Feedback

Thanks to everyone who took part in our ‘Safe Neighbourhoods’ survey. It was a really interesting survey and we gained a lot of information that the police, council and community safety partnerships can use to make your area a safer, more pleasant place to live.

In the survey we asked you about your views on what makes you feel safe or unsafe in your local community; your awareness of actions being taken in local communities to make you safer; who you hold responsible for those actions and your views on the use of CCTV as a deterrent against crime.

How safe you feel in your local neighbourhood:

How safe you feel in your neighbourhood appears to be influenced by having good neighbourhoods, living in a quiet area with good lighting and having positive relationships with local police. Your feelings of safety are decreased by the presence of groups of young people hanging around the streets, dangerous/inconsiderate driving, drunken behaviour and a lack of police presence at relevant times.

It’s no surprise that you feel safer during the day than at night and that you feel safest around local bus stops, local shops and local schools and least safe around local parks and local pubs

A consistent issue surrounding feelings of safety, specifically after dark, was that of street lighting. Although there are other factors involved, when you were asked what makes you feel safe there was a great deal of emphasis on well lit areas and when asked what makes you feel unsafe there was the same level of emphasis on poorly lit areas.

What are we doing with the results?

Anti-social behavior - Lancashire Police and Community Safety Partners are committed to making our communities safe and pleasant places to live. There are many tools and powers available to tackle anti-social behaviour which includes Acceptable Behaviour Contracts, Anti-Social Behaviour Orders and Dispersal notices. However, there is a lot we can do if we know about a problem early enough that often doesn’t involve legal action. This can include supporting people to be responsible tenants, providing positive activities for young people, and warning neighbours about noise nuisance. You should report anti-social behaviour to your local council, the police, or your registered social landlords. You can do this in person, by telephone or in writing.

Making roads safer - Operation Pathway is a County wide operation aimed at improving the safety of all road users. Its aim is to reduce the number of road traffic collisions through continuous education, prevention advice and enforcement where necessary.

Police visibility -  Local policing for local people is Lancashire Police’s approach to tackling crime and reassuring communities. We call this neighborhood policing. Every neighborhood in Lancashire has a neighborhood policing team and you can find out who’s on your team by entering your postcode in the ‘My Neighborhood’ box on the police’s website www.lancashire.police.uk  

What actions are being taken to address local issues?

You consider the police to be responsible for providing access and contact information about neighbourhood policing teams, enforcing ‘alcohol free zones’ in local areas (those areas where the consumption of alcohol is controlled), providing information about crime prevention activity and being a visible police presence.

The council are considered to be responsible for fly tipping, graffiti, effectively managing local planning in relation to licensed premises, litter, road maintenance and providing access to local councillors

What are your results telling us?

The main reasons for feeling unsafe in specific areas of the neighbourhood generally related to groups of young people or undesirable people being present (often perceived to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs) and poorly maintained areas which signal the likelihood of a threat (e.g. signs of neglect including vandalism, graffiti, poor lighting, boarded up houses etc.)

Thinking about actions taken to make you feel safer, you were most likely to perceive action being taken to address graffiti, fly tipping and litter in your area and least likely to perceive action being taken to address the enforcement of alcohol free zones in local areas, road maintenance and the provision of cold calling advice packs.

CCTV: Spy in the sky or someone to watch over you?

We asked you specifically about your views on CCTV relating to how it makes you feel, its use as a deterrent and value for money to the tax payer. You had really positive opinions about the use of CCTV, with the majority stating that it makes you feel ‘reassured’ and ‘safer’. Over three quarters of you considered CCTV to be a very or fairly effective deterrent to crime and considered the use of taxpayers’ money to fund CCTV to be a great or good investment of funds.

What are we doing with the results?

The information we’ve gathered from you will be used by Community Safety Partnerships to further develop their strategies in relation to the use of CCTV by providing a better understanding of the level of public support for CCTV and the way in which it influences feelings of safety.

Many thanks for continuing to support LOOP, we value your contribution.