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BEATING A PATH TO RURAL COMMUNITIES
A new project aimed at forging closer links between isolated rural communities and the police officers who serve them has been launched.
The Beat Project links local communities in Wooler in North Northumberland and Chevington in South-East Northumberland, with their local police officers to improve public participation in local policing and ensure that problems are identified and dealt with.
Each area also has its own newsletter to keep local people informed about local crime, how the Action Plan is being delivered, and when and where local meetings will be held.
BEAT GOES ON
Northumberland area command have been pleased with the Police Authority Beat project in engageing with rural communities. Inspector Bob Charlton, Sector Inspector for the Rural North, interviewed on local radio gave a pleasing evaluation of the project so far:
"I have worked in this area for 20
years but have been astonished by the level of the interest within the
community. There are regularly more than 20 people attending our quarterly
meetings.
"Levels of crime in this area are very low and clearly there is a very
strong desire to keep it this way."
Although coming to the end of its 12 month pilot
the Wooler Beat project has been extended to the Rothbury and Seahouses beat areas. Consultations and an action plan have already been produced in Rothbury and work has begun in Seahouses. The date of the Seahouses Action Planning event is Monday 24th October at 6.30pm followed by a combined Beat Project Evaluation Event at 8pm.
THE WOOLER BEAT PROJECT - HOW IT WORKS
A wide range of community organisations and groups are involved in the Beat project, including parish councils, schools, churches, local businesses and young peoples’ and voluntary groups, to establish local people’s main policing and safety concerns.
Once those local issues have been identified, the project will bring the community and local Police officers together to agree an Action Plan addressing those concerns during the following twelve months. The Action Plan will be regularly monitored by local people - so if problems are not being dealt with, then the community will quickly know.
The issues raised by local people will also help to inform the overall planning process which ensures that future policing resources are directed where they are most needed.
The project has been funded by the Home Office Citizen Focused Policing team and Northumbria Police Authority is hosting one of only three such pilot schemes in England.
WOOLER BEAT COMMUNITY CONSULTATION RESULTS & ACTION PLAN
A total of 256 residents from across the Wooler Beat area responded to the Wooler Beat survey. Overall staisfaction levels with the local Police service are at 73%. The aspects of the local policing service where residents were most concerned are in the areas of – Police visibility, Contacting the Police, Information and feedback, Speeding and Traffic issues and Youth Disorder. The charts below give some details of the survey results.
On December 15 40 representatives and officers from the local community, Police district and county councils met to discuss ways of improving the Policing service in relation to the survey results. An action plan was produced at this meeting with a number of key outcomes.
If you have any comments on the plan e-mail adriancantlejones@gateshead.gov.uk. Alternatively if you want to become more closely involved in monitoring the action plan then why not come along to the next Wooler Beat Crime Disorder Forum Tuesday April 12th 6.30pm at the Cheviot Centre Wooler.
THE CHEVINGTON BEAT PROJECT - HOW IT WORKS
The Chevington Beat Project in South East Northumberland focuses on involving residents and householders in identifying local policing priorities. All residents receive a monthly newsletter and are invited to attend a monthly beat meeting at Chevington Community Ce ntre in Hadston. These meetings
Bring the local beat officers face to face with the community. At each meeting key issues of concern are raised and discussed and action agreed to impact on the issues. To find out the range of issues addressed by the Chevington beat meetings click on the Chevington newsletter links.
ROTHBURY BEAT PROJECT
The Rural Northumberland beat project has been extended to cover the Rothbury beat area. The project will follow the same engagement approach developed in the Wooler beat area this will involve
- Community post card consultation – May-June 2005 involving local schools, parish councils and businesses.
- Action Planning – 6pm Tuesday July 5th 2005 - joint police and community action planning event Jubillee Hall Rothbury. Action planning outcomes related to community priorities
- Monitoring Action Plan – Quarterly Public Rothbury Crime and Disorder Forum meetings (Tuesday October 4th Rothbury village hall)
ROTHBURY BEAT CONSULTATION
SEAHOUSES BEAT CONSULTATION
QUESTIONNAIRES
If you live in the Wooler or Chevington areas, then we want to hear from you. In particular, we want to know what you think about the way your local area is policed and what crimes you are most concerned about.
Why not take part in our online survey – it will only take a minute or two. Click here for more details:
For further details of the Wooler and Chevington Beat project, please contact Adrian Cantle-Jones, Community Engagement Officer for Northumbria Police Authority on (0191) 433 2809 or e-mail adriancantlejones@gateshead.gov.uk
"Much of what the police authority does involves listening to what the public says and then acting on it, and we are always keen to find new ways of doing so because we know it works.
"This project will test whether the creation of local community groups with a real involvement in, and a responsibility for, local policing will help to deliver more effective and responsive policing.
"We know that involving the public is more difficult in more isolated and sparsely-populated rural areas. Hopefully, this project will help us to overcome some of those difficulties and help us to pave the way for greater involvement and closer links with rural communities throughout Northumberland." |
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Councillor Mick Henry, chairman of Northumbria Police Authority |
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