Community Safety Unit
The Southend Community Safety Unit is a multi-agency facility based at Southend Central Police Station.
Community Safety Unit Vision “ Safer Community for All”
Community Safety Unit Mission Statement “Working together to reduce crime, disorder and anti social behaviour, and to improve safety for everyone living, working or visiting Southend”
Community Safety Unit Aims and Objectives
- · Reduce crime, disorder and anti social behaviour
- · Be a model of best practice, providing leadership, advice and guidance to partner agencies and working groups.
- · Ensure achievement of local community safety targets.
- · Ensure the completion of an annual Strategic Intelligence Assessment and an annually refreshed Partnership Plan.
- · Provide financial management of all CDRP budgets.
- · Monitor and evaluate all CDRP activities, providing comprehensive performance management reports to CDRP Executive Group and SSCB as required.
- · Act as a conduit for multi-agency partnership working across the CDRP agenda.
- · Deliver high quality community safety communications
- · Improve resident reassurance, reducing the fear of crime, disorder and anti social behaviour
- · Engage and empower residents to create safer environments for all.
- · Be innovative and proactive
- · Build good working relationships with a wide range of partners and stakeholders to achieve the vision of a safer community for all.
Structure of the Community Safety Unit
A flow chart showing the structure of the unit can be downloaded at Presentation1csu
What does the Community Safety Unit do?
The Community Safety Unit acts as a conduit for all multi-agency partnership working to tackle crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour across the borough. The Unit’s activities are aligned to the CDRP strategic priorities
The Home Office also requires the CDRP to complete annual Strategic Intelligence Assessments, and to refresh its three year Partnership Plan on an annual basis.
In addition the Community Safety Unit provides a resource of skills, experience and expertise for the CDRP. They will support and service the CDRP, Safer and Stronger Communities Board and other linked work e.g. LAA negotiations.
Who are the unit members?
Partnership Manager Community Safety Simon Ford Southend Borough Council (SBC) Contact Number 0300 333 4444 ext. 470411
Southend Multi Agency Anti-social Behaviour Response Team (better known as SMAART) Contact number for SMAART is (01702) 423504; E-mail smaart@southend.gov.uk The team are as follows: Anita McGinley ASB Partnership Manager seconded from South Essex Homes (SEH); Roger Robinson ASB Partnership Officer seconded from SEH; Lauren Goodge Anti social Behaviour Caseworker seconded from SBC;
Domestic Abuse Partnership Officer Althea Cribb. Contact number (01702) 344329 The purpose of my role is to coordinate the partnership’s response to domestic abuse in Southend – all agencies and services in the area have a role in how we approach this issue. Whether they work directly with adults, young people or children in the community, or work with other professionals, domestic abuse is unfortunately so prevalent that we are all coming into contact with victims, survivors, perpetrators, their children or other affected people, every day. The partnership work is centred on the Domestic Abuse Forum (a CDRP sub-group) which I coordinate. My role is focussed on working with partners to ensure engagement with the Forum is as wide (and meaningful) as possible, and driving forward the Forum’s work.
Domestic Abuse Prevention Worker
Keelan Thomas Contact numbe r(01702) 423192. My role is to initiate contact with men who have been arrested for domestic violence, prior to their release from police custody. The role aims to support the man to change his behaviour and to improve the relationship he has with his partner and children in order to protect them from future harm. The object is to improve understanding of negative effects of abusive behaviour and decrease the likelihood of men reoffending.
Crime Reduction Officer Lorna Watson. Contact number (01702) 423187
Priority and Prolific Offender Officers Jo Simpson and Clare Thompson (Essex Police) Chris Penrose (Link Worker)
The Southend PPO scheme was created as part of Home Office guidance to break the cycle of offending for a small number of individuals that are identified as being responsible for a disproportionate number of crimes.
There are a number of agencies involved in the scheme that are wide reaching from Police and Probation through to housing providers and Drugs workers. Guidance and support are provided from agencies within the scheme in order to rehabilitate the individual and provide the tools to enable them to function in society independently.
The cycle of offending is often entrenched with deep rooted issues and it is very difficult to identify these without the correct guidance. The ability of the scheme to address virtually any issue the individual may have is pivotal to its success.
Between 2008 and 2009 our clients showed a 47 percent reduction in offending compared to 2007 and 2008.
It is also important to reassure the local community that we are committed to seeking long term solutions in preventing and deterring criminality as the financial implications for the local community of an offender continuously re-entering the judicial process are wide ranging and significant.
We coordinate the PPO scheme in Southend and Castle Point & Rochford. We work in conjunction with 2 police officers who are dedicated to working within the PPO scheme
Day to day we will liase with partner agencies to ensure actions are being carried out and that all offenders are getting the appropriate attention (whether that be active targeting by police or support from probation, help with housing, drug intervention etc). We will make sure that all agencies are taking the appropriate action if an offender is believed to be offending again or in breach of conditions, whether this be missed appointments, positive drug test etc. We act as the central point for information and feedback to be reported to us and for us to disseminate out to the appropriate people/agencies.
We also liase with other police forces andoutside agencies so that we are aware of any PPOs that may be moving to our area and so that we if a PPO on one of our schemes moves out of the area we can pass them over therefore allowing premium service to continue.
Media & Communications Officer Chris English Contact number 0300 3334444 ext.470414.
My role is to actively promote the work and initiatives of Southend CDRP by liasing with the local media. I undertake regular media briefings and create promotional material in relation to Southend CDRP initiatives. My post is funded by Southend CDRP.
I co-edit 'Communicate' newsletter, together with Michael Holland and Julia Pack (Police Media and Communications Officer)
and assist at Community Safety Roadshows where I work with partner agencies that comprise the Southend CDRP.
I graduated from Essex University's Southend Campus with a degree in journalism.
Researcher Claire Homan
Community Engagement Officer Michael Holland. (CDRP) Contact Number (01702) 464199
I am a retired Southend police office - I retired towards the end of the last century!. I spent most of my police career in Community Policing and have been involved with Neighbourhood Watch since its inception in the mid 1980s. My post is funded by Southend CDRP. I am responsible for supporting and creating Neighbourhood Watch Schemes; coordinating and running the Community Safety Roadshows; co-editing the Communicate newsletter; editing the CDRP Website; developing new community based initiatives, bid writing, managing the CDRP photograph library, and liaising with other agencies on community safety issues. I sit on the Executive Committee of the Essex Neighbourhood Watch Association. I chair the Foreshore Watch and Park Watch meetings
Current and ongoing projects
Burglary Watch - funded by the Home Office the scheme has funded 5,000 UV marker pens and window stickers advising, Burglars Beware! Our Property is Postcoded. These are for distribution to identified vulnerable householders to enable them to postcode their property, thus rendering it less attractive to thieves. Funding has also been allocated for some timer switches, electronic tags for fitting to high value items such as laptop computers etc; and miniature ultraviolet lamps for use by PCSOs, police officers etc
Cycle Watch Scheme - has been running since 21 October 2005 and in that time has tagged over 3,000 bikes. Of these only six tagged bikes have been stolen giving a theft rate of 0.002%. The scheme involves fitting an electronic tag into the frame of the bicycle. Once fitted it cannot be removed. Details of the tag are held on a national database. A photograph is taken of the bicycle at the time of tagging, printed off and given to the owner, together with details of the tag unique reference number in a folder called the Cycle Passport. A large number of police forces nationwide have now emulated this scheme
Community Safety Roadshows - have been running since the start of the year (2009) They have their roots in the cycle tagging project when it was decided to take Cycle Watch to a venue near you! In its enhanced form, property coding is carried out, referrals accepted for HandyVan and for smoke alarms. Various personal safety items such as purse chains, personal attack alarms, bogus caller door stickers have been handed out to the public. By the end of 2010 the unit will have been involved in seventy-six roadshows. Details of next year's schedule of Roadshows can be found in the What's On section of the Website. The Roadshows have been identified as best practice by the Home Office
Archived Projects