The Safer Havant Partnership Communications update is a quarterly document detailing all major communications, publicity and community engagement events that have taken place or are being planned by the Safer Havant Partnership. This document will inform both partner agencies and residents of all communications that are being planned or that have taken place and will inform the work of the Safer Havant Partnership Community Engagement Group.
The Safer Havant Partnership website www.saferhavant.co.uk was launched on the 11th of November 2008, offering help and advice on a variety of up-to-date topics including anti-social behaviour, reporting a crime and getting involved to make the local area a safer place. Features include an online monthly poll and information on upcoming community events. The website is updated at least weekly with up-to-date articles and information on community safety issues.
The Safer Havant Partnership website has been recognised nationally as best practice in a Home Office guide to community engagement called ‘Ten of the Best’, which was launched at a conference held in May on reducing fear of crime through communications. Follow the link below to read the Home Office document:
Link to Home Office document 'Ten of the Best' (PDF) >>
On the 1st of June 2009 the website had its 2000th unique visitor, with the site viewed over 11000 times. The Safer Havant Partnership celebrated this achievement by issuing a press release, including an article in the Havant Borough Councillor’s newsletter and creating a poster for internal use. To date the site has had 2222 visitors and over 12000 page views.
The Community Safety Team continued to deliver presentations on the Safer Havant Partnership to a number of Community Boards across the Borough. Their aim is to visit each Community Board twice a year. The Team also gave a presentation on the Partnership to the Waterlooville Neighbourhood Watch Annual General Meeting.
The Safer Havant Partnership is currently sponsoring a series of ‘Cackle and Pop’ discos for 8-11 year olds to promote community safety and sensible behaviour to young people. At the first of this series of events, 180 young people were given Safer Havant Partnership goody bags, which included community safety information and promotional goods from the Safer Havant Partnership. Sharps Copse Primary School has also been given a number of these promotional bags for use on a school trip abroad.
The Safer Havant Partnership has continued to promote their work through a range of local media:
The Safer Havant Partnership has secured three centre-page spreads in Park Life community newspaper. The first centre-page spread, which was distributed in May, focused on promoting the Safer Havant Partnership with a simple, advert-style page explaining the role of the Partnership and promoting their website. The next centre page spread will be more article-based, with a focus on giving advice on the issues raised by Leigh Park residents through the Havant Borough Council Citizen’s Panel and local Neighbourhood Watch schemes. Residents raised litter and vandalism, teenagers hanging around on the street and motorcycle nuisance as their main issues, so our advice will focus on these problem areas. If you would like to contribute to the next edition of Park Life, please contact info@saferhavant.gov.uk
In April the News featured a front cover and two-page spread on ‘Operation Pond’, a successful initiative to reduce violent crime and anti-social behaviour committed by a small group of individuals in the Leigh Park area.
The News also included a very positive article on the Havant Borough Council Parchment Awards, where staff members were recognised for their achievements throughout the year. The Community Safety Team, who co-ordinate the activities of the Safer Havant Partnership, were awarded the Achievement of the Year award at this event.
A short article on the first of the Safer Havant Partnership ‘Cackle and Pop’ parties was also featured in the News.
The summer edition of Havant Borough Council’s magazine Serving You included an update and reminder for residents to visit the website www.saferhavant.co.uk for community safety information and advice. The Community Safety Team plans to have a piece responding to the issues raised through the Citizen’s Panel in the next edition of the magazine.
The Safer Havant Partnership was also promoted internally within partner agencies with articles on community safety and the Partnership’s work in the Havant Borough Council and the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service newsletters.
In April the Safer Havant Partnership completed a series of community safety leaflet delivery days. These events focused on roads in the Leigh Park area where residents had been identified as vulnerable by Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service’s Mosaic system. Information and advice on a wide range of community safety issues, including arson, vehicle crime, anti-social behaviour, health and disabilities was included in the packs and the three events were a great success with around 3000 community safety information packs delivered to some of the most vulnerable residents in the area.
Representatives of Havant Borough Council, Leigh Park Safer Neighbourhoods Team and Havant Neighbourhood Watch visited the Greywell Shopping Centre on the 11th of May to give information and advice on community safety. The team gave out leaflets and promotional items in order to help those suffering from anti-social behaviour and to promote the Safer Havant website.
The Safer Havant Partnership is currently planning their major event of the year, a large community engagement event based at ASDA in Leigh Park. This event will focus on giving community safety information and advice to help tackle the Safer Havant’s main priorities, which are alcohol, anti-social behaviour and violence. This event is set to be really exciting, with a number of activities being considered to encourage residents, and in particular young people, to come along and get involved, including a possible climbing wall, face painting and performances by a local dance group. The Safer Havant Partnership Community Engagement Group will meet on the 7th of July to plan around this event.
The Safer Havant Partnership are currently planning a new campaign to get the public involved in making the borough a safer place to live, work and visit. The results of the recent Citizen’s Panel showed that the majority of respondents feel that the public should play more of a role in making Havant safer, and a number would like to get involved but don’t know how. Therefore the Safer Havant Partnership will be launching a campaign to encourage residents to get involved and make their community a safer place to live.
The Safer Havant Partnership website www.saferhavant.co.uk is currently being updated with a new events calendar detailing all upcoming local and national events and campaigns related to Community Safety. We will also be adding an online feedback form which will allow visitors to let us know what they would like to see on the website. Due to technical difficulties these updates are still in progress.
Report produced by Katherine Vasey, Community Safety Projects Officer, 19th of June 2009