Thousands of people up and down the country are joining forces with crime fighting professionals for a week of community action against crime and anti-social behaviour organised by the Home Office.
In Wiltshire local organisations have built on the success of last year's Not in My Neighbourhood Week to develop an entire Month of Action dedicated to cutting down on crime and anti-social behaviour. Sponsored by the Wiltshire Community Safety Partnership, and led by a collaboration between the four Districts and the County Council, local council services have teamed up with volunteers and community groups and local people to tackle issues of local concern and to provide a range of community activities including some especially for young people.
'Not in my Neighbourhood Week', which runs from 13-17 October 2008, aims to promote better understanding of what is being done locally to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour and to remind people of the large number of public services, in addition to the police, that play a vital part in driving down crime.
In Wiltshire a whole host of activities have started that will run until Not in My Neighbourhood Week. They include:
- Following a successful scheme in Chippenham, members of Priestley Grove Youth Centre in Calne will be renovating and distributing unwanted bicycles to people who have had their cycles stolen. The project aims to show how young people in the town can make a positive contribution to people's lives;
- Building on this summer's successful football tournament, West Wiltshire District Council, Wiltshire Police, Trowbridge Town Council, Selwood Housing and Wiltshire FA organised the second West Wilts Street Cup involving 20 teams and 130 young people. They had an opportunity to meet their local Neighbourhood Police officers and to write on a grafitti wall their views on what they wanted in their local area. The aim of the project is to establish a football league for young people, providing a useful activity and helping to reduce anti-social behaviour;
- Dozens of people visited the Kennet Community Safety Partnership Roadshow in Devizes Market Place. Representatives from Kennet District Council, Wiltshire County Council, the Police and Fire Service and the Devizes Community Safety Committee were there to offer advice and answer questions on community safety issues and to raise awareness of safe use of alcohol and to give out fire safety information. Local resident had the opportunity to discuss various issues including litter, vandalism, noisy neighbours and criminal damage; and
- An Alternative Sports Taster Day took place at St Edmund's School in Laverstock on Sunday 5 October. Anyone over 11 years of age could sample a range of alternative sports including power kiting, mountain boarding, ultimate Frisbee, disc golf and a climbing wall - completely free of charge. Organised by Salisbury District Council's Sports and Community Development team, the event is supported by Wiltshire Alternative Youth Sports, the South Wiltshire Community Safety Partnership and the Salisbury Sports and Physical Activity Alliance.
Colin Passey, Home Office South West Deputy Regional Director, said:
"The projects in Wiltshire have given local partnerships an ideal opportunity to show residents the work that is being done to help reduce crime and anti-social behaviour.
"Not in My Neighbourhood Week is a way of demonstrating the huge amount of work going on every day to tackle crime and make communities safer. We hope that by demonstrating the work going on, people will feel safer and perhaps even get involved themselves.
"When everyone works together - local partners, across government, in business, communities, police and the public sector - the impact is greatest and crime comes down."
