SUCCESS FOR COMMUNITY SAFETY FORUMS

A series of community safety open forums, the first of their kind in Thanet, have proved to be so successful that more such events are being planned for the future.

The four forums, held in Birchington, Broadstairs, Margate and Ramsgate in late February and early March, attracted more than 150 people, who were able to find out crime statistics for Thanet and their local area.

The Thanet Community Safety Partnership, which organised the events, presented their priorities for the next 12 months and asked for feedback from people about whether they felt they were right and how best the issues could be tackled. People also had the chance to put their questions, comments and suggestions directly to the Chief Inspector in Thanet and the council’s community safety team.

People’s main concerns were dog fouling, underage drinking, alcohol related crime and traffic offences. These will now be fed into the Community Safety Plan for the next 12 months, with the priorities amended, following the feedback from the forums. Amongst the actions that residents suggested that will now be considered for the next year are:
More information about sentencing of offenders
Using street signage to feedback to residents on community safety issues, such as enforcement action taken against littering, dog fouling and road safety
Naming and shaming on the Community Safety Partnership website and Facebook for residents who are caught littering or letting their dog foul

Feedback from the events has been exceptionally positive, with comments from members of the public including:
“well organised and good presenters”
“extremely useful and informative”
“a very useful exercise”
“it’s good to be kept informed”
“good involvement in a non-threatening way”
“I would attend another forum, should you hold one in the future”
As a result of the forums, more are being planned for the future, with more details available on the council’s website and through the local media in due course.

Community Safety and Enforcement Manager, Mark Richardson, said: “The community safety forums I attended provided us with some very valuable feedback from local people about what issues concern them. We had some great feedback from the events, with people telling us how much they enjoyed them and how useful they found them. There was a huge amount of organisation from the council behind these events and, as a result, they worked really well.”

The key questions and answers from each of the sessions are available on the council’s website.

For anyone who was unable to attend the forums, but would like the Community Safety Partnership to keep in touch with them around future events, they can call 01843 577737 or 01843 577120.