Observer reporter Kevin Smith joined one of their patrols for part of their shift to find out what was going on...

Plenty of action overhead – but none on the ground.

That's just the way the police like it in Bognor Regis on fireworks night.

November 5 was probably the quietest fireworks night the town had known for years in terms of incidents requiring a police presence.

Rockets from private parties and back gardens were soaring high into the cloudy night sky to light it up with their bright colours and send their bangs echoing around the streets.

The noise and bright lights provided a background chorus throughout much of the night.

But the work put in by PCs Emma Cruise and Paul Chambers – and their colleagues at Bognor police station – in the two weeks leading up to last Wednesday proved successful.

Operation Sparkler was the name given to an intensive campaign aimed at stopping anti-social behaviour around halloween and bonfire night.

Frequent patrols, posters and leaflets warning that buying or handling fireworks is a criminal offence worthy of an £80 fixed penalty notice in some circumstances, as well as being dangerous, had their effect.

The campaign also saw retained firefighters Andrew Cuthbert and Kevin Baldwin joining the police patrols on the night to provide a joint approach to firework safety that clearly paid off.

The operation built upon the long-running Operation Respect which has combated many of the problems which blighted people's lives and the town's streets and open spaces.

PC Chambers (46), a police officer for seven years, said: "Our role tonight is to be a presence on the streets and to deal with any anti-social behaviour we come across. It's all about reinforcing that fireworks are not something you mess about with.

"We've been getting that message across in the past two weeks before we came out on the streets tonight.

"This year has certainly been different from previous years because it has been a lot quieter. It could also be something to do with the credit crunch. Perhaps people can't afford fireworks."

Whether they could or not, little escaped the two members of Bognor's neighbourhood policing team.

They concentrated their patrols in their usual beats in and around the Hotham and Marine areas of Bognor and the town centre as well as going further afield to open spaces which could have proved tempting to anyone seeking to let off a few fireworks 'for a laugh'.

They criss-crossed that patch, searching for rogue fireworks being set off or even anyone looking as if they might be trouble on a night when the potential for injury and damage is much greater than usual.

They covered most of the paths of Longbrook and King George V playing field in Felpham and the grounds of Felpham Community College on foot, as well as calling into two local shops for any first-hand reports of firework troubles.

Neither shops stocked any of the pyrotechnics and all was quiet as far as their businesses were concerned.

For PC Cruise (25), a police officer for five-and-a-half years, the footwork gives her the chance to make a difference to the safety of the town in which she grew up.

Local knowledge counts for a lot when you're dealing with police on the streets day after day and night after night.

Back in the car went the two officers to tour Northcliffe Road, Hook Lane and the Glenwood estate in Bognor and North Bersted's Trees estate.

Nothing. Not an errant banger, a rocket fired with malice or even a sparkler could be seen. The loudest sound on the ground came from their police radios.

They followed the fireworks on one occasion and found themselves among friends at the annual firework display of the Spinney Mead allotment holders where Bognor meets Felpham.

The family event was drawing to a close after just over an hour. The bonfire was still throwing out plenty of heat as the final rockets burst into action to the delight of some 25 spectators.

Bryan Ayling, one of the allotment holders, said: "This is the fourth year we have had the fireworks. We save up the rubbish from the allotments for the bonfire and bring a bit of food and one or two cans of drink.

"It's good to see the police here. They often come round to the allotments when they are in the area."

But the night did contain more serious interventions by the two officers. Their suspicions were aroused by a group of five individuals, mainly males, gathered around a parked car on the Trees estate.

They turned out to be Poles inspecting a smashed window on the vehicle. The two PCs were able to exchange some banter with them in the Polish they have learned at their Monday evening language classes.

The exchanges were not so friendly, however, that PC Chambers was willing to overlook an opened beer can on the kerb next to one of the males.

He poured out the rest of the alcohol and crushed the can while telling them that drinking alcohol was banned in public.

Such encounters occurred with all nationalities, explained PC Cruise.
"Most people know about not being able to drink alcohol in public by now. But we see the same people drinking again and again.

"You can usually tell by their reactions when we approach them if they have been drinking," she said.

PC Chambers added: "People can get a bit annoyed about having their alcohol poured away. I've not had to arrest anyway over it, though."

They both agreed the crackdown on public boozing had paid dividends.
The amount of drinking in public they came across had dropped dramatically in the past few years.

The crime which often resulted from such alcohol consumption
had similarly reduced.

But there is one aspect of community policing which, it seems, will never change.

The first action of the night for PC Chambers and PC Cruise was to order five young cyclists off their bikes for riding on the pavement without lights.

Their patrol car had barely gone 50m along London Road from the police station when that incident occurred.

Two hours later, and the officers were again warning two cyclists against riding through Felpham Community College's grounds without lights.

Dressed in dark clothing, the cyclists were all but invisible to anyone else.

It appears you can educate people against risking life and limb by misusing fireworks. Educating them to stop putting themselves at risk on their cycles is an altogether harder task.


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