Crime Reduction & Community Safety Group Tilley Awards 2008

Crime Reduction & Community Safety Group Tilley Awards 2008 Application form Please ensure that you have read the guidance before completing this form. By making an application to the awards, entrants are agreeing to abide by the conditions laid out in the guidance. Please complete the following form in full, within the stated word limit and ensuring the file size is no more than 1MB. Failure to do so will result in your entry being rejected from the competition. Completed application forms should be e-mailed to [email protected]. All entries must be received by noon on Friday 25th April 2008. No entries will be accepted after this time/date. Any queries on the application process should be directed to Alex Blackwell on 0207 035 4811. Section A: Application basics 1. Title of the project: The Thickley Bank Project/Partnership Intervention at Neighbourhood Level 2. Key issue that the project is addressing e.g. Alcohol related violence: Alcohol related crime, anti social behaviour, general disorder, criminal damage, secondary fires and lack of community confidence. Author contact details 3. Name of application author: Councillor Brian R. Murray-Carr 4. Organisation submitting the application: Bolsover Community Safety Partnership 5. Full postal address: Bolsover District Council, Sherwood Lodge, Bolsover, Derbyshire, S44 6NF 6. Email address: [email protected] 7. Telephone number: 01246 242589 Secondary project contact details 8. Name of secondary contact involved in the project: Carolyn Bowen 9. Secondary contact email address: [email protected] 10. Secondary contact telephone number: 01246 242589 Page 1 of 9 The Thickley Bank Project/Partnership Intervention at Neighbourhood Level Endorsing representative contact details 11. Name of endorsing senior representative from lead organisation: M J Ritchie Head of Community Services, Bolsover District Council 12. Endorsing representative’s email address: [email protected] 13. For all entries from England & Wales please state which Government Office or Welsh Assembly Government your organisation is covered by e.g. GO East Midlands: GO East Midlands 14. Please mark this box with an X to indicate that all organisations involved in the project have been notified of this entry (this is to prevent duplicate entries of the same project): X Section B: Summary of application - In no more than 400 words use this space to provide a summary of your project under the stated headings (see guidance for more information). This project outlines the Problem Orientated Partnership (POP) approach to crime and disorder reduction in Shirebrook part of the District of Bolsover in the North East of Derbyshire. The project identifies how problems in a specific area were resolved following a detailed analysis of the problems, those who were involved and the background in order to establish sustainable solutions associated with crime and disorder. The submission sets out the scanning exercise which identified the multiple problems of alcohol related crime, criminal damage, anti social behaviour, assault and secondary deliberate fires which were having a significant impact on community confidence via a scanning approach. Shirebrook was identified as a problem area in every category of crime and regularly featured as number one in terms of incidents of crime by ward. Community confidence was extremely low and the Partnership and the Police were under pressure to resolve the situation. In 2004 Shirebrook had been subject to two Section 30 Dispersal Orders which had the effect of dissipating some of the problems out into nearby areas such as the one in question. The overall problems of the area were having a significant effect on the wider community, the nearby Catholic school and church, two areas of housing and users of the Town Park and the Kissingate Leisure Centre. The project identifies how the Problem Analysis Triangle approach was used to develop a clear understanding of who was involved, when it occurred, the background, the reasons and also establish what measures needed to be put in place to resolve the problems. The response identifies the range of measures adopted including a major environmental clearance programme to change the whole profile of the area in question along with targeting and identifying the main perpetrators, the introduction of an alcohol control zone, CCTV system at the Kissingate Leisure Centre and extensive diversionary activities along with the details of the consultation with all groups involved. The assessment of the impact of the actions to resolve the problems based on statistical evidence and examples of renewed community confidence suggest that this intervention had a major and sustainable benefit restoring community confidence in the ability of the agencies to turn what was becoming a no go area back into a location which can be enjoyed by all. State number of words: 378 Page 2 of 9 The Thickley Bank Project/Partnership Intervention at Neighbourhood Level Section C: Description of project - Describe the project in no more than 4,000 words. Please refer to the full guidance for more information on what the description should cover, in particular section 11. Scanning – Why Shirebrook? A range of clear, specific and realistic objectives were identified in dealing with the multiple problems in this particular area namely alcohol related crime, criminal damage, anti social behaviour, assaults and secondary deliberate fires and achieve sustainable community confidence. The area in question as part of Shirebrook was identified as the number one problem in every category of crime and anti social behaviour along with deliberate fires and an area which residents in the community duly avoided. Community confidence in the ability of the Partnership to seriously address these problems was a major challenge bearing in mind the bad publicity by the local press and at public meetings. As background Shirebrook had been the subject of two Section 30 Dispersal Orders in 2004. The Criminal Damage in Derbyshire report 2005 confirmed that Shirebrook East Ward was ranked the highest in the county of Derbyshire for criminal damage and Shirebrook was also ranked the worst place in North East Derbyshire for secondary fires in 2005. Table 1 shows the crime figures for Shirebrook East Ward for damage and arson from 2004 to 2006 which confirmed the impact of the measures set out later to deal with the problems. Table 2 shows the calls for service to the Police from 2004 to 2006 specifically for the area in question again demonstrating the impact of the measures adopted and Table 3 relates to calls to the fire service. CRIME FIGURES FOR SHIREBROOK EAST WARD (All third Quarter) Table 1: 2004 2005 2006 Damage and Arson 104 143 32 Table 2: Calls for Service to Police 2004 2005 2006 Kissingate Leisure Centre 28 59 2 Thickley Bank 6 39 1 Catholic School 7 29 0 OAP Complex 5 14 2 Totals 46 141 5 Table 3: 2004 2005 2006 Calls to Fire Service Thickley Bank and Kissingate 3 29 0 The problems involved the Town Park and Kissingate Leisure Centre area and the adjoining Thickley Bank area, large expanses of land originally set out with facilities for the enjoyment of the public. This bordered onto a Catholic school which around 2005 began to experience serious anti social behaviour and criminal damage affecting everyone involved with the school and the church along with the nearby housing complex and senior citizens bungalows. The increase in anti social behaviour, alcohol related disorder and elements of violence began to affect the running and attendance of the nearby Kissingate leisure complex due to intimidation of both users and parents. Parts of the area were covered with dense overgrown woodland and brambles such that they provided a ready hiding place for people who wanted to indulge in the activities creating problems. On occasions there were deliberate secondary fires in the areas concerned and the picnic benches and seats had been significantly damaged by deliberate fires. The area was littered with the consequences of alcohol consumption, cans, broken glass and Page 3 of 9 The Thickley Bank Project/Partnership Intervention at Neighbourhood Level flytipping. Overall the problems of the area were of significant concern to the community posing a challenge to all the agencies in trying to resolve the problems. Community confidence as judged by the responses to questions of peoples fear of crime or fear of being a victim of crime and feeling safe as judged by responses to the Citizens Panel questionnaire and discussions with local community groups and individuals was extremely low. The opportunity to restore community confidence came about via the setting up of a Local Action Group under the Partnership. There were additional concerns emanating from this location with regards to its effects on members of the general public both those who actually use the area and within the community, from the nearby Catholic school and church, in the OAP complex and the housing estate plus overall affects on attendances at the Kissingate Leisure Centre where the prevalence of offences began to effect attendances and the security of parents and children. This was not assisted by the number of occasions when threats were made by drunken youths, criminal damage of vehicles, examples of rowdy drunken behaviour and on one occasion a youth under the affect of alcohol tried to climb the outside wall of the Kissingate Leisure Centre sustaining considerable injuries. The resultant publicity did little to boost confidence in the community. With regards to the criminal consequences the extent of threats, assaults, and criminal damage added to the succession of incidents whereby both the Police and Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service were called to attend deliberate fires in this area with the Police having to face a barrage of missiles during the hours of darkness. At the Catholic school the teachers and children were regularly being intimidated by the actions of drunken and abusive youths utilising the area as hiding places to indulge in drinking and substance abuse.

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