Over the past couple of weeks I've published articles on these pages setting out how I intended to establish a formal local community initiative to address the fear of crime and anti social behaviour in the community. Please follow the separate links here for full background details: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2023/07/responding-to-community-fears-of-crime.html
https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2023/08/next-steps-in-tackling-community.html
The need for a new initiative and a fresh approach came about after a number of residents had contacted me recently to tell me about their concerns about a sudden spike in reports of crime and anti social behaviour in their area - issues that were backed-up by similar incidents that had also been reported at a monthly Police and Communities Together (PACT) meeting held in Blackhall Colliery around the same time.
To get the ball rolling I initially brought together a number of local and countywide organisations and agencies and then invited them along to a meeting I hosted in Blackhall Colliery on Wednesday 23 August. The meeting was attended by senior representatives from Durham Constabulary, the Safer Communities Team, the local Police Community Support Officer, the Neighbourhood Wardens, the Parish clerk and officers from the county council's Private-Sector Housing Team amongst others - all of them key personnel with many years of experience tackling crime and anti social behaviour at street level.
As described in the articles I've referred to above, the intention of the meeting was to use up to date comparative data to determine the real extent of reported crime and anti social behaviour in the community and then identify those locations most affected. Once these factors had been established we would then be able to assess their overall impact in the community, consider which resources were available to us and then coordinate an evidence-based, multi-agency response to tackle the issues reported to us by residents' and businesses in the area.
The primary focus of this initial meeting was to set out a clear route by which we aimed to do this and then make arrangements to meet on a regular basis to monitor progress and act as a conduit for any additional complaints or concerns received by the agencies and individuals involved. Reports received direct from the public at monthly PACT meetings, which are designed specifically for the purpose, could then be fed into the process enabling the group to gather up to date information on where and when issues might be developing. For background information my update reports from recent PACT meetings can be found here:
July 2023: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2023/07/update-from-july-pact-meeting.html
August 2023: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2023/08/update-from-monthly-blackhall-pact.html
At the start of the meeting held on Wednesday the police inspector gave an update on reported incidents of crime and anti social behaviour and compared the current figures with those from the previous year. This showed that reported incidents were actually following a downward trend at the moment. However it was recognised that figures can sometimes be misleading, especially in the way they're recorded, but also because some incidents are never reported in the first place.
From those reported incidents it became apparent that the main issues currently affecting the village (separate to those isolated crime figures reported last month) were related largely to anti social behaviour and the fear of crime. Residents' reports to the police about those anti social behaviour incidents were varied but tended to focus in the main on fly-tipping, rowdy behaviour by neighbours, vehicle disturbances during the night and issues associated with empty private-sector properties amongst others. There was also a significant uplift in reports of quads and off-road bikes riding dangerously on the roads in and between our villages, trespassing on private land and causing disruption in public open spaces and footpaths - an issue that is widespread across the county and the rest of the country.
In addition a few businesses had previously reported a worrying rise in shoplifting incidents. This is an issue currently being addressed by an initiative agreed at a recent meeting I attended between shopkeepers and the police. This is an ongoing project in its early stages which up to now is having an immediate impact. Please go to this article for background details to the initiative as reported at the July PACT meeting: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2023/08/update-from-monthly-blackhall-pact.html
Once the extent of reported crime and ASB incidents had been identified attention turned to potential solutions, and the funding sources available to support them. In this regard it was generally agreed that some short-term measures were necessary if the initiative was to have a visible impact, and that these should be considered against the background of medium- to longer-term measures to tackle the more deep-seated issues beyond the immediate scope of those present at the meeting. Amongst these longer-term issues concerns raised by residents suggested that housing tenure and conditions in some parts of the community were considered to be a major factor in driving ASB and environmental problems.
Examples of short-term measures to address local concerns as quickly as possible include installing anti-bike gates at specific locations, such as the entry points to the Black Path and the pedestrian pathway linking Mickle Hill Road and Elizabeth Street adjacent to the Londis store in Blackhall Rocks. Reports of similar concerns about illegal access to the coast and the beach at Crimdon will be picked up immediately, but any proposed schemes to mitigate these problems are likely be fully dealt with in the longer-term, working alongside those different agencies with direct responsibility for the SSSI along the coast and associated access points.
There are also options under consideration to install CCTV (either fixed or mobile/temporary) to address some of the ASB and environmental issues outlined above. This could be supported by providing affected residents and neighbours with doorbell cameras and remote interior lighting devices in properties where necessary and where there are persistent problems.
In addition, as mentioned above, a scheme to tackle shoplifting is already established and is having an immediate impact with police reporting the arrests of a number of repeat offenders recently.
To support the initiatives and schemes described above a number of funding opportunities have been identified, including the Safer Streets (5) Fund, the Small Grants Fund and Neighbourhood Budget, MAPS Area funding, the council's Towns & Villages programme and supporting Targeted Delivery Plans, amongst others.
Separately the parish clerk has already been in touch with Joy Allen, the Police and Crime Commissioner for County Durham, to secure funding for deployable CCTV cameras and anti-bike barriers similar to the ones installed at both sides of Chicken's Green a few years ago, and which have proved effective in preventing illegal access by off-road bikes to the green and children's play area.
With a view to longer-term measures it was considered that a major driver of crime and anti social behaviour in some parts of the community was the tenure and condition of some of the housing stock, with unregulated private-rented sector properties reported by residents to be at the heart of the problem.
A particular issue in this regard is the impact that empty and unsecured properties are having in generating an increase in fly-tipping incidents and associated fire risks. As reported in articles elsewhere on these pages the council's ongoing Selective Licensing Scheme was designed to bring much needed regulation to a sector beset with problems created and sustained largely by absentee landlords who live many miles away and who have no interest in our communities beyond making money (this in no way projects blame onto the many responsible private-sector landlords locally who provide an essential housing service and who react immediately when they’re made aware of any issues relating to their properties and/or tenants). However, I've raised concerns in the past that the licensing scheme is moving far too slowly to have an immediate impact, with fewer than one third of eligible landlords registered to date, despite the programme running for the past 16 months. Background details can be found here: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2023/06/ongoing-private-sector-housing-issues.html
Finally, after I'd raised concerns that communications and local engagement in the community needed to improve, the group is considering a leaflet-drop in specific locations soon to keep residents and businesses up to date with developments. This will be supported by the return of our regular street walkabouts where Stacey and I take the opportunity to talk with residents and identify any ongoing issues causing problems on the streets - with most of these being focused on environmental issues such as fly-tipping in unsecured back yards of empty properties and the issues these create further down the line such as fire risk and vermin.
The group established this week will meet on a regular basis to monitor progress with different aspects of the new initiative. In order to gather information and coordinate an effective response it will also act as a conduit for reports of incidents of crime and anti social behaviour in the community. In this regard a vital function of the group will be to coordinate feedback and reports from residents and businesses at monthly PACT meetings.
As regular attendees will acknowledge, PACT meetings will be an integral element of the new initiative in that they're perfectly placed to identify trends in crime and anti social behaviour incidents based on regular reports and updates from the police, neighbourhood wardens and members of the public. Essentially they serve as a permanent, scheduled forum for public/police interface and are held every month in the Parish Offices (formerly the Resource Centre) in Middle Street, Blackhall Colliery.
Details of the PACT meeting schedule for the rest of this year can be found here: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2023/08/details-of-monthly-blackhall-pact.html
I'll update on progress with the initiative in due course, but in the meantime the police continue to urge residents to call 101 to report incidents of anti social behaviour or criminal activity, or 999 where there is a risk of immediate danger.
If you have any comments or queries about this matter please contact me direct at: rob.crute@durham.gov.uk