More than £70k given to Stafford council for community safety action
More than £70,000 has been given to Stafford Borough Council for measures to tackle crime and keep residents safe.
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Antisocial behaviour and violence are just two of the issues the borough’s Community Safety Partnership are focusing on over the next 12 months – and they have been allocated funds for their work from Staffordshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.
On Thursday (April 10) borough council cabinet members accepted the funding and approved spending. Councillor Jill Hood, cabinet member for community, said: “£72,382 has been allocated from the Staffordshire Commissioner, which will enable our Community Safety Partnership team to focus on local community safety priorities identified within the Community Strategic Assessment and the Community Wellbeing Partnership.
“Those local community safety priorities are domestic abuse, community cohesion and tackling extremism, drugs, vulnerability including mental health and substance misuse, theft including shoplifting, violence against the person which includes stalking and harassment, violence against women and girls and antisocial behaviour – a phrase that has been around for such a long time now.
“It used to be that antisocial behaviour involved pure mischief. I fear now that through social media some of our young people are hearing things and being encouraged through that platform.
“Recently in Stone there has been a spate of antisocial behaviour which has not been mischief, it’s been violence, and it’s being dealt with. Perhaps the allocation of funding will hopefully be used towards professional help for those youngsters who are involved, and I’m sure it will.”
Last month Stafford Borough’s Chief Inspector Giles Parsons told councillors about work taking place in Stone to tackle drug supply and antisocial behaviour. Action has included patrols in the town with staff from Alleyne’s Academy.
Councillors heard that in Stafford town centre there had been a 19% reduction in antisocial behaviour during the past year. Chief Inspector Parsons said: “It is one of the greatest reductions in the whole of Staffordshire and it’s a really good reduction.
“That said, I do acknowledge that not all antisocial behaviour will be reported to the police. It’s just as important to me the experience people have.
“In south Stafford (an area of focus for the partnership during the past 12 months) crime is very stable and we haven’t really seen any changes at all. For antisocial behaviour we have seen a 16% reduction, which is in line with the trend across Stafford Borough.”
Anna Nevin, head of wellbeing at the borough council, gave details of how funding from the Staffordshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner had been spent in the borough. Money has been used for measures including installing extra CCTV cameras, as well as funding taxi marshals to help people get home safe from Stafford town centre after nights out.
