Community Safety Partnership still working well in Redbridge

I needed something to cheer me up this morning as I stepped out into a cold 9°C to walk the short distance to the office at the bottom of my garden. It was so cold I went back into the house and popped on my denim jacket. Now I’m wearing ‘double-denim’ a fashion disaster I know, but needs must!

So, as I was saying, the double-denim disaster was definitely diluted when I read about the progress and achievements of the Redbridge Community Safety Partnership (North-east London), a story I found on the Metropolitan Police website.

In brief this is what they managed to do last year:

• Through joint partnership working, burglaries in the Borough have reduced by 11 per cent
• Last year 10 alleygating schemes (16 gates) protecting over 260 properties were put in place across the Borough (It’s great to see my old initiative still at work!!)
• An extra £32,000 has been funded by the Council to support crime prevention initiatives including improved street lighting in high risk burglary areas in the Borough, additional alley-gating and funding for victims of hate crime
• The Partnership expanded the doorstep calling restricted zones (similar to no cold-calling zones) with new zones in Aldborough, Barkingside, Chadwell and Fairlop, taking the number of zones in the Borough to 32, safeguarding over 30,000 residents from doorstep traders.
• Work to reduce on-street prostitution in the south of the Borough has continued

These achievements are outlined in the Community Safety Annual Report. The report looks back at the achievements on the agreed priorities for the Community Safety Partnership and subject to agreement from Cabinet will continue with the following priorities for 2015/16:

• Residential burglary

• Drug and alcohol related crime and anti-social behaviour

• Vulnerable victims (including violence against women and girls and Prostitution)

• Integrated offender management.

What I particularly like about this crime prevention work is that it will have a long shelf-life and is largely sustainable. Let’s hope the Cabinet agreed to continue this necessary work.

When it comes to preventing crime it is vital for the police and local authorities to work together. Police will normally have the intelligence about crime and the know-how about how to prevent it and the local authority will have access to funding and the expertise needed to put the work into action. Obviously, with councils and the police currently strapped for cash, these partnerships cannot be expected to do as much as they used to, but I am so pleased to see that they still exist and are doing the right things!

Full story: http://content.met.police.uk/News/Partnership-message/1400032025886/1257246745756