The council is piloting a new out-of-hours neighbourhood patrol service to boost safety on local estates.
Uniformed officers are patrolling communal areas and target hotspots 10 hours a day, seven days a week, to deter criminal activity and ASB, as well as engaging with vulnerable residents and signposting them to support.
In less than a month, they have already:
- Engaged with and advised over 200 residents and businesses
- Completed 87 weapon sweeps and removed dangerous items
- Shared 85 pieces of intelligence with the police, some of them in support of closure orders
- Checked on and supported 42 vulnerable residents
- Made 34 interventions to tackle drug-related activity (from removing paraphernalia, moving users on and disrupting activity)
Cllr Sarah Williams, the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning, said:
The new patrols, which are being delivered on the ground by our community safety partner Parkguard, are the latest of several measures we have taken to disrupt ASB.
These include the successful Closure Orders we introduced last year, as well as lighting improvements and more secure entry systems on our communal entrances – and more will follow in coming months.
As the numbers show, the patrol team are already making a positive difference, and we look forward to building on the progress they’ve made.
Cllr Ajda Ovat, Cabinet Member for Communities, added:
We want all residents to feel – and be – safe.
We are determined to tackle the concerns that estate residents in Northumberland Park and St Ann’s have raised with us and are taking a targeted and evidence-led approach through the new patrols.
