Arun Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership gets a makeover – and new name.

The team leading the charge to make Arun a safer place to live, work and visit has been given a new look for 2010. The Safer Arun Partnership formally launches this April replacing the old Arun Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership.

The makeover includes a new logo and trendy new user friendly website – www.saferarun.co.uk - which features the latest crime news, projects, community safety information, views from local residents and information about how people can get involved in making a difference in their community. It also features pages for young people giving advice and tips about what to do if they are in trouble and how to avoid becoming victims of crime, as well as information about mobile phone safety and cyberbulling.

The Partnership works to make the district a safer place for everyone. Its membership includes representatives from Arun District Council, West Sussex County Council, Sussex Police, West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, NHS West Sussex, Sussex Probation Trust, Sussex Police Authority as well as Arun’s communities.

Recent successes have included high profile weeks of action, community clean ups, the launch of Arun Angels in Bognor Regis, Dogwatch in Littlehampton and the Adopt and Alleyway scheme across the district as well providing funding for community activities and campaigns. Lamppost banners in Littlehampton and Bognor Regis are up for the month of April advertising the new site.

Arun District Council’s Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Councillor Roger Elkins, said: “This is a fresh look for a group committed to dealing with the issues that most affect our communities.

“We know from research that a lot of people did not know about the Arun Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership and its work. We hope that this fresh new approach will raise the profile of the Partnership, its work in our communities and encourage more people to get involved with us.

“Our new website – www.saferarun.co.uk – has been designed to be user friendly and engaging featuring all local community safety news and crime prevention advice.

“The Safer Arun Partnership depends on people working with us and we want to hear from our communities. The new website features two special areas, one where residents can give their views about their area and one where people can put their questions to members of the Partnership.

“We hope that our new look will help us take our message to all quarters of the community.”

Arun’s District Police Commander, Chief Inspector Jim Bartlett added: “The changing of our name from the Arun Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership to the Safer Arun Partnership will make no difference to the
excellent work our organisation does.

“I am excited that we are launching a new website to coincide with the name change as it is important we keep residents up to date with our work.

“I believe the new name and the new website make our aim even clearer – to keep the people of Arun safe. “

You can find our more information about the Safer Arun Partnership by visiting www.saferarun.gov.uk

New Facebook page lets young people get more involved

Two Arun youth councillors have forged a groundbreaking new communication method using social networking to bring the young people of Arun and Sussex Police together.

Alex Peat, 15, and Harlan Geraets, 14, have spent the last few weeks working with Arun’s District Commander, Chief Inspector Jim Bartlett, and Littlehampton’s Neighbourhood Policing Team Sergeant Peter Allan to create a new Facebook page where young people can pick up handy advice about who their local police officer is, how to stay safe and protect their property and find out the latest news about policing and community safety in the district.

Sussex Police is the first force in the country to work with a youth council to create a dedicated Facebook youth page in this way.

Harlan, who is a student at St Philip Howard School, said:
“It’s been great to work with Chief Inspector Bartlett to come up with this Facebook page. I really think it will be a great resource for young people across the district who do have an interest in policing but who might not know where to get their information from. It’s exciting to think that we are the first people to have worked with the police to create something like this. “

Alex, a student at The Littlehampton Academy, added:
“Facebook is the communication tool for young people at the moment. Almost all of us use it and some of us even have access to it on our phones. Being able to get regularly updated information about what’s happening with crime and the police in our district this way is great. We are going to use the site to spark debate and really get young people interested and involved in the work of local police.”

Both local police officers and Harlan and Alex will be responsible for making sure there is updated information and interesting content on the site.

Arun’s District Commander, Chief Inspector Jim Bartlett, said:
“I am always looking for new ways of communicating with people in Arun so when Alex and Harlem suggested using Facebook, I jumped at the chance.

Like the internet, policing goes on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week so social networking seems like the perfect place to keep people up to date.

I hope that the Youth Council’s Facebook page will mean young people can easily find out about, be a part of and influence the work we are doing in their communities as well as making them feel more comfortable contacting Sussex Police.”

Sussex Police Report Card Assessments.

Sussex Police and Sussex Police Authority have welcomed Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary’s (HMIC) police report card assessments published today (Thursday) and are looking forward to regular scheduled updates on the Force’s performance.

Deputy Chief Constable Giles York said: "The assessments are based on various data stretching back to 2007 and we believe that as updates become available, they will show that Sussex is already improving."

Sussex Police has been rated ‘Fair’ in all three overall categories, putting the Force in the equal top ten slot of 42 police forces across England and Wales for the Confidence and Satisfaction category, equal 15th for Local Crime and Policing and equal 17th for Protection from Serious Harm.

In the sub-categories, ‘Excellent’ ratings were given for reducing crime, suppressing gun crime and comparative satisfaction of the BME community.

Commenting on the figures, DCC York said: "Several areas of strong performance have been recognised by HMIC, including our excellent rating for reducing crime. This reflects the wishes of the police authority to concentrate on crime prevention, particularly with regard to vehicle crime. Our focus in this area has seen very good results, but we acknowledge that the number of solved cases in this category is directly bringing about the ‘Poor’ rating for solving crime. However, we are shown to be improving.

"Sussex Police works closely with other emergency services, local councils and other partners to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on the county’s roads. We all work tirelessly in a bid to educate and enforce. This is showing results and road KSI (killed and seriously injured) figures in particular have fallen by more than 7% over the last four years (964 in 2009 against 1034 in 2006). However, the way that we are assessed in comparison with similar forces, means that we have not moved position in relation to these other forces and we will continue to seek improvement.

"I am pleased that HMIC has recognised, in particular, the joint work that we have carried out with partners to make Brighton and Hove a safer place at night, which has been singled out as an example of exceptional performance and innovation. Our work on burglaries has also brought positive results and we lead the way in the south-east on reducing this type of crime. These are just two examples of the quality policing service that we deliver to the people of Sussex and I trust that the introduction of the My Police website will enable people to track our successes and our improvements."

The chairman of Sussex Police Authority, Dr Laurie Bush, said: "Sussex Police Authority is very pleased with this report’s recognition for the areas in which Sussex Police excel. Being in the top ten in the country for confidence and satisfaction is of utmost importance and the Authority would like to praise the work done in this area.

"I also want to commend the work done to gain a rating of excellent for reducing crime, suppressing gun crime and in particular the comparative satisfaction of the BME community. This is an area that the Authority has long overseen and is reflected in the diverse nature of the make up of Sussex Police, its officers and its staff.

"We recognise the weak areas in this report but there is nothing new evidenced here. These areas are being addressed and are reflected in the Authority’s Local Policing Plan for 2010-11 and will continue to be scrutinised to ensure further improvement in these areas.

"The Authority is identified as delivering policing with a low/medium cost per household which means that policing in Sussex represents very good value for money particularly when Sussex is ranked as one of the lowest funded police forces in England and Wales. The Police Authority recently set a historically low precept rise of only 7 pence (2.7%) per week for the average Band D household. This means that for next year taxpayers will pay only £138.42 per household for the policing of Sussex, whilst still allowing us to invest in 31 extra neighbourhood police officers.

"I am very pleased to be able to say that this extra investment in neighbourhood policing follows detailed consultation with communities in Sussex and is possible as a result of extensive efficiency gains by the Authority and the Sussex Police."

Council Tax payers to get more for their money for policing in Sussex

Members of Sussex Police Authority have today considered the strategic direction of Sussex Police and voted on and set the budget for policing the county for the next financial year. The members of the Authority voted today to keep the precept rise of only 1 pence per day (a rise of 2.7%) per average Band D household, meaning that in total Band D Council Tax payers in Sussex will pay 38p per day towards policing in the county.

This historically low rise follows the Authority’s and Sussex Police’s hard work in achieving sustainable efficiency savings totalling £7.3m. The efforts to achieve the very best value for money has enabled the Authority to agree the investment in 31 additional Neighbourhood Policing officers. This reinforces the Authority’s commitment to community engagement and listening to feedback from the people of Sussex.

The Chairman of Sussex Police Authority, Dr Laurie Bush, said: “In this difficult climate I am very pleased to be in a position to tell Council Tax payers that they will not be seeing a large precept rise in their Council Tax for the policing of Sussex. Furthermore, this budget setting also allows us to invest in the extra Neighbourhood Police Officers previously promised.”

The setting of the budget today also links closely to the Local Policing Plan which the Authority will continue to scrutinise throughout the year.

Local police authorities, along with the Home Secretary and chief officers of police, make up the tripartite relationship which is responsible for the governance of policing in England and Wales.

Police authorities are currently made up of local people: a mix of local councillors, magistrates and independent members (selected from the community) represent the views of local communities.

The tripartite partners are the Home Office, the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Association of Police Authorities.

The job of Police Authorities is to:

a) appoint (and, if necessary, dismiss) chief constables and senior police officers

b) consult with local communities to find out what they want the local police to do

c) set the budget for their police force, and decide how much local people should pay for policing in the local council tax

d) set the strategic direction for policing locally and decide what the police should focus attention on locally based on their consultations with local communities

e) make sure the police force is continuing to do a better job

Sussex Police Authority works to a four theme business plan: Setting Strategic Direction, Scrutinising Performance, Community Engagement and Value for Money.