Police in Oakham will review how they handled issues related to last weeks religious festival

it was at Rutland Showground

Police
Author: Julie CastonPublished 29th Jun 2021

Police in Oakham are reviewing how they dealt with issues related to last weeks religious festival but say most of the feedback from the public was supportive of their actions.

Officers dealt with 180 complaints related to the event at Rutland showground. 25 were recorded as offences including criminal damage, abuse and one person reportedly being spat at. While 2 teenage boys arrested on suspicion of sexual assault have since been released on bail.

The force is stressing most people at the event behaved well and praised the organisers for their cooperation.

Inspector Audrey Danvers said: “The vast majority of people who attended the event and visited the area were there to enjoy their faith. Our officers engaged with organisers of the event as well as attendees and also continued to carry out proactive patrols in the area speaking with local residents and business owners. Messages were also issued on our website and social media channels to keep people updated regarding the event and our work around it"

“The vast majority of feedback we received in relation to this was positive and we would like to thank everyone who worked with us and co-operated with us across the past week."

“Thank you also to our policing officers and staff for their dedicated work over this past week. This included the local Neighbourhood Police Area (NPA) team as well as other resources from across force and specialist departments."

"Thank you also to Rutland County Council and other partners for their ongoing work with us and in relation to the event. As with all our work, we are continuing to review the past week along with our partners and addressing issues and concerns raised and any learning points we can take from this"

“Sadly, across the week, we did see a small number of people engage in crime and anti-social behaviour. It is disappointing to be informed of these incidents; they are not acceptable and enquiries do continue to be carried out in relation to them and investigations are ongoing."

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