Borough Life Summer 2006: Breaking the crime cycle
What the council is doing
- Reorganising services to better tackle all forms of anti-social behaviour, from low-level graffiti to neighbourhood ‘crack-houses’.
- Tougher action against serial offenders and crime hotspots.
- Enhancing CCTV across the borough.
- Helping Greater Manchester Police double the number of community support officers in the borough to 64.
- Improving services for young people.
- Clamping down on dangerous off-road bikers by contributing to the police’s new, CCTV-supported, off-road bikes.
- Tackling under-age drinking through test purchasing schemes.
- Encouraging more community and voluntary sector involvement in problem solving.
Trail-bike power turns thetables on off-road nuisance
Wigan Council and Greater Manchester Police are putting the skids under illegal off-road bikers. They’ve bought a Suzuki DRZ400 trail bike to track down riders who are attracted by the borough’s network of abandoned collieries and disused railway lines.
Illegal off-roaders using Bickershaw Colliery and other sites face prosecution and confiscation of their machines. 13 bikes were taken ‘off-road’ after a recent operation involving council community protection officers and their police counterparts. The task force targeted areas close to the Belle Green estate and Whelley Loop Line in Ince, Amberswood Common in Hindley and Westwood Park in Wigan.
Riders whose bikes are confiscated are only likely to have them returned if they can produce a valid insurance certificate and pay a fee of more than £100.
- You can report off road nuisance in strict confidence by calling Greater Manchester Police on 0161 872 5050. People wanting to ride legally off-road can contact the Auto Cycle Union (ACU) on 01788 566400 for information.
Wigan Council is out to cut anti-social behaviour down to size. Ambitious plans, developed with community safety partners like Greater Manchester Police, are in place to reduce both the number of local residents experiencing anti-social behaviour and those who think anti-social behaviour is a major problem – even if they don’t actually experience such behaviour themselves.
The council is aiming for a massive 40% drop on both counts – and the action starts now.
Cllr Keith Cunliffe, Wigan council’s cabinet member for community safety, explains:
“We aim to create safer neighbourhoods right across the borough. We want to encourage respect for each other and for the areas we all live in, and tackle the issues local people care about most, like youth nuisance, litter and fly-tipping.
“We are already seeing significant progress on the ‘crime and grime’ agenda, with crime falling and streets getting cleaner, and together with the police we’ll continue to target the perpetrators with the full range of powers available to us.”
Authorities in Wigan have already shown a determination to use whatever powers they have at their disposal: ASBOs and evictions, warning letters and good behaviour agreements, injunctions and prosecutions. “But it’s not just about enforcement”, Cllr Cunliffe insists.
“We are putting measures in place designed to prevent anti-social behaviour happening in the first place, focusing on areas where physical and social factors presently encourage it. And, where there is repeated anti-social behaviour, we aim to break that cycle.”
Stryking out for safety
Round-the-clock monitoring of the borough’s 500 CCTV cameras is being extended as part of the council’s renewed clampdown on crime and anti-social behaviour.
The number of dedicated CCTV control room officers has been increased from four to 13, giving the borough’s 500 cameras a more direct role in crime prevention.
Council community safety boss Ian Harrison said: “Round the clock monitoring, coupled with an increased police presence in our communities, means more emphasis on the prevention of anti-social behaviour.
“That means safer neighbourhoods, a better quality of life for law-abiding citizens, and trouble ahead for those who fail to respect other people and their property.”
Meanwhile. the borough has signed up four super strykers to give the council a cutting edge in the battle against anti-social behaviour and fly-tipping. Stryker is a digital CCTV system designed for rapid deployment and surveillance across the borough. These ‘new generation’ cameras will be used to target vandals who smash bus shelters.
Ian Harrison said: “We expect a serious return on our investment in terms of identifying the criminals, persistent trouble-makers and fly-tippers who blight our borough.”