Safer Neighbourhoods Team
Suffolk is one of the safest places in the country, where people enjoy a consistently high quality of life. Although crime is falling, people are still of the opinion that it is on the increase. Suffolk Police want to try and change this, by building neighbourhoods that not only are safe but feel safe.
To do this, the police will be working with councils and other organisations to deliver a service that is visible, accessible and responsive to what local people need. This new way of working is called ‘Safer Neighbourhoods’.
The aims of Safer Neighbourhoods are:
• listening to you and identifying your concerns
• working together to tackle the issues you have identified
• keeping you informed of our progress
• setting up a network of teams across Suffolk as the foundation of Safer Neighbourhoods, which will cover neighbourhoods that vary in size
In urban areas, a neighbourhood may be a small area of a town. In rural areas, a neighbourhood may cover a number of parishes.
Who is in the teams?
An Inspector or Sergeant will oversee the policing element of the team and they will report to the local District Commander.
Each team will be made up of:
• police officers
• Police Community Support Officers
• special constables
• community wardens
• volunteers
People from councils and other organisations may be involved too. Community wardens are front line council staff who spend most of their day out and about working with the public.
They will also work with the police to make sure that things such as environmental issues or anti-social behaviour are reported to the right people so they can be dealt with swiftly.
The Safer Neighbourhood Team will listen and talk to you. They will want to find out what most affects your quality of life - whether that is anti-social behaviour, graffiti, noisy neighbours or crime. They want to try and solve these problems, to create neighbourhoods that are safe and feel safe. The teams will work from premises based in each neighbourhood they serve.
Working together
For the first time, a variety of staff will combine their skills to solve local problems more efficiently and effectively than before.
Each team will have a regular tasking meeting where problems and issues identified by the local community will be prioritised for action.
Contact your local Safer Neighbourhoods team online or call 01473 613500.
