New chief constable Sacha Hatchett visits crime hotspot

Blackpool Gazette

The new chief constable for Lancashire Police went for a walk around Brunswick, to discuss anti-social behaviour and community policing.  She was joined by PCC Andrew Snowden, and members of the neighbourhood policing team.

Transcript

00:00 I think that the residents themselves will say that by having a closure notice in place,

00:05 by that shop not operating, it is in itself helping to reduce antisocial behaviour in

00:11 the area. It was definitely a focal point. But the information that comes from the community

00:16 means that whether it be police action, whether it be council action, partnership action,

00:22 they're taken together. When you understand the full picture and the full impact that

00:26 that's having on the area, that's when there's a compelling case to have a closure notice.

00:32 So keep the information coming in, keep the intelligence coming in, make sure that there

00:37 is great tasking for my officers, but likewise that intel pictured into the council so they

00:44 have great understanding of what's going on in this area and what the needs are of the

00:48 community in this area.

00:49 Well I was actually just talking to the local cop who walks the beat in this area very regularly

00:54 and he said if you wanted to go and find a gang of kids hanging around, quite often it

00:59 would be right here on the ramp up to the shop, they would often be hanging around here

01:04 and sometimes people get scared of groups of kids and they're not actually causing any

01:08 problems, but sometimes they are. And if you're near a shop that is selling things illegally,

01:14 then the likelihood that antisocial behaviour will be happening is also much higher. And

01:19 the feedback from the community, as I said just talking to the officers now, has been

01:22 overwhelmingly positive that this move has helped to reduce antisocial behaviour on these

01:27 streets.

01:28 What I do think is really important though is how much of a part the community themselves

01:32 have to play and I think when you look at the pact and the work that's been done here

01:37 in Brunswick to try and ensure that there is resilience that is built by the community

01:43 so they've got confidence that they are working with the police, that they're working with

01:48 the council to make a difference in this area is brilliant.

01:52 So you know when we think we talk about up century and we talk about the hot spot policing,

01:58 we talk about high visibility patrols, that's great isn't it because that looks to solve

02:02 an issue in the here and now, but long term sustainability is about how do we get the

02:08 community to be resilient in itself and then call in the police and call in the council

02:14 when it needs that additional support. So it's a partnership and that's in the name

02:19 if you like but you know it's about us assisting and supporting one another to make this area

02:24 safe for the residents in this area.

02:27 Happy International Women's Day, it's fantastic for us to celebrate all of the fantastic women

02:32 that operate in this area. In terms of what are we doing, well I think you will be aware

02:39 Lucinda that we work with the community, with partners for violence against women and girls,

02:45 real initiatives to make the streets safer for women and that's not just about police

02:51 patrols, that's not just working with the night time economy to make sure that people

02:55 feel safe to go out, that's not just working with those partners such as the Women's Aid,

03:02 domestic abuse support agencies to make sure that people feel confident to report those

03:06 kind of crimes to us. But that is also about making sure that we've got safer streets and

03:13 that is about again partnership working with the local authorities, with our communities

03:20 to make sure that we design out where we can those unsafe areas where people feel we need

03:26 to be better.

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