Political View: Time to bring back visible policing in the city

In light of the spate of violent incidents in the city we would urge the Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable to bring back visible policing in the city, writes councillor Andrew O'Neil of Reform UK Group. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with an ad-lite subscription to Peterborough Telegraph, you get 70% fewer ads while viewing the news that matters to you. Subscription Offers Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... With reports of a spate of alleged targeted organised crime group (OCG) violence in Middlesbrough necessitating the presence of 200 or more armed police , and now the latest incident reported in Peterborough of a male brandishing an imitation firearm in Queensgate shopping centre requiring armed police response, it is perhaps timely and sensible to ponder whether our city's policing is adequate in terms of visible-deterrence and capacity to respond. We have seen a disturbing pattern of violent crime in the city in recent years, with the reduction in policing in the city. The Cowgate Underpass stabbing, with two 17 year old youths recently sent to prison; a knife-point (machete) robbery at a convenience store in Gunthorpe in January 2025; council refuse collection workers threatened in October last year and having to take refuge in the bin lorry whilst the attacker vandalised the lorry. Major weapons and violent incidents over the last year have included the fatal stabbing of a schoolboy, near Ortongate shopping centre this April; the knife attack on a man outside The Fletton Club last September and an individual alleged to have boarded a train at Peterborough several weeks later to have then carried out several stabbings whilst onboard. Andrew O'Neil Many such incidents bear some relationship to illegal drugs. The spike in drug-related violence in the city centre led police to authorise emergency Section 60 stop-and-search powers. This resulted in youth arrests including of a 16-year old on Bourges Boulevard who was found to be carrying a knife and an offensive weapon. UK Police Mapping provides some potentially useful information with regard to areas with the highest frequency of violence and or weapons offences. Electoral wards with the highest number of weapons possession offences (March 2025 – February 2026) include: Central (116 offences); East (33 Offences); Bretton (20 offences); Fletton and Woodston (19 offences) and Dogsthorpe (16 Offences). It is unclear to us in the Reform UK Group why these wards, which coincidentally are predominantly Labour held wards, have the highest incidence of such offences – whether these have been committed by residents of the wards, or, by people passing through – but there is a clear and distinct pattern, with these wards having the highest number of such crimes. It certainly merits further analysis. This week saw Police and Crime Commissioner, Darryl Preston, and Chief Constable, Simon Megicks, signing a statement on behalf of both institutions making a collective commitment that each is not party to modern slavery – highly commendable. Our Chief Constable also went on patrol this week with local Member of Parliament, Ben Obese-Jecty, in St Ives. They discussed the success of recent work to reduce anti-social behaviour in the town, including reduction in street drinking and (one assumes associated) harassment. We in the Reform UK Group at Peterborough would like to invite Chief Constable Megicks to meet with us in Peterborough to discuss crime in our wards that currently blights the lives of our residents. Those residents of the city with concerns may also contact us by email, via Reform UK Group Leader Andrew O'Neil: [email protected].