubs and clubs close! I had a good number of officers on duty - we were joined by two specials from the New Milton who were looking for a change of experience. They both thanked us for letting them come onto the operation - in fact we are more grateful to them for adding to our officer numbers.

I visited all the venues, and they reported that customer numbers are quite low - a sign of the economic times I guess. And spooky - the owner of the Aqua Lounge told me she had recently read my blog!! A couple of pubs closed before midnight and the roadworks in Above Bar St sparked some confusion - how do we get from the Square to Flares??. Don't bother we reply - go home please! By half past midnight we had 2 arrests - both for possession of drugs, both separate locations. One person was ordered to leave the city centre and was issued a dispersal order under Section 27 of the Violent Crime Act - a really good bit of legislation.

At 2am it got busier again as more pubs closed. A few scuffles were reported, and then a fight in the park off of Poundtree Rd. We arrested one person. Another was arrested for drugs - this time with loads of tablets and was arrested for possession with intent to supply, which meant officers were sent to search their house. The cells at Southampton quickly filled up and prisoners had to be sent to Lyndhurst and Fareham custody suites.

As the pubs/clubs closed lots of young 'ladies' were walking down the streets without shoes/coats - the street pastors came to the rescue with flip flops, survival blankets and far more patience than me! The pastors do a fantastic job, picking up the vulnerable and those just wanting to talk. At 3.30am the streets began clearing as people went home. I headed back to the station to add up how many prisoners we had and where they were, sorted out any statements that were needed, and looked at what work was still outstanding. Fortunately there were only 4 prisoners directly related to the night time economy operation, the others had come from normal policing. At 6.30am I was still checking the files – before a quick look at the news to see England had a favourable draw for the World Cup. Couldn’t find out who won 'I am a Celebrity' though!.

Saturday night and PC Rain was here again! We also had 2 horses from Avon and Somerset to assist, which was fun. We had more officers on the operation than I have ever had - over 30 officers…..brilliant.

Out on the street, there were a lot more people than Friday. Mostly good natured, but there were a few scuffles. Just after midnight there was an assault - head butt - outside KFC. Blood everywhere. A few minutes later the offender returned and we ended up with a chase around Above Bar St. The horses come down to assist - what a sight that was - two huge horses bounding down the street! Mind you, no-one got in the way!! The offender took off his jumper, but we still got him and he was sent to the cells. Next we had reports of a chap who had swallowed a load of pills in the park. Finally we locate him and the paramedic says he needs to go to hospital. Next was an arrest for a man possessing Class A drugs. At almost the same time a unit checks a man for being a nuisance and found that he was subject of a Section 27 dispersal earlier in the evening – he was arrested as well for breaching the dispersal order. His mate was disorderly, by telling the mounted officers to 'get a real job', not a sensible move when that mounted officer was on a huge horse!! He was given a penalty notice order for £80, which he decided to rip up, was abusive again, and ended up being arrested himself. An assault was next, the offender was identified and arrested. Another arrest for yet another fight, his mate decided to try to stop the police arresting his mate - so he came in too. Finally the last clubs closed as the rain came in again. A busy and eventful night. The officers who had to take their prisoners to Eastleigh finally got back and joined the others who were preparing so that days could deal with the prisoners. I headed off at 0630hrs to get a few hours kip before putting up the Xmas tree for ‘er indoors! Another weekend gone!

Dick