The assessment of the delinquency situation in Niort and Thouars is rather encouraging, according to the departmental director of public security of the Deux-Sèvres police. Bertrand Baud arrived in Niort at the beginning of 2022, after a Covid-19 epidemic. As a direct consequence of health restrictions, acts of delinquency had declined sharply and experienced a rebound with the gradual lifting of measures, but at a lower rate. “relatively contained level”. The commander also specifies that today the police are observing “stability and even a reduction in acts of delinquency”.
Since his arrival, the Niort and Thouars police force has numbered around 215 agents, around fifteen more since the arrival of Emmanuel Baud. During his presence on site, he placed his priorities on two issues: “the fight against domestic violence, and the fight against drug trafficking”. On this point, he is rather satisfied with the work of his teams. “First of all, we strengthened our resources in the drug brigade, we also recruited a search dog, and then we also changed our organization in the fight against drug trafficking”specifies the DDSP of Deux-Sèvres, “First there is surface work, it is the harassment of deal points by public highway personnel, but which serves much more in-depth work”. The reorganization of police work made it possible to obtain “great successes with significant dismantlings, but also significant seizures of criminal assets”. In the figures, it is approximately “€500,000 in criminal assets, seizures of cash, vehicles, homes, but also 18 kilos of herbal cannabis, 65 kilos of resin, more than 6 kilos of cocaine, almost 10 kilos of heroin.”
A situation which has rather improved
In addition to seizures, Bertrand Baud highlights a trend towards a reduction in acts of delinquency, particularly on public roads: “Violent theft incidents are down by more than 33%. We are reaching values that are significantly below 2022. Burglaries are decreasing, as are automobile thefts. There will always be incidents of delinquency, but the overall trend has been clearly downward since 2022.
Concerning the project to move the Niort police station, he does not specify a timetable, but underlines the importance of new premises. “It is important to move to the extent that the building which accommodates us no longer meets the requirements in terms of staff safety, in terms of management of flows inside, quite simply in terms of working conditions for police officers“, specifies the boss of the Deux-Sèvres police, “It no longer meets the criteria of welcoming the public, with premises that are too cramped, problems of accessibility, particularly for people with reduced mobility, confidentiality, etc. So it is necessary to move to ensure and provide real quality of public service.
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