Follow the bookmarks below to view the different sections of the evaluation:
Involvement of partner agencies >>
Publicity and public attendance >>
The Safer Havant Partnership’s ‘Feel Safe, Have Fun’ day took place on the 12th of August 2009 in response to a need to promote the work of the Partnership and seek the views of residents on the community safety issues that matter to them.
This evaluation aims to both celebrate the success of this event and to identify where improvements can be made as part of future campaigns. The evaluation also details the process of organising the event and includes templates of action plans, letters and example site plans. Therefore this document can also be used to assist in the organisation of future events.
The aims of the Safer Havant Partnership’s ‘Feel Safe, Have Fun’ day were:
The event linked to a wide range of work aimed at promoting the work of the Safer Havant Partnership to local residents, including the set up of the Safer Havant Partnership’s new website www.saferhavant.co.uk. Follow the link below for more information on this work, including the Safer Havant Partnership’s Engaged Communities Strategy 2009/2010 and the Quarterly Communications updates:
Link to further information on community engagement in the Havant Borough >>
The event also linked to a number of national indicators, which the Home Office use to judge the progress of the Safer Havant Partnership:
It was agreed that the success of the event would be measured by:
Havant Borough Council’s Community Safety Projects Officer was responsible for the organisation and running of this event and spent an estimated 100 hours over three months planning and preparing for the event. A detailed action plan was kept throughout the planning process with deadlines for the completion of each action.
Involvement from a wide range of community safety agencies was crucial to the success of the event and to the portrayal of the message that a number of agencies are working together to deal with anti-social behaviour. Three months before the event took place the Projects Officer sent out an initial invitation to a range of community safety agencies to take part in the event.
Two weeks later this initial invitation was followed up with a booking form, in which exhibitors were asked for their contact details, to describe their exhibition and how much space they would need. This information was vital to completing the site plan and planning how much space that each exhibit would need. The Projects Officer also sent an invitation to all the Councillors working in the Havant Borough, including the Mayor of Havant and the Deputy Mayor and to the Safer Havant Partnership Strategic Group.
On the day of the event all agencies asked to attend a briefing and debriefing session and were given an information sheet with the timings of the event, emergency contact details, information about toilet facilities and a site plan. The Projects Officer compiled a list of all agencies who were attending together with contact details in case of emergency. Once all the exhibitors had arrived, an attendance list was sent round the group in case of emergency and to take orders for lunch.
The demand for exhibition space exceeded all expectations, with over twenty local community safety agencies and eighty individuals taking part in this event. The attendance of so many community safety agencies successfully promoted the idea that a number of agencies are working together to deal with crime in the Havant Borough. Every organisation who agreed to exhibit at the event attended on the day and the atmosphere was very positive.
An extremely varied range of exhibitors attended the event, covering a whole range of community safety issues. As well as promoting a partnership working message to members of the public, the attendance of so many agencies gave professionals a chance to meet each other and discuss their shared priorities.
The presence of partner agencies contributed a great deal to the look and feel of the event. Exhibitors brought information, activities and a number of display vehicles, which really made the event stand out and gave it a visible presence from a distance. Display vehicles included the Police CCTV van, the Bobby Trust van, the Accredited Community Safety Officer’s van, the Havant Borough Council Exhibition Trailer and two fire engines, one of which had a crane from which the team attached the Safer Havant Partnership banner to be displayed over the event site.
Each of the organisations who attended the event was asked to complete a feedback form detailing the successes of the event and areas for improvement. There were many positive comments around the attendance of partner agencies at the event, including:
‘Good range of stands and information’
‘It was nice to see a multi-agency approach’
‘The amount of exhibitors and the diversity of the topics covered’
‘Good promotion of combined agency working to the general public’
‘The way in which we all worked together and the atmosphere on the day’
‘It felt great to all support each other’
‘A chance to network with other organisations and see what they see as priority issues’
A real opportunity to meet with those who wouldn’t normally come along to the service’
‘The event was a chance to communicate directly with a section of the public who may not come to our normal types of events’.
Although the range of exhibitors exceeded initial expectations, attendance of partner organisations could still grow further for future events. Feedback from partner agencies included some suggestions for possible additions to the event:
‘I did not see a traffic police officer giving advice and information’
‘The Ambulance service could have been there, possibly attending to a mock incident’
It was decided to hold the event at the ASDA Super Centre in Bedhampton as this venue had a large designated space for community engagement events and could be used free of charge. The ASDA Super Centre is visited by residents throughout the Havant Borough and is near to Leigh Park, which is a priority area for the Safer Havant Partnership.
The Projects Officer met with a representative from ASDA on a number of occasions to discuss their expectations of the event and to organise details such as parking, in-store announcements and local publicity. It was decided that the event should be held on a Wednesday as a free bus ran on that day from Havant Town Centre, which many elderly people used to access the store. The event was held in the school summer holidays to ensure that young people would have access to it and it ran from 11am – 3pm as this was the busiest time for the store.
Exhibition space was limited at the event due to the number of organisations who were interested in exhibiting and the number of display vehicles, including fire engines and the police CCTV van. Therefore a detailed site plan was completed to allow a fair amount of space for each agency and to allow access for the fire engines to leave in an emergency.
The Fire Service volunteered to complete a risk assessment of the event and on the day of the event the Havant Borough Council Community Safety Team arrived on site early to check the site for possible hazards and mark out the area.
The choice of venue ensured a steady stream of visitors from members of the public from all over the Havant Borough who were visiting the ASDA store. Feedback was very positive on the organisation of the space and the accessibility of the event, with one exhibitor commenting that they were pleased with ‘How open to the public it was’. Other comments included:
‘I was pleased with how the event was organised and would certainly support any repeat next year.’
The ASDA site was a good size for this year’s event, but if the event grew any bigger in the future it would need to be moved to a larger venue. Although the location provided a steady stream of visitors to the ASDA store, a venue such as Leigh Park Gardens or Havant Park might be more attractive for those looking for a family day out. Some exhibitors suggested alternative venues for future events:
‘Great day, could it work in the Greywell or the Meridian Centre?’
‘Although ASDA is a good venue, I would like to see the next event of its kind linked to an event like the Leigh Park Carnival, where I feel we would get our message across to more young people in Havant’
The Safer Havant Partnership Community Engagement Group, chaired by the Projects Officer, met on the 7th of July to plan for the upcoming event. One area that the group focused on was entertainment, and it was decided that a range of eye-catching displays and activities were needed to draw members of the public to the event site.
A number of exhibitors ran free activities such as colouring competitions and badge-making on their stalls. All these activities made the event more appealing to members of the public and allowed parents to speak to exhibitors while their children took part in the free activities.
Hampshire Constabulary and Hampshire Fire and Rescue ran regular larger displays which both drew members of the public into the event and made these agencies more approachable. Hampshire Constabulary’s Public Order Department displayed their riot gear, demonstrating how it was used and allowing members of the public a chance to try it on. Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service gave hourly demonstrations on the dangers of chip pan fires, which was an exciting and eye-catching addition to the event.
Soul-Vant dance group, a local boy’s dance group who are sponsored by the Safer Havant Partnership, also performed hourly throughout the day. This display appealed to both older children and adults and gave the event a great atmosphere.
Peelers the lion, the Safer Havant Partnership’s mascot was also used to draw in a younger audience and promote the Safer Havant Partnership brand, whilst two face painters painted children’s faces as lions to continue the lion theme.
The range and quality of the entertainment drew members of the public into the event and allowed parents to speak with the community safety exhibitors while their children took part in free activities. The presence of Soul-Vant Dance group bought a really buzz and good atmosphere to the event. There were a number of positive comments around the boys dance group, including:
‘Great to see something on a more positive note about young people and how they contribute positively towards many areas within their community’
The display by Hampshire Fire and Rescue drew a crowd of about 50 spectators with each performance and was both a great spectacle and promoted a serious message about fire safety. Police and Fire Service displays and demonstrations make these agencies more accessible and approachable to members of the public.
The presence of face painters also drew young people and their parents to the site, and reinforced the Safer Havant Partnership brand through their lion face-painting, whilst the Safer Havant Partnership mascot Peelers the lion attracted a younger audience to the event.
The combination of regular demonstrations and fixed displays helped to draw in members of the public who were visiting the ASDA store. Unfortunately the sound system that had been organised did not work on the day of the event, and exhibitors commented that they would like to see a ‘better sound system for the dance/fire presentation’. If the event expanded in the future and moved to a larger venue there would be many other entertainment opportunities, including possible bouncy castles, climbing walls and performances by local schools. One partner agency commented:
‘(If the space was bigger) we could have got a climbing wall and other things to have attracted more children and so got more adults in’
The Safer Havant Partnership began to promote the event a month before with the Havant Borough Council Communications Team issuing a press release advertising the event. A second press release was issued the week before the event and a third was produced on the day of the event, which included pictures taken by the official photographer.
A leaflet was designed and produced to promote the event. This was distributed to a number of community centres, libraries and doctors surgeries across the Borough, and poster versions were displayed in public notice boards throughout the Havant Borough.
Posters were also displayed within partner agencies, including Havant Police station and Havant Borough Council Civic Offices. Finally, 1000 leaflets were also distributed at Havant Borough Council’s Play Day event, which took place a week before the Safer Havant Partnership’s event.
The event was also advertised on a number of local websites including the Havant Borough Council and Hampshire County Council website, on a number of Hampshire event websites and on the Safer Havant Partnership’s own website www.saferhavant.co.uk
On the day of the event ASDA agreed to put out an announcement in store every thirty minutes in order to let customers know that a performance or display was about to take place. ASDA also produced a large sign which was displayed outside the store in the week running up to the event.
A range of Safer Havant Partnership promotional materials were used at the event to raise awareness of the Partnership and their website address. Promotional goods that were distributed included balloons, rucksacks, lanyards, wallets and reflective wristbands. Safer Havant Partnership information packs were also distributed on the day of the event.
A local photographer was also hired for two hours to record the event. These photographs can be used for promoting future events and to publicise the success of the event on the Safer Havant Partnership’s website.
Over 1000 members of the public attended the event over the course of the day, with a number of visitors commenting that they had seen the leaflet or had heard about the event at the previous weeks Play Day event. The Safer Havant Partnership website saw 158 unique visitors in the week following the event and 30 unique visitors on the day of the event, which is a rise of about 50% on the average visitor rates. Councillor Andy Lenaghan, Portfolio Holder for Community Safety, commented:
‘The event was very well attended by both partner agencies and members of the community, who were able to give their views on community safety issues and obtain a great deal of information about what is happening to make the Borough of Havant a safer place to live and work.’
A number of partner agencies also commented on responses from members of the public on the day of the event:
‘Lots of interest particularly from parents of young people’
‘Some people I spoke to came from outside of the Borough, some as far as Liss. They thought what we were doing was excellent’
‘All comments offered to us and overheard about the event were positive’
The local newspaper ‘The News’ published three small articles promoting the day in the run up to the event. The News photographer attended the event and following the event The News published a very positive half-page article on the day with a large picture of the chip-pan fire display. This article included a quotation from Councillor Andy Lenaghan, Portfolio Holder for Community Safety and reflected the partnership’s key message that a number of agencies are working together to deal with crime and anti-social behaviour issues. The event was also discussed on a number of local radio stations with clips from an interview with the Projects Officer.
Although the event was picked up by local media, perhaps by linking the event to a national campaign such as Alcohol Awareness Week or Not in my Neighbourhood Week media interest could be further boosted. If the event grew larger in the future and the venue was changed it would be easier to promote the event as a fun family day out. One partner agency commented that at the next event we could: ‘Heighten community PR and media’
This large public event was a great opportunity to survey local residents to ask them if they agreed with the Safer Havant Partnership’s priorities for the year ahead. The survey was tested at a large community event that ran the week before and minor changes were made to the wording to make the survey more readable. Brightly coloured t-shirts were produced to make those The t-shirts were printed with ‘We want your views!’ and the Safer Havant Partnership logo and website address, ensuring that members of the public knew that the partnership were seeking the views of local residents at this event. Members of Neighbourhood Watch and Motiv8 were asked to take residents through the survey and worked hard throughout the day to beat the target of 100 completed surveys.
In total 178 surveys were completed on the day of the event, beating the target of 100 completed surveys. The information gathered through the surveys will be used to inform the Safer Havant Partnership’s priorities for upcoming year and confirm that they are currently tackling the right issues and problem areas. The completion of these surveys by local residents also promotes the idea that the Partnership seeks the views of local residents on the community safety issues that matter to them.
The teams found that the wording on the questionnaire could be further altered to make it simpler to read and understand.
An alternative plan was produced for the event in case of bad weather. The Projects Officer discussed possible alternative arrangements with the Community Engagement Group and it was decided that if raining on the day the event would take place inside the ASDA store in a space by the till area. The event would have been significantly reduced with agencies sharing tables and limited entertainment. Gazebos were also considered but ruled out due to lack of space at the event site.
Due to the support of members of the Safer Havant Partnership and of ASDA, the cost of the event was very low. Many items that were purchased for this event could also be reused at later events. In total the Safer Havant Partnership spent just over £1100 on the event
This event forms part of a longer term strategy aimed at promoting the work of the Safer Havant Partnership and. While this event focused on promoting the Partnership itself, future events will focus on tackling the partnership’s current three priorities, which are anti-social behaviour, alcohol and violence. Feedback from exhibitors was overwhelmingly positive and therefore the partnership would like to make a large public partnership-working day part