In light of the changes brought about by Covid 19 restrictions early this year, Safer Saltash have adapted and met virtually every 2 weeks since March 2020 to ensure that regular dynamic intelligence and updates about the rapidly changing nature of crime and risk across the town is fed in and acted upon. The new model has been praised by members of the partnership who are still fully engaged and appreciate the speed of actions and the frequency of the communications.
Local issues have been predominantly related to the impact of COVID restrictions and more recently anti-social behaviour in specific areas of Saltash. Partners have worked closely together to address these issues. During quarter 1, the focus was very much on supporting vulnerable families during lock down and supporting access to services and provisions; partnership activity took place with Young People Cornwall and Livewire providing additional supplies in the care packages provided and delivered to families by Saltash Secondary School. Safer Saltash supported Volunteer Cornwall on their work with individuals in the town and promoted the services provided by PL12 throughout the lockdown period. Safer Saltash have worked with key partners to promote new Neighbourhood Watch schemes to increase community resilience and crime prevention.
A multi-agency approach was put in place to address issues with large groups of young people beginning to congregate in key areas and specific ASB problems have been addressed. There was a multi-agency plan delivered in advance of the licenced premises reopening. No community tensions in relation to second homeowners emerged in Saltash but there were reports from nearby Kingsands and Cawsands during this period. There has also been significant promotion of Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence services and We Are With You and how to access during lockdown along with awareness raising of scams and financial exploitation in particular with vulnerable groups.
Safer Saltash facilitates and supports a co-ordinated multi-agency approach to community safety issues to improve feelings of safety and public reassurance, reduce the risk of harm to the community and protect vulnerable groups. Safer Saltash involves community members in the work of the partnership and encourages social inclusion and community participation through being part of the problem solving process and having a sense of pride in Saltash.
Based on the evidence presented in the Saltash Town Profile and feedback from the Residents Survey, Safer Saltash has identified the following community safety priorities for the Town:
a. Drug related harm and recovery
b. Domestic abuse
c. Suicide attempts off the Tamar Bridge
d. Anti-social behaviour and public disorder on the Waterfront and Tamar Bridge
e. Crime prevention and improved feelings of safety
f. Community engagement and building community resilience
These community safety priorities are addressed through the live delivery plan. Progress is measured through achievement of quarterly and annual milestones over the lifetime of the plan and key deliverables/outcomes are reported to the Safer Cornwall Partnership.
Safer Saltash partners include;
Devon and Cornwall Police
Cornwall Council
Saltash Town Council
Saltash.net Secondary School
Housing providers
Chamber of Commerce
Addaction
Community Mental Health Team
Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service
Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner
Plymouth Community Safety Partnership
and the Voluntary and Community Sector
Safer Saltash are continuing to support joint outreach with We Are With You (previously Addaction) which has been conducted in target areas throughout the year to engage with vulnerable individuals and the public. The partnership has promoted the offer of specialist needle exchange services and advice/guidance on safe disposal at the We Are With You office base and in their outreach capacity through signs displayed in the Town Council owned public toilets. The multi-agency group are prioritising raising public awareness of county lines and are focusing on increasing awareness of the exploitation of vulnerable people and targeting support for those with complex needs that may become victims. Ahead of the school holidays, in partnership with the Multi Agency Child Exploitation group, the group completed multi-agency walkabout visiting over 30 different businesses in the town to raise awareness of child exploitation and how to report any signs.
Safer Saltash has developed close working links to the Caradon Local Family Partnership and will be delivering joint work in relation to young people and parents and reducing the harm caused by substance misuse. There is continued work with pupils and parents of Saltash Secondary School to raise awareness about drug misuse; including multi agency input at joint assemblies and regular drop in sessions with a dedicated youth worker and Livewire Youth Workers (on site at the school). YZUP also delivered awareness raising sessions to parents and 10 families engaged with the talk. We are also working closely with the school to tackle ASB in specific geographical areas in partnership with the staff and teachers.
Safer Saltash supported the national 16 days of activism against gender-based abuse and ran a successful campaign targeted at local businesses in the town to raise awareness of domestic abuse and sexual violence in our community and to highlight the local support services available to help. Guidance and information was provided to assist managers in how to respond to staff, should they disclose domestic abuse or sexual violence at work; putting local businesses at the forefront of the fight to end domestic abuse and sexual violence. In total nearly 30 Saltash businesses signed up to the campaign and committed to providing ‘staff and customers with support and safety’. Safer Saltash have also provided victims of domestic abuse with safety resources and the Healthy Relationships Programme has been delivered in Saltash Secondary School.
Safer Saltash have focused on the issue of people completing suicide off the Tamar Bridge and the community impact. Early 2019, the Public Health Healthy Promotions team delivered a ‘Suicide Talk’ (3 hours) to a multi-disciplined group in Saltash aimed at businesses and community groups. Following on from this, a core group of 14 front line workers from the town were identified and trained in ASIST (2 days) and became Suicide First Aiders.
Safer Saltash is committed to dealing with Anti Social Behaviour (ASB) and criminality and continues to support the effective multi agency ASB target group that manages the ASB escalation process. We have developed close working links to the Plymouth ASB team with whom we share relevant information and have begun joint initiatives. We have also replaced all the Public Spaces Protection Order signage displayed in numerous sites around the town. Saltash has a current seasonal issue with tombstoning and a Safer Cornwall campaign was run during the Summer months containing safety advice. Posters and leaflets were provided to the school, businesses and displayed on waterfront notices. The group worked closely with specific businesses based on the Waterfront who were experiencing high levels of distress from frequent anti-social behaviour. A joint strategy and action plan was agreed for 20/21 but a number of planned activities were cancelled due to Covid 19 lockdown.
Safer Saltash have worked with Saltash Town Council who have considered introducing a monitored CCTV system in the town and provided the local ASB caseworker with a body worn camera for evidence gathering. A shoplifting prevention briefing was presented to a number of businesses, which provided practical information to local businesses and security teams of how to protect themselves from thefts. It also included information on evidence collection and the process around this. More recently, a full Saltash business crime assessment has been conducted by the Southwest Business Crime Centre; the relevant recommendations from this assessment will be taken forward during 20/21. The Time Credits initiative is currently being rolled out in Saltash and we are working hard to promote the project with local businesses (spend partners) and community organisations (earn partners). Safer Saltash have also supported a successful bid for PoCA funding to enable Livewire to provide dementia awareness training for their staff and volunteers (most of which are young people).
Several Safer Saltash community awareness days and key message campaigns have been delivered this year to ensure members of the public know who and how to contact in relation to reporting community safety issues. Safer Cornwall ‘Z’ cards and Safer Saltash leaflets have been delivered across the town; a local article detailing the reporting contacts is soon to be released. Safer Saltash had a huge presence at Saltash Regatta on the waterfront, engaging with over 300 residents and later in the year at the . ‘My Saltash’ event. Safer Saltash facilitated a community scrutiny panel in relation to Police connectivity and provided vital feedback to the local neighbourhood team. Safer Saltash has its own page on the Safer Cornwall website ; this is regularly updated along with social media posts regarding emerging issues from the East Cornwall Community Safety Officer’s twitter profile .
We want to thank all the partners who have been involved with Safer Saltash and continue to support the work of the partnership.
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