Residents of an area of Northampton urged to report crime
A day of action today aims to help residents to spot the signs of grooming, drug dealing, and exploitation.
Today, Friday 15 August, a mobile ad-van along with Neighbourhood Policing team’s Beat Bus and foot patrols will be in Bouverie in Northampton.
It's all part of a three week Crimestoppers campaign to encourage residents to report anti-social behaviour anonymously.
There's a particular focus on how to spot the signs of grooming, drug dealing, and exploitation.
Lydia Patsalides is East Midlands Regional Manager for Crimestoppers:
"People can be nervous of groups of people that are hanging around that are being either really noisy or they're causing graffiti where they live or just generally intimidating. So that comes from a lot of antisocial behaviour. But if people see what comes with that is the drug dealing and they can see that it makes people nervous.
"It puts people on edge and it makes people feel unsafe where they live. So there's an awful lot of there's a huge impact that comes from both antisocial behaviour and from drugs taking drugs, dealing drugs. Again, what comes with that is violence, so encouraging people to report that we'll be able to do something about it."
The campaign is part of the ‘Together We Solve’ project, funded by West Northants Council and forms a part of the wider Safer Town Centres for Summer initiative.
This campaign follows six months of dedicated work by Northamptonshire Police in the Bouverie area to tackle crime and strengthen community ties.
Crimestoppers shares anonymous information with the police, who then use that information to investigate and respond.
They say this bridge between the community and law enforcement helps build trust, enhances confidence in local policing, and reinforces the community’s role in keeping their neighbourhoods safe.
Cllr Thomas Manning, Cabinet Member for Planning and Communities at West Northamptonshire Council said:
“This is an important campaign aimed to encourage residents to report their concerns in a safe and confidential way. Anonymous public reporting plays a vital role in tackling crime, protecting vulnerable individuals and helps to make the place where people live safer.
I encourage residents to report any concerns to do with crime on the details provided, it will make a difference to helping make the area where people live safer.”
Neighbourhood Policing Inspector for Northampton, Nicola Davis-Lyons, added:
“Through Together We Solve, we’ve been focusing on tackling crime and anti-social behaviour in the Bouverie area, to help build a better environment and improve the quality of life for local people.
“The voice of the community in a project like this cannot be underestimated. Whether it’s helping to identify the issues we focus on, reporting incidents or sharing information about those committing offences, the support and involvement of local people is crucial.
“One of our aims is to give people the tools to report crime easily and without fear. Crimestoppers provides simple way for people who would prefer to report anonymously, to provide information that will help us tackle crime and bring offenders to justice. We’re looking forward to supporting the campaign and hope it will encourage more people to share their concerns and tell us what’s happening in their local area.
Crimestoppers is encouraging anyone with information about crime to contact them anonymously by calling 0800 555 111 or visiting crimestoppers-uk.org.