Crime & Disorder

and

Anti-social behaviour

Our efforts against antisocial behaviour have been intensified and we are tackling it head on.

Our ongoing Alley Gating schemes provide peaceful community areas and the street lighting programme has seen £3m of investment which has so far provided over 3,500 lighting columns. It is intended to continue the programme of £1m per annum and the possibility that this will rise to over £4m for three years. By the end of this period there will be a massive social gain with fewer accidents and crime reduction. It should be pointed out that Tameside spends one third of the entire amount spent in this area in the 10 councils of Greater Manchester on street lighting replacement.

Information technology is used not just for street surveillance cameras, but for the establishment of an information database. There are around 100 people killed or seriously injured on Tameside roads every year. Around a third of those are children. In many instances the cause is excessive speed. The Watchman system is now being installed across the borough tn tackle vehicle speeds, thus saving lives and reducing accidents. Its intention is to eliminate those drivers who drive at criminal speeds, it produces no income to this council but should improve safety on the roads as accident numbers reduce. The new version deals not only with vehicles but can also act as a street/road surveillance system which can be used in crime detection.

In relation to violent crime and anti-social behaviour we will be launching a new scheme to tackle the problem of alcohol-related disturbances in residential areas which are centred round particular drinking outlets. This will be done not only through police/patroller swoops, the testing of underaged purchases but by the stringent renewal of licences. We intend to set up a monitoring and logging system using residents and patrollers, with the evidence gathered being forwarded onto the police and the council’s Alcohol Licensing Panel.

The council has donated an additional £30,000 per year for joint police/council operations and we now have 40 patrollers, with 20 part time brought in to strengthen the team. The application for their accreditation is lodged and its approval will bring extra authority and powers.

However, what the council can do is limited. The final responsibility rests with the police. The major way that the community can help, along with the council, is to support the local police force. Consequently, in order to bring in information from town and area level, a Policing Panel has been established which consists of a crime and disorder representative from each District Assembly, local police, community services, and probation. The formation in its broadest sense is a concentration of minds of those involved with their local problems in the struggle against antisocial behaviour.