Key priorities to make Waveney safer

KEY priorities to improve the night time economy in Waveney, to help families in need and ensure the district is a 'safe place to live and work,' continue to be high on the agenda of the Waveney Community Safety Partnership.

KEY priorities to improve the night time economy in Waveney, to help families in need and ensure the district is a 'safe place to live and work,' continue to be high on the agenda of the Waveney Community Safety Partnership.

And on Wednesday, at a Waveney Council meeting of the community safety, health, wellbeing scrutiny sub-committee, an update on projects supported by the CSP will be heard.

With criminal damage incidents and violence against the person in the district continuing to be the key areas of concern work and schemes to reduce these figures remain a priority.

A report to councillors says that criminal damage is most prevalent in the Harbour ward with 425 offences recorded in the last 12 months.'

The latest figures show that the Harbour ward contributes 21pc towards all criminal damage offences in Waveney, with the Kirkley ward also experiencing high level of criminal damage as it contributes 15pc overall to recorded criminal damage incidents in Waveney.

The Harbour and Kirkley wards also account for 49pc (845 offences) of all violence against the person offences in Waveney over the past year.

To combat this, the Waveney CSP continues to support the Nightsafe Pubwatch Scheme, Crucial Crew and various burglary, anti-social behaviour and vehicle crime projects.

And a new pilot scheme could be unveiled for a trial period in the run up to Christmas and the New Year.

Talks are at an early stage to utilise the 4 Towns Bus and potentially run an SOS/Triage project to provide a safe haven for people and reduce the amount of drink related incidents.