Sgt Duncan Wallace East Herts Rural Safer Neighbourhood Team Community Safety Sgt Duncan Wallace East Herts Rural Safer Neighbourhood Team

What is ‘Community Safety’ Management of our communities to ensure their freedom from risk and danger. Strategically, the focus for police and statutory partner agencies is directed towards Safeguarding and identifying risk. Currently, safeguarding is very much focussed towards Domestic Violence, Female Genital Mutilation, Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation.

How we deliver strategically The Constabulary and partners have invested considerable resources into departments with specific responsibility for robustly dealing with identified incidents of safeguarding. High risk cases are discussed at daily management meetings with clear management strategies agreed by police and partner agencies who may all have a part to play.

East Herts Thankfully, in East Herts, incidents involving the four main strategic risks are minimal. However, in rural communities, alternate risk and vulnerability can have a significant impact. It is imperative that police and partners identify and recognise the significance of these issues. To be effective, we must be engaged with the community and work with them. In isolation, police and partners will not be effective.

How we deliver Locally Locally the challenge can be ensuring people ‘feel safe’. In rural communities, fear and perception can differ greatly from evidenced reality. Additionally, we must also manage expectation and avoid unnecessary dissatisfaction and loss of confidence. The rural team actively seeks to engage with its community to ensure effective communication in a number of ways.

Engaging with the rural community

Neighbourhood Watch

Neighbourhood Watch East Herts now has over 10,000 residents signed up to NHW and OWL NHW fits prominently within the current policing plan. Rural crime is now specifically identified as a policing priority. NHW provides an extensive communication network through which intelligence and preventative information can be shared

Protect the vulnerable

Operation STOMP Has now been conducted in numerous villages and town wards. Fits into the preventative strategy Identifies vulnerability and seeks to target harden Dispels the myth that not all vulnerable are elderly and not all elderly are vulnerable! Contact with a purpose, Listening and understanding, Keeping People Safe, Reducing Crime and ASB

Online Watch link

OWL benefits A key weapon in the preventative strategy. It provides timely access to local messages and crime prevention advice. It keeps people informed, reducing speculation and conjecture. A key weapon in improving confidence. Empowers the community with knowledge and confidence to actively contribute. Provides a medium for reassurance and support.

Other communication mediums Specific tailored watch schemes, (Horse watch, Dog watch, Business watch, Pub watch). Over 10,000 followers on East Herts Twitter accounts. Rural News editorial quarterly East Herts Rural Riders (Facebook). Community event attendance

Rural Challenges

Metal theft

Environmental criminatity

Hare Coursing

Fly Tipping

What are our objectives? To improve the overall wellbeing of the community. To ensure our contact has purpose To listen and understand To keep people safe To empower the community and get others actively involved. To reduce crime and Anti Social Behaviour To catch criminals

We can all play a part You all belong to a community within East Hertfordshire Some of you are elected to represent those communities, either informally as community spokesperson, partner agency, or formally at elected Parish, District or even County level. You can assist to promote NHW, improve coverage, improve confidence by reducing that fear and perception of crime.

Our Aspiration To make East Hertfordshire a place where people want to reside, work and play!

Sir Robert Peel 1829 The test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with them. This principle remains as valid today as when initially cited and remains the aspiration of your rural neighbourhood policing team.