Warwickshire partners that work to reduce crime and disorder and the fear of crime had a busy month in October, as they got out and about across the county to raise awareness.
October was a bumper month for national community safety campaigns, with Hate Crime Awareness Week, Safer Business Action Week and Anti-Slavery Week all taking place.
The Safer Warwickshire Partnership includes representatives from Warwickshire’s councils, Fire and Rescue service, Warwickshire Police, the Police and Crime Commissioner, the Probation Service, Health, and charitable organisations.
Warwickshire’s Community Safety teams took the opportunity to get out and about to speak to residents and businesses about what they can do to help prevent these crimes from happening in the county and how to report them.
This included a visit to Bedworth town centre, where members of Warwickshire County Council’s Community Safety team spoke to residents and businesses and attended a community engagement event at the Civic Hall, and a drop-in business crime advice session held at Nuneaton’s Chess Centre.
Safer Business Action Week is an annual event, and Warwickshire County Council’s Community Safety team and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Warwickshire used it to raise awareness of their continued support for the retail sector in tackling violence and abuse against shopworkers by asking people to ‘Shop Kind’ when in stores.
Emma Daniell, the Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for Warwickshire, joined Warwickshire Police during the week on their day-to-day operations across the county tackling retail and business crime. The Police’s ISO (Investigation Standards and Outcomes) team released a ‘Most Wanted’ shoplifters list and the WRCI (Warwickshire Retail Crime Initiative) also visited businesses countywide.
The Community Safety partners encouraged residents to report traders selling illegal products, including fake alcohol and cigarettes, and help support genuine local businesses in Warwickshire, by reporting them to Trading Standards on 0808 223 1133.
They also encouraged Warwickshire businesses to get free and impartial business crime and cybercrime advice, and discover how their business can help prevent terrorism, by visiting the updated and refreshed Warwickshire Business Watch website at https://warwickshirebusinesswatch.co.uk.
Warwickshire County Council and Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council’s Community Safety Teams joined the local Warwickshire Police Safer Neighbourhood Team to speak to shoppers at a stall at Nuneaton market and attended a Diwali event in Bedworth.
The teams also spoke to residents and businesses at Rugby’s town shopping centre and spoke to communities represented at Nuneaton’s Food and Faith Festival, which was attended by the Police and Crime Commissioner for Warwickshire, Philip Seccombe.
Anti-Slavery Week raises awareness of Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking, and community safety partners used the opportunity to raise awareness to help combat modern slavery within Warwickshire’s own local business communities.
A ‘fake’ job advert was created as part of the WCC Community Safety team’s communications work to raise awareness of the workplace exploitation that takes place in the county, highlighting how individuals are conned into modern slavery.
For more information on Modern Slavery and to report it, people were encouraged to visit the Safe In Warwickshire website: https://safeinwarwickshire.com/crime-anti-social-behaviour/modern-slavery-human-trafficking.
In the south of the county, Warwickshire’s community safety partners visited businesses to raise awareness of crime prevention and Warwickshire Police PCSOs went out and about during Hate Crime Awareness Week to raise awareness of equality, diversity, and inclusion issues with local communities. EQuIP, a charity providing support, advice, and training to people across Warwickshire to combat discrimination, spoke at Warwick’s Latin Fest.
Hate Crime Awareness Week takes place every year and is an ideal opportunity to remind individuals and businesses that the law protects everyone against prejudice or hostility that is directed towards them based on their disability, gender identity, nationality, race, religion, or sexual orientation.
Anyone who witnesses or has been subjected to Hate Crime in Warwickshire can report it via the Report Hate Now website at: https://reporthatenow.com.
Councillor Andy Crump, Chair of the Safer Warwickshire Partnership Board and WCC’s Portfolio Holder for Community Safety, said: “Partner organisations from across Warwickshire work together every day to help make our county safe and an important part of this work is going out and about to engage with our communities and businesses.
“I was really pleased to see this timely and relevant engagement about the significant crime prevention issues of hate crime, business crime and modern slavery taking place across the county, as we work with our communities and businesses to make a difference.”
Emma Daniell, Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for Warwickshire, said:
“I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the Investigative Standards and Outcome team in action in Leamington. In just three hours three shoplifters were processed and goods recovered as well as one person was arrested. There was also lots of communication with CCTV, security staff at different locations, national partners in Opal, Street Wardens, community members and even known offenders. Brilliant partnership working within Warwickshire.”
To find out more information about the work of the Safer Warwickshire Partnership, visit www.safeinwarwickshire.com.
