The assurance comes from the East Sussex Safer Communities Partnership which has been singled out to receive special thanks for meeting and exceeding its targets for crime reduction. John Scott, Home Office Regional Director will visit East Sussex on Thursday 17 July 2008 to pass on his congratulations on behalf of the Government Office for the South East.
In East Sussex, partners have been working together to cut crime and the Safer Communities Partnership brings together the work of all the agencies, including the district and borough Crime Reduction Partnerships, who are working to reduce crime and the fear of crime.
The British Crime Survey shows that crime in East Sussex has fallen overall by 20.1% between 1 April 2003 and 31 March 2008, the largest success as a county in the region.
Councillor Bob Tidy, Lead Member for Community Safety at East Sussex County Council said: “Amongst our key successes, we have seen good results from targeting prolific offenders, supported by rapid access to treatment for offenders delivered through the Drug and Alcohol Action Team. We have also seen a number of domestic violence offenders convicted with the support of our independent domestic violence advocates and the establishment of a new Hate Crime Service that offers support to victims of homophobic, faith and race crimes.
“A range of measures have been put in place to reassure residents that partners are working hard to bring crime down, to keep it falling and inform residents of achievements and successes. There are enhanced drug treatment services available to offenders who have been arrested and are in custody so that they can access treatment services within 24 hours of referral.”
Services across the county are also working to provide a range of services to reduce offending by young people and to prevent young people from becoming victims of crime. For example this includes a mentoring service and the East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service LIFE project
Chief Superintendent Nick Wilkinson from Sussex Police, said: “These significant crime reductions in the county help to demonstrate that East Sussex continues to be a safe place in which to live, work and visit. It also shows what can be achieved through working together and the strong partnerships that exist within the statutory agencies, voluntary sector and our communities. Neighbourhood policing has been key to our success enabling us to target local priorities identified by our communities and providing high policing visibility and reassurance on our streets”.
Notes to editors
During his visit to East Sussex, Home Office Regional Director John Scott will also present the Safer Hastings Partnership with the Tilley Award. The Award is made by the Government Office for the South East in recognition of the Safer Hastings Partnership’s innovative approach to community engagement with young people. The Partnership created a poster competition and video film challenge on the subject of community safety and the winners had their work shown on Hastings Community Television.
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