A New Chair for Safe Newcastle 17 October 2011

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A New Chair for Safe Newcastle

Safe Newcastle has appointed a new chair in its continued bid to improve community safety across the city.

Councillor Stephen Lambert, who is also the Deputy Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Regulation has taken up post with immediate effect.

Safe Newcastle is the statutory community safety partnership for the city. Partners include Newcastle City Council, Northumbria Police, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service and the Newcastle Primary Care Trust. 

The partnership works together to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour and alcohol and drug misuse in Newcastle. The priorities for this work are set out in an annual strategy.

This year there will be a focus on reducing domestic and sexual violence and supporting victims of anti-social behaviour of hate crime.  There will also be work to stop people reoffending and make both local neighbourhoods and the city centre safer by reducing crime, anti-social behaviour and community tensions.

In his role of Chair, Councillor Lambert is responsible for overseeing these areas of work and ensuring all members of the partnership, particularly the Board, fulfil its responsibility of making Newcastle a safer city.

Councillor Lambert said: “As a partnership Safe Newcastle is continuing to perform well and last year there were 1700 fewer victims of crime across the city.

“This is thanks to all partners working together to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour across the city and I am delighted to take up the position of Chair and support this excellent work.

“Through my work as a local councillor in Kenton I appreciate how important community safety is to local people and how essential a feeling of safety is to someone’s quality of life. 

“The position is of more significance at a time of unprecedented changes to public, voluntary and private sectors. I am convinced that by working successfully in partnership Newcastle will remain a safe place and the lives of local residents won’t be inadvertently affected”.