Gloucestershire ‘Safer Streets Summer’ initiative launched
The initiative is a partnership between emergency services and charities in the county.
A summer of action focused on cracking down on criminality in city and town centres across Gloucestershire has been launched.
The Safer Streets Summer initiative, which will run until the end of September, will see a targets approach between emergency services and charities in the county.
The aim is to show a united front in keeping people safe from harm and preventing crime.
Organisations involved include Probation Services, the Street Pastors, Gloucester BID, First Responders, the Severn Area Rescue Association and Victim Support.
In the summer months there will be increased patrols and engagement with members of the public.
There’s also set to be a maximised use of fines, Anti-Social Behaviour powers, Public Space Protection orders, Fixed Penalty Notices, and Out-of-Court Resolutions.
Police and Crime Commissioner Chris Nelson told Greatest Hits Radio why the organisations have come together: “Crime is never just a matter for the police.
“Not only do we not have enough resources, and we’ve had all sorts of funding problems recently.
“We need support from the county council, from charities, from the agencies that deal with those problems and we need to work together.
“There's a whole range of services, multi-agencies, that are so important to make sure that we can deliver change quickly.”
Gloucester's Labour MP Alex McIntyre is also backing the initiative.
He said: " I think it's really important people know that there are groups working together to tackle this.
"Anti-social behaviour is something that transcends so many different parts of our community and it's really important that we have a whole system response.
"It's not just about the police response, It's brilliant community organisations like the music works who run activities for young people during the summer so that we are keeping them engaged in a positive way.
"Rather than, the thing that always gets said to me is that the conservatives cut our youth services so much that there's nowhere to go."