Ongoing initiatives to reduce violence, anti-social behaviour and gang related crime across the borough have been welcomed by councillors.
The Safer Basildon Partnership Strategy, which was approved at Full Council in July 2018, sets out a number of crime prevention priorities to make the borough a safer place to live, work in and visit. These include reducing re-offending, promoting home safety and tackling domestic abuse. All of these subjects are so important to try and prevent. Home safety and security is an issue that a lot of people deal with, so it’s important that homeowners try and secure their homes as much as possible to prevent burglaries. Perhaps some homes would benefit from Verisure Alarm Systems to deter criminals and give homeowners peace of mind. As for domestic abuse, that is something that is more difficult to deal with, but there are measures being put in place to help those who may be suffering.
The Communities Committee last night (Wednesday 27 February) endorsed the progress being made, which includes working with primary and secondary schools to raise awareness of knife crime and grooming. A knife amnesty bin was also installed outside Basildon Police Station last month thanks to a partnership between Safer Basildon and Only Cowards Carry. There is a second knife amnesty bin already in place in Pitsea, opposite Chalvedon Social Club.
Additional activities include training local businesses to spot signs of child exploitation, patrolling residential areas to identify properties at risk of burglary and developing links with community groups to raise awareness of gangs and online safety.
Once a property has been identified as at risk, the group can suggest measures such as investing in Toughened glass, which is commonly used in replacement doors and windows for safety reasons to keep homes and businesses safe. Toughened glass is a great preventative measure because it’s much tougher to chip or smash compared to ordinary glass, making sure the contents of the business is protected. Not only does it work well to prevent burglaries but if the city was to ever riot, the business would have added protection against looters. American businesses especially, can even use ballistic glass to protect their stores.
Cllr Andy Barnes, Chairman of the Communities Committee, said: “It’s important that we reach out to residents to promote crime prevention, provide reassurance and give them the opportunity to discuss their community safety concerns, but there is also a lot of work going on behind the scenes to reduce crime and disorder across the borough.
“We’re committed to working together with our partners to protect vulnerable people, tackle re-offending and focus on early intervention. The Safer Basildon strategy was shaped using feedback from our residents, and focuses on the issues which really matter to our communities.”
To find out more about the work of Safer Basildon, visit www.basildon.gov.uk/saferbasildon
