Avon and Somerset Police in Bath are calling on people living in the Whiteway area of the city to have the confidence and reassurance to help them deal with people responsible for thefts, robberies, burglaries and anti-social behaviour in the community.
It follows the jailing of 19-year-old Christopher Marks, of Haycombe Drive. Bath magistrates sent him to prison for six weeks for criminal damage and breaching a suspended sentence.
Det Chief Insp Nick Papuca of Bath CID said: “We welcome the prison sentence. Christopher Marks is a petty serial offender who has a damaging effect on the lives of many. He is a scourge to the community in which he lives and it’s clear that they have had enough.
“He is a young man who has lived a life of crime with a very long history of convictions – a young man who seems to have no understanding of law and order and social responsibility. He has no respect for those who try to help him or for those in his community.”
He said that Marks had been an IMPACT offender since 2010 – managed by a team of police, probation, prison officers and drugs workers who identify the people who carry out most of the robberies, burglaries and thefts in an area and try to break their cycle of crime. He has also been managed by the youth offending team.
Bath Neighbourhood Inspector Steve Mildren said: “Marks has continued offending despite all this professional work to help him. We are now telling him, and the people of Whiteway whose lives have been made a misery by his actions, that we will deal with him robustly and quickly if he offends again.
“Many vulnerable victims in the Whiteway community are reluctant to come forward to give evidence against him and the small group of people he associates with. That is simply not acceptable.
“Our message is that people should be confident that, if he or any other prolific offender commits a crime in their community, they can contact us and we will arrest him and bring him to justice. We will seek to protect and support those who have provided the information.”
Bath police are urging anyone with information about crime in their community to contact them on 101, in confidence by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online at http://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/contact/crime_reporting/
