NEW SOS MOBILE UNIT FOR CLACTON LAUNCHED 8TH JANUARY 2012
A pilot project aimed at creating a safer night time environment in Clacton town centre launched in the New Year.
Tendring Community Safety Partnership set up an SOS mobile unit which went operational on January 8, 2012.
Open Road, the leading provider of drug and alcohol treatment services in East Anglia, has agreed to manage the scheme which will provide valuable support for late night revellers.
The whole aim of the new initiative is to relieve the increasing pressure on the emergency services caused by people drinking excess alcohol.
The facility will also be there for anyone who needs support or advice during a night out in the town and to assure people it is a safe place to enjoy themselves.
Leanne Thornton, TDC’s Community Safety Manager, said she recently held a meeting with Open Road to get the project off the ground.
“We have a pool of volunteers lined-up and we had hoped to start in December,” she said.
“However, there were number of issues that needed to be sorted out and we have now set a new date of January 8.
“I am absolutely delighted that Open Road is on board and has agreed to manage the scheme on our behalf. They run the SOS Bus in Colchester which has been a huge success and their knowledge and experience will be invaluable.”
The mobile unit will operate on a Saturday night between 8.30pm and 2.30am. If there are enough volunteers it is hoped to also cover Fridays in the future.
Lynda McWilliams, Tendring District Council’s Cabinet Member for Customer and Central Services, said she fully backed the initiative and is becoming a volunteer herself.
“The idea is to reduce the increasing pressure felt by the Police, Ambulance Service and the Accident and Emergency Department at Colchester General due to excessive alcohol consumption,” she said.
“The Tendring partnership is providing a town centre based facility in a re-branded police mobile unit for people who find themselves in a vulnerable state. They may need help or medical attention for minor injuries or because they have had too much to drink.
“Hopefully the mobile unit will be able to give them assistance which will avoid the need to call for an ambulance and them having to be taken to A&E at Colchester.
“I am looking forward to getting involved in this very worthwhile project and hope that others will come along and sign up. The more people we have the better the service we can provide.”
Funding for the pilot scheme will come from the Tendring Community Safety Partnership.
Tendring Crucial Crew 2011
This year's Crucial Crew was held at Valley Farm
Holiday Park, Valley Road, Clacton-On-Sea from 14th - 24th November 2011. Over 1300 year 6 pupils from 34 Primary Schools in the Tendring District
attended the event. The children learn about their personal safety
and health whilst having fun!
The organisations involved in the delivery at Crucial
Crew were Essex Police, Essex Fire and Rescue Service, RNLI, Essex County
Council Road Safety Team, Essex Couty Council Student Behaviour Team,
British Red Cross, TeenTalk, Essex Young People
Drug and Alcohol Service (EYPDAS) and Stop Smoking Service.
If your organisation would like to get involved in future
Crucial Crews or to find out more, please contact Tom Dwyer on: 01255
686359
One punch could cost you everything. A drunken
fight could cost you everything - your career, your family, even your
life!
That's the message from Essex Police as we pledge a
zero tolerance to violence in Colchester and Clacton town centres. Essex
Police will seek to charge all offenders who commit assault in the towns
between 8pm and 6am on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday into Sunday morning
from Monday, August 1, 2011.
The clamp down, which will be reviewed in three months,
follows a seasonal increase in violent crime linked to the night time
economy in Clacton and Colchester. Essex Police has consulted with the
Crown Prosecution Service before launching the initiative. Essex Police's
TV Unit has created a short video to help push home the message. Supt
Darrin Tomkins said: “We want people to come to Colchester and Clacton
and enjoy a good safe night out but there are still a small minority of
people who spoil that for other people.
Our officers will be out on patrol on foot and by car
and if we catch anyone committing violence on our town centre streets
we will seek prosecution where there is enough evidence.
The street population increases when the sun is out,
people stay out longer and, as a result, consume more alcohol. We're not
out to spoil people's fun but we want to stop people getting seriously
hurt in our towns.
Community Safety Handbook
Do you know where your Neighbourhood Action Panel is
being held? Would you know what to do if you were approached by a bogus
caller?
A handy guide containing the answers to these questions
and more is being delivered to homes in Tendring this month.
The Tendring Community Safety Handbook, funded by Tendring’s
Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership, covers all aspects of crime
reduction, anti-social behaviour and community safety.
The booklet contains information on Neighbourhood Wardens,
Neighbourhood Watch, vehicle crime, anti-social behaviour and bogus callers
as well as important local and national contact numbers.
Leanne Thornton, Community Safety Manager for Tendring
District Council, said: “The booklet was so successful last year
and we received really amazing feedback from Tendring residents, that
we decided to bring it up to date and issue another one this year. It
is a really helpful guide to all aspects of community safety in Tendring
and contains a wealth of information for anyone facing issues in their
community.
“Perhaps you want to know how to get rid of unsightly
graffiti on a wall round the corner or are worried about nuisance youths.
Maybe you want to find out more about your local Neighbourhood Watch;
it’s all in the handbook,” she added.
Also supporting the handbook and contributing useful
information is Essex County Fire and Rescue Service, Tendring Careline,
Tendring District Council Waste Crusader, North East Essex NHS, Tendring
District Council Considerate Parking Initiative, Safeguarding Adults and
Safeguarding Children, TDC Housing and Benefits and Revenue Services.
Copies of the handbook will also be available at Council
offices, libraries, police stations and Citizen Advice Bureaus across
the district.
If you do not receive your copy or you would like extra
copies or more information about the booklet, please contact Leanne Thornton
on 01255 686353. A copy can also be downloaded by following
this link:
The Firewatch Scheme is active in Tendring. Firewatch
is an Essex Fire and Rescue Service led initiative and seeks to reduce
the number of arsons and deliberate fire related incidents.
Whilst fire related matters are comparatively few in
relation to other forms of damage and anti social behaviour the results
can be devastating and long lasting for both individuals involved and
the communities surrounding them.
Firewatch is an anonymous phone line which is monitored
and advertised by the Fire Service. The purpose of the line is to receive
information which might potentially lead to information that solves outstanding
crimes involving fire or identifies those people who may be setting fires.
Firewatch is a scheme which intends to assist in the
reduction of fire setting, anti social behaviour and which potentially
identifies those likely to commit offences.
The partnership approach to this scheme will allow the Police to investigate
crimes where applicable, the Fire Service to divert potential offenders
and the Anti Social Behaviour Teams to work with those same people.
In agreement with the Crime & Disorder Reduction
Partnership it was decided to develop a structured programme to identify
the types of criminal activity young people are involved with. With this
in mind, it was also agreed that the programme should be aimed at Year
8 (13 year olds) as part of an early intervention to deter crime at a
later stage.
The project is an early intervention and educational
scheme, to make the young persons aware of their behaviour and how it
affects others, in order to prevent and deter them from criminal activity
in the future. The Borderline Project is intended to reduce crime, and
anti social behaviour, as well as raising awareness of the consequences
of crime.
In summary, this project can help assist young people
to identify with the consequences of a criminal act, how it affects the
victim/s, the affect on family life, the effect on a community and it
promotes a general understanding to raise awareness. It will also raise
individuals self esteem, increase self confidence, improve social skills
and enhance personal development.
The Borderline project will bring together professionals
working towards the same or similar goals and will be seen in the community
as a Multi Agency approach to reduce crime & disorder but working
together for a better community.
At Mersea – Team Building
At Green Lodge - Learning about the consequences
of crime
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