All projects within the Community Safety Theme report to the group on a monthly basis and reports and statistics are provided by the Police, Fire Service and Street Wardens. Members of the group attend the AIM meeting and relevant theme groups on the local Crime and Disorder Partnership to ensure that any extra resources available are brought into the West Middlesbrough area and to highlight the issues that are important to the people of West Middlesbrough.
The group also administers a Community Safety Rapid Reaction Fund to react to emerging problems of crime and disorder. Examples of how the fund has been used to date are as follows:
Operation Dark Nights: Extra funding was provided from January 2005 to March 2005 to enable the Street Wardens to extend their hours until 2am and for the police to carry out six targeted operations.
Fire Service: The Fire Service identified an area where stolen vehicles were regularly being dumped and set on fire. The area was surveyed by a representative from the Fire Service and WMNT and boulders were installed to prevent access to the site.
Surveillance Operation: Following numerous complaints from local residents relating to anti-social behaviour in a particular street, a surveillance operation was carried out which involved inserting two surveillance operatives into a void property for a 48 period to gather evidence.
Bollards: Where an area has become a ‘rat run’ for anti-social behaviour, driving bollards have been used to alter the physical layout of the area to make it less attractive to such drivers.