PCC asks Durham residents how safe they feel as ASB crackdown continues.

PCC asks Durham residents how safe they feel as ASB crackdown continues.

Through government funding MMC Research and Marketing are working with the Police and Crime Commissioner Joy Allen to launch a new survey to help her understand how safe people feel and the impact anti-social behaviour has on their lives.

The online poll has been created to determine the issues that worry residents and detract from their enjoyment of where they live and their feelings of safety.

It will also help to highlight areas of the county where ASB is more prevalent and understand how this behaviour impacts local life.

The County Durham and Darlington PCC recently secured Home Office funding worth £2m over the next year to pilot urgent action to tackle ASB. Additional £2m funding for the project is being provided in 2024/25.

The pilot, which sees the Commissioner and force working in partnership with Durham County Council, Darlington Borough Council and the Fire and Rescue Service, is funding robust ‘hotspot’ policing enforcement in areas with the worst ASB problems and a new Immediate Justice service where perpetrators will receive swift and visible punishment in their communities within 48 hours of being reprimanded.  

The first hotspot policing patrols commenced in July and have increased every month.

The PCC plans to re-poll residents towards the end of the pilot to measure the impact of the extra visibility and enforcement on public confidence and assess whether people feel any safer.  In addition, focus groups will be held so that residents get the opportunity to speak more in detail about the impact on them personally.

Commissioner Allen said: “This survey ensures the views of local people remain at the very heart of this pilot.

“The residents of County Durham and Darlington consistently place ASB as their top priority and we are taking strong action with an unprecedented policing presence in the areas worst affected by this behaviour.

“Our communities have welcomed the hotspot patrols with opened arms. They have already brought arrests, prevented crimes and made shopkeepers, businesses and residents feel more reassured. As time goes on, I have no doubt that there will be many more successes to share. This survey will help us to monitor and learn from any changes to ensure our communities feel safe in the future.”

The survey should not take any more than five minutes to complete. All answers given will be anonymous to the PCC.

To complete the survey visit: https://web.norstatsurveys.com/survey/selfserve/53c/2312883?list=3

Anyone affected by ASB in County Durham and Darlington can find out which agency to contact for different problems on the Commissioner’s website at: https://www.durham-pcc.gov.uk/asb

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