Falkirk Council

The Falkirk Community Planning Partnership has an effective track record in making our communities a safer place to live.

 

 

Central Scotland Police has taken strong and effective action in arresting drug dealers and seizing an increased level of illegal drugs in recent years. There has also been a dramatic fall in the level of housebreaking by 6%. This has been achieved partly as a result of initiatives to ‘design out crime’ for new housing, commercial, industrial and other developments in the area. Robust implementation of the National Intelligence Model has allowed the police to use information to utilise their resources more effectively.

 

Organisations including the police, the Council, private construction companies and the like have been working in partnership to look at how new developments can be designed to either prevent or deter potential criminals from breaking into houses and premises.

 

Other contributions have come from more traditional policing methods with support from the communities through local Community Safety Groups and Neighbourhood Watch Associations. This strong record of success has been underpinned by the ‘Safer Central Policing Philosophy’ and by a solution-based problem solving approach adopted by partners.

 

 

The significant improvement in reducing the number of fatalities and injuries from road accidents is as a result of targeted campaigns by the police as well as different agencies working together to improve the design of roads. Measures have also been taken to reduce speed in high-risk areas and significant efforts have been made in the community to raise awareness amongst the public on the effects and implications of speeding, reckless driving and driving under the influence of either alcohol or drugs.

 

 

A consumer advice service is also offered providing the public with access to a range of advice when involved in buying or selling goods or services. Although the Trading Standards Service is operated by Falkirk Council a multi-agency approach with community safety partners is very much to the fore. This includes ‘Doorstoppers’ a multi-agency campaign to tackle doorstep crime. This approach is also very evident within the ‘Proof of Age Standards Scheme’ within which the scheme was applied to retailers to prevent under-age selling of restricted products such as fireworks, alcohol, tobacco and spray paint.

 

 

A partnership approach is also taken to planning for emergencies. A partnership with other public and voluntary sector organisations means that an integrated approach has been developed to deal with emergency situations. Exercises involving all of the different agencies can also be run to ensure that plans and responses are robust. Such exercises are critical to ensure the safety of all people in our area in the event of a major incident.

 

 

An extensive range of activity has also been undertaken to tackle antisocial behaviour, which includes acts of rowdyism, vandalism, carrying offensive weapons, underage drinking and noisy and inconsiderate behaviour. The police have targeted resources to known hotspots to deal with this.

 

Community wardens have also been deployed in known hotspots to help monitor and tackle anti-social behaviour. Initially, wardens have been operating in Camelon, Hallglen, Grangemouth, and Stenhousemuir. We are now extending the areas served by community wardens to Bo’ness and Denny.

 

A specialist Conflict Resolution Service has also been established to manage, prevent and resolve neighbourhood nuisance and antisocial behaviour in our area. This includes mediation and 24-hour telephone helpline services and support for witnesses of anti-social behaviour as well as dedicated team to investigate and resolve more serious and persistent cases in this area. The service has been expanded to all residents and a neighbourhood nuisance policy has been developed.

 

 

Although the Falkirk Community Planning Partnership has targets to reduce levels of crime, fire and personal safety, an important emphasis is also placed on prevention. This can take the form of communication and education materials such as those developed by Central Scotland Fire and Rescue Service for the ‘Firestarters’ video. Proactive work is also undertaken through the Fire Cadets scheme to promote service, citizenship and team values amongst young people.

 

Community Safety monies have also funded Twilight Football Leagues which are targeted at young people and designed to provide them with activity-based alternatives to potentially participating in acts of crime and anti-social behaviour.

 

The Falkirk Community Planning Partnership has made significant investments in CCTV and related monitoring equipment. This is being upgraded to digital standard so that clearer images can be presented, which will increase the potential for detecting crime. We also have plans over the coming years to replace town centre cameras.

 

In recent years the public sector organisations in the area have increased the range of and access to treatment, prevention and support services to drug, substance and alcohol misusers. As a result an increasing number of misusers are coming forward seeking help. This in turn will have a beneficial effect on overall community safety and the area’s health.