Not in my neighbourhood week 08
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Local people in Newcastle are again getting the chance to say no to crime and anti-social behaviour in their area during a week of activities.
Building on the success from last year, Not in My Neighbourhood Week will take place from 13 October until 17 October, 2008 taking the message of Safe Neighbourhoods on the road.
Not in My Neighbourhood Week is a Home Office campaign to make residents more aware of what is happening locally to make their area safer and encourage them to play their part.
Safe Newcastle will be running a series of road shows as part of Safe Neighbourhoods - solving problems or concerns about crime, community safety and anti-social behaviour in local neighbourhoods.
Northumbria Police, a partner in Safe Newcastle will also be working to interact with communities across the city during this week, highlighting the ongoing work to combat issues that have been brought to their attention. In the city centre, the Neighbourhood team will be cracking down specifically on low level disorder such as littering, urinating in public, noise from licences premises and alcohol-related disorder. These are all issues brought to the team's attention via a residents' survey.
Not in My Neighbourhood Week is also a chance to celebrate the excellent work that is going on at a local level. The road shows will promote the message that by working in partnership we are successfully tackling crime and anti-social behaviour and the fact that crime in Newcastle continues to fall, with a reduction of over 18% over the last year.
Every ward in the city has a team dedicated to fighting these problems. SNAPS (Safe Neighbourhoods Action and Problems Solving) groups include a Neighbourhood Inspector from Northumbria Police, a Your Homes Newcastle Housing, local Ward Co-ordinator and Councillor and Neighbourhood Response Manager. Together they can tackle problems and put in place solutions to make an area safer, cleaner and greener.
Over the past few years SNAPS groups have achieved many successes. Below are two examples:
- CRIMINAL damage in the Gosforth and Great Park area of Newcastle has reduced significantly.
- Since the start of April, there has been 55 reports of criminal damage, compared to 85 for the same period last year - a reduction of 35%.
The Gosforth and Great Park Neighbourhood Policing team has worked with partners involved in the local SNAPS group. Hotspots and offenders have been identified and resources dedicated to specific areas.
Neighbourhood Inspector Ronnie Lowes said his aim was for this reduction to continue. He said: "The team has listened to the concerns of the community, identified hotspots and targeted offenders.
"As a result we've already seen a reduction in criminal damage and we'll work hard to ensure this continues throughout the year.
"Criminal damage is an offence which not only affects individuals but also the wider community. We will take enforcement action against those who carry out this type of crime, but we'll also continue to work closely with our partners and the local community to seek solutions to any long-term criminal damage issues in the area."
- Police Officers in Newcastle's Outer West area are working as part of the local SNAPS group to resolve issues with youth-related disorder in Westerhope and Denton.
This includes identifying disorder areas and speaking to local residents to gauge their views on the situation and how best to resolve it.
The next step for the group is to talk to young people in Denton and Westerhope to find out what their perspective is on the matter.
Once this information is gathered, the SNAPS group will look for ways to improve the quality of life for residents of all ages.
Neighbourhood Inspector Jan Harrison said: "We're really trying to tackle the root of this problem by identifying any potential areas of disorder, gathering evidence and then working with residents and young people to get their thoughts on the situation.
"Sometimes there is a genuine problem and other times the issue is more down to perception and we're looking for ways to resolve this. We're hoping that by everybody working together in the community we can tackle these issues.
"We want people to know that we've listened to what they've told us about anti-social behaviour and we're doing something about it."
Jo Flitcroft, from Safe Newcastle explains more: “Not in My Neighbourhood Week is a great opportunity for us to talk to local people about what we are doing through Safe Neighbourhoods as well as listening to their concerns.
“Last year we successfully ran similar roadshows so we were keen to get involved in this week again, although we do take Safe Neighbourhoods into the community throughout the year.
“Everyone involved in the SNAPS groups has the ability to solve local problems because of the resources they have at hand but we also need to know what else is happening in neighbourhoods and the issues facing local people so solutions can be found. Residents and local groups can help us with this”.
Chief Inspector Laura Young, who has responsibility for Neighbourhood Policing in Newcastle, said: "It's essential we talk to local people to find out what is affecting them so we can focus our efforts on tackling those issues.
"Not in My Neighbourhood week is about highlighting how people within their community can raise concerns with us. It also provides an opportunity for the community to learn about some of the work ongoing jointly with the police and our partners to ensure our communities remain safe. We also want to tell people how they can get more involved in reducing crime and the fear of crime.
"By working with the community and our partners we aim to make people feel safer by tackling the issues which most affect them and by ensuring they get the correct crime prevention education and advice."
Not in My Neighbourhood road shows will be visiting the following areas:
Monday 13 October:
Cruddas Park House: 12noon – 5pm
By the entrance to the underground car park of the flats.
Tuesday 14 October:
Mallowburn Crescent, Kenton Bar: 12noon – 5pm At rear of the shops
Wednesday 15 October:
Monument Mall, Northumberland Street: 12noon - 3pm
Thursday 16 October:
Leazes Park: 1pm-5pm
Friday 17 October:
Newbiggin Hall shops, Newbiggin Hall Estate: 12noon -5pm
