Safer Moors and Coast

The Safer Communities Partnership is actively involved in delivering a number of initiatives and projects. Here are some of the main initiatives.

Take crime off the menu this Christmas

Between 12th December to 3rd January partnership officers from both the Borough Council and North Yorkshire Police will be out and about advising members of the public how to avoid becoming a victim of crime this Christmas.

Christmas Domestic Violence Bar Runner Campaign

The attached bar runner provided by the partnership will be visible on bars throughout Scarborough town centre throughout the festive period raising awareness that the period is a peak time for domestic violence offences and
encouraging people to call upon assistance.

The partnership has purchased two mobile CCTV cameras which are deployed for up to 12 weeks at areas which have been highlighted as current crime or disorder hotspots. The cameras are linked to SBC's CCTV centre and images may be downloaded as and when required. Locations where the cameras have been situated to date are detailed below.

The Night Marshal – Scarborough is a scheme aimed to make Scarborough town centre safer by reducing crime and anti social behaviour linked to the nightlife.

From December 2008 there will be six marshals working in pairs on a Friday and Saturday night within the town centre between the hours of 10pm and 3am. They will also work on other significant dates such as bank holidays.

The marshals are security officers who are trained and registered with the Security Industry Authority and will work alongside the Police.

All the marshals will have radio communications with the town centre CCTV, Police and Licensed premises.

The role of the marshals is to provide a visible patrol service within the town centre and to deal with low level drink related incidents. They will also provide support to the door supervisors of licensed premises.

The aim of the volunteer Street Angels is improve the safety of those who use bars, restaurants, cinemas and public transport during busy periods. Building up relationships with the public and if they identify someone in difficulty calling on the appropriate services to help them.

Street Angels is a voluntary church based response to our community’s problems. By interacting with people on the street they will be there to care, listen, to talk and to offer practical support.

Street Angels is based on the Street Pastor schemes running in over eighty towns and cities in the UK and they are seeing a significant reduction in street crime, by working with other community agencies such as Police, Ambulance Services and Scarborough Borough Council in stemming violence, crime and antisocial behaviour on our streets.

Teams of five will patrol the streets of Scarborough town centre on Saturday nights and work to improve the safety of those who user our bars, restaurants and clubs ect at night.

Agencies such as the Police, Ambulance Service, A&E, Safer Communities, Scarborough Borough Council and voluntary sector are fully supportive of the scheme and will continue to work closely with the Street Angels.

Throughout the year the Partnership engages with the public through a variety of means including the use of the Media Van and dispensing anti spiking devices to discourage binge drinking and the resulting anti social behaviour, disorder and violence.

A partnership approach to reducing the speed of motorists, code named Operation Siren is ongoing in the Scarborough area.

Scarborough Borough Council, North Yorkshire County Council, North Yorkshire Police and the Fire and Rescue Service are all involved in the operation to help educate drivers rather than prosecute them for breaking the speed limit.

At areas where speed has been highlighted as an issue by the community the Police measure the speed of approaching vehicles and ask those travelling a little too fast for the speed limit to stop at a specified location and attend the Siren education programme. There they meet an assembled team, which includes a Police officer who covers some of the legal aspects of speeding, two fire officers who give details of their contribution to road safety and show very graphically the consequences of speeding, and Road Safety Officers from Scarborough Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council, who look at reaction times and the length of time it takes to stop at different speeds.

"This is an invaluable initiative, because most of the offenders genuinely don't appreciate the problem associated with low level speeding in a built up area. 35 to 40 mph kills just as surely as high speeds on the motorway and on open roads. They are not necessarily people who would want to be driving dangerously."

The partnership is piloting the delivery of this programme within the boroughs schools. The programme covers such issues as ASB, Domestic Abuse, Drugs & Alcohol, Bereavement and forced marriage.

In November 2006 the partnership purchased a Graffiti Machine, which Scarborough Borough Council's Streetscene Service is operating across the borough to get rid of unsightly and illegal graffiti reported by the public.

The Making Safe Scheme is a multi agency initiative that provides positive intervention to incidents of domestic abuse which aims to address the number of repeat victims and repeat offending across the Borough of Scarborough.
The scheme primarily works with female and male victims and their family to ensure their safety and assist them in remaining in their own home.

Work is also undertaken with male perpetrators in conjunction with the National Probation Service, Integrated Domestic Abuse Programme that challenges the offender’s behaviour and encourages them to change it. Under the scheme offenders of domestic abuse who are not currently in the Criminal Justice System can be offered the Civil Offender Programme. Safety planning can also be offered to the victim’s children through the NSPCC.

In recognition of the projects work in supporting families involved with domestic violence, the scheme was awarded the Butler Trust Public Protection Award at Buckingham Palace on 3 March 2008.

For any further information on the delivery and development of the Making Safe Scheme please contact Sandra Rees Domestic Violence Coordinator on 01723 232326.

In order to tackle the problem of vehicle crime in the Borough, the Partnership is liaising with Scarborough Borough Council's Technical Services Department to develop a range of initiatives to complement police activities.
Signage in all car parks is being reviewed to highlight risks associated with leaving valuables in cars whilst unattended. Scarborough Borough Council is also working towards Secured By Design car parks.

Early in 2004 the Abandoned Vehicle Policy was launched and has been shared as best practice across North Yorkshire.

This working document enables Scarborough Borough Council to remove abandoned vehicles that are of no interest to the police a lot quicker.

The average car is now moved within 5 days thanks to the police providing PNC (Police National Computer) checks. Before this it could take up to 15 days for Scarborough Borough Council to carry out the paper work and remove the vehicle.

Abandoned vehicles are not only unsightly, but can also be a real danger to children who are attracted to them as playgrounds. The longer vehicles are left in the streets, the more chance there is of them being set on fire or used as skips. The recent rapid increase in abandoned cars, due to the sharp fall in scrap metal prices, is now emerging as one of the biggest menaces facing our towns and rural areas. They are not only an eyesore, but can become a potential firebomb.

Through research, looking at nationwide best practice, the Safer Communities Partnership facilitated and developed a Joint Procedure for the removal of abandoned vehicles. Scarborough Borough Council in partnership with North Yorkshire Police and North Yorkshire Fire Service are working together to ensure the swift removal of abandoned vehicles removing this potential hazard and danger from our streets and public places.

" behaviour that causes, or is likely to cause, alarm, distress or harassment to one or more people not of the same household and is of a persistent and serious nature."

It needs YOU to make that call to the right organisation at the right time to make the difference.

Effective solutions to these problems are not the responsibility of a single agency or organisation. We all have a role and responsibility to tackle anti-social behaviour, residents, tenants, communities and individuals, local authorities, the police, social services, schools, businesses and many other groups need to play their part. If your life is affected by Anti-social Behaviour but think:

make that call, if you don't who will, and if you don't how can anything change.

Anti-social Behaviour Reporting Line

The call will be answered during office hours and an answering machine is available out of office hours to leave your Anti-social Behaviour issues on. Any messages left will be collated the next working day. Information provided will be shared with relevant agencies.

You may leave a message about any Anti-social Behaviour issue however the line best suits low level issues that are of a persistent nature that previously people would not bother reporting.

For further information please contact the ASB Officer John Casey on 01723 232326.

Further details of the many projects and initiatives relating to crime and disorder being delivered by Partnership agencies can be obtained from Lesley Philps on 01723 232326.

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