News

Following visits to East Folkestone and Cheriton and six other areas across the country a report is calling for a people power revolution to fight neighbourhood crime.

Baroness Newlove, who was appointment in October last year as Champion for Active Safer Communities by the Government, has detailed what residents, businesses, local agencies and central government can do to begin a change in the country's approach to tackling neighbourhood crime.

The report, 'Vision for Safe and Active Communities', includes work carried out by the Baroness over the last three months in seven handpicked areas, including Cheriton and Folkestone East in Shepway.

She has spent time working alongside the community and local agencies in each area, to find out what works and what the barriers are to successful activism.

In addition, Shepway has been given £15,000 to get community action going with the money to be spent on projects approved by the community.

Baroness Newlove's recommendations for local areas like Shepway include:

- Community Reward - where information provided by the community leads to a conviction the community is given a reward to spend on crime prevention work;
- Bling Back - where money made from selling local drug dealers' assets is handed back to the neighbourhood they blighted;
- letting communities set their own local speed limits;
- taking crime maps to the next level so people can use them to report crime and antisocial behaviour (ASB), and agencies can publish details of what action was taken against offenders;
- giving the public a single point of contact through the roll out of the 101 number to report ASB;
- providing council tax rebates, or vouchers for local businesses and services, for people who take part in activism;
- asking Police and Crime Commissioners to commit at least one per cent of their budget to grass roots community groups to use or have a say on;
- encouraging public servants to go out into communities, volunteering their time and expertise to support local groups;
- pooling agencies' budgets, giving communities a choice in how it is spent; and
- changing the '9 to 5' culture of local agencies so they are there to respond when people need them most.

Baroness Newlove said: "The difference in the quality of life between an active community, like Cheriton and Folkestone East, that looks out for each other especially the most vulnerable and one that closes its front door and says it's someone else's problem, is enormous.

"For too long now too many people have either not known how to get involved, have not been listened to when they have tried to speak out, or simply felt that it wasn't worth it as nothing would ever change.

"This report sets out how we can change things by empowering local communities to reclaim their streets. Everyone has a role to play, communities must begin to take more responsibility and local agencies must begin to lessen their grip on the decision making process and trust the people they serve to solve problems for themselves.

"In the past six months I have seen good people make a fantastic difference, and I am especially impressed with the work I have seen in Shepway. I know there is a big appetite out there for volunteering and making a real difference. This report is written with them, and for them and to encourage others to follow us. Together we can change the way we approach activism forever and build that happy, safe neighbourhood we all deserve to live in."

Minister for Crime Prevention James Brokenshire said: "Since her appointment Baroness Newlove has been working tirelessly to inspire, challenge, support and learn from areas across the country. I look forward to seeing how her report, and the good work going in Shepway, will help to shape how we approach community activism in the future."

Ann McGovern, a community activist in Shepway, said: "The work we have done in Shepway shows what can be achieved when communities come together to tackle crime and antisocial behaviour and I am proud that the efforts we have made here may help other communities realise what is possible."

The report  is the culmination of six months of intensive work by Baroness Newlove and is calling for a change of culture on the part of communities, no longer seeing crime and ASB in their neighbourhoods as 'someone else's problem'; and on the side of services, going beyond simply asking communities what their problems are, to seeing them as equal partners in dealing with them.

It also calls on people to take small actions that can help make a big difference, like planting flowers outside your home to improve the local environment or carrying the shopping upstairs for an elderly neighbour.

During that time she has visited local areas across the country, meeting with activists, the police, local councils and housing associations to find out the different approaches to activism. She has also shared her four years experience as a successful community campaigner following the murder of her husband Garry in 2007 outside their home by a gang of youths.

Hawkinge Gazette and Channel Coast News 2011©