Blackhall Community Forum (PACT) information

As you will be aware from previous posts on this site the PACT meeting in our area was renamed the Blackhall Community Forum in an attempt to switch the emphasis away from a police surgery and onto the day-to-day neighbourhood issues faced by our people and communities. I chair the monthly meetings which are also attended by representatives of the parish council, street wardens and police to ensure that complaints can be dealt with swiftly and effectively at the correct level.

The Forum meets at 6pm on the second Wednesday of each month at the Blackhall Resource Centre in Middle Street, Blackhall Colliery. If you want to discuss any particular community issue or problem, but don't want to attend a Forum meeting, you can contact 101 (details below) or you can contact me on:

rob.crute@durham.gov.uk or 0191 372 5821.

Durham constabulary has issued the following press release to give further information on PACT meetings:

If you live in County Durham or Darlington and want to get involved in how your local area is policed, Durham Constabulary has the answer!

Along with our local councils we have developed PACT - Police and Communities Together – to ensure we’re tackling the issues which matter to you in your community. PACT meetings are held in local venues on a regular basis. This could be a community centre or similar, and we also hold online PACT meetings, PACT meetings in schools and sometimes PACT meetings in public open spaces (weather permitting).

At every PACT meeting there’s a discussion about PACT priorities. These are the issues which local people tell us they want their local policing team to tackle. If an issue is made a PACT priority it will be tackled, and there will be an update at future meetings about what has been done about it. PACT priorities should change all the time, because we aim to sort out the issue and move on to something else.

PACT has been utilised recently to deal with problems surrounding vacant properties and the anti-social behaviour that these attract. By listening to members of the public, we are able to deal with the issues that affect local communities in a timely and efficient manner.

But you don’t have to attend a meeting. You can be part of PACT simply by contacting your local neighbourhood team. You may see one of them out and about in your area, you can ring them using the 101 number or you can follow them on facebook and Twitter.

PACT is your opportunity to influence what we focus on, where you live.

To find out when your next PACT meeting is, call 101  / visit our website at www.durham.police.uk  and click on your Neighbourhood and ward/beat area.