Hawkinge Community Safety Forum (HCSF)

The Forum now meets o­n a bi-montly basis normally at Churchill school and we welcome all members of the community. See HCSF Agendas.

What is our Purpose

Community Safety is an issue of major public concern.  It affects most people’s lives in some way – from poorly lit streets or threatening neighbours through to experiencing crime directly, or living in fear of crime.  It is central to people’s quality of life and can make the difference between people wanting to live, work and stay in an area or not.

Community Safety is about people’s sense of personal security, which is the product of multiple factors.  It is concerned with more than crime, and aims to prevent, reduce, (or at least contain), the things that are most disruptive to people’s quality of life.

We aim to address what is directly relevant to people in and around Hawkinge, the regular core of the Forum includes representatives from County and Community Officers dealing with Crime and Disorder, Neighbourhood Watch, Parish and Borough Concillors,  The Hawkinge Partnership, Organisations that deal with Community issues for the Elderly, the young and the deprived. We aim to prevent Community Safety problems from happening in the first place and to reduce their incidence.  In order to address the community’s fears and concerns properly, community safety work must engage fundamentally with the community in a way that goes beyond the scope of traditional crime prevention work. Thus we invite all members of the Community to participate in our meetings and bring their issues to us to resolve.

Crime is an emotive issue for everybody. Fear of crime is more prevalent than crime itself and it can affect people’s everyday confidence. The effects of fear of crime are not evenly distributed,  they are concentrated within certain parts of the community, and the most vulnerable groups in society are most affected. Hawkinge must deal not o­nly with the wider experiences of the majority of the people,  but must focus in particular o­n the needs of those most at risk.  For some, a sense of  isolation, victimisation or insecurity in effect places them under a ‘curfew’ whilst  for others, the concentration of problems in a particular neighbourhood destroys their quality of life, health and welfare. The Forum exists to tackle the problems we have in our expanding village but we need everyone to participate and give us feedback as to where you wish us to act.There are HCSF suggestion boxes in the Chemist and Community Centre for anybody who wishes to pass o­n their concerns if they cannot attend a Forum, or you cet a message to us via the Contacts below.

Issues to be considered:

Crime    Victimisation  - Domestic Violence  -  Child protection -  Racial issues - Youth  -  Children’s plans  -  Noise & Nuisance - Drugs/drugs education -  Excluded pupils - Community Care  -  Vulnerable adults  -  Fire safety Education Arson, smoke alarms, hoax calls  -  Health promotion  -  Mental Health services  -  Schools liaison.

Contact Details

Chairman: Chris Ashman
The Cedars
Elvington Lane
Hawkinge
KentCT18 7AD
Tel: 01303 893472

Forum Email Address    mailto:hcsf_hawkinge@hotmail.com [4]

Personal Email              mailto:chris@kentgigs.com [5]

<FONT color=red>For Community and Police contacts see the Hawkinge Community Newsletter and other headings o­n the Hawkinge Gazette - o­nline