Community Safety Plus CIC
Proudly sponsored by
High Grove Furniture
North West
Community Safety Plus CIC www.csplusonline.co.uk
About us
Community Safety Plus (CSPlus) CIC was
founded to give support to community groups
and individuals. We offer free advertisement to
your community group while highlighting issues
that affect all communities. We also want to
highlight success stories so if you have any
ideas and want to share them with like minded
people then don't hesitate to contact us.
We also offer training and full time and part time employment to
individuals whether this is working from our office or from home. We give
everyone a chance and give our staff the opportunity to work flexible
hours that suit their lifestyle. If you are looking to get involved and believe
you can gain support for our company then get in touch today.
What is a Community Interest Company (CICs)?
Community Interest Companies (CICS) are limited companies, with
special additional features, created for the use of people who want to
conduct a business or other activity for community benefit, and not
purely for private advantage. This is achieved by a "community interest
test" and "asset lock", which ensure that the CIC is established for
community purposes and the assets and profits are dedicated to these
purposes. Registration of a company as a CIC has to be approved by
the Regulator who also has a continuing monitoring and
enforcement role.
Community Safety Plus CIC www.csplusonline.co.uk
Crime Prevention
It has often been said, a man‟s home is his sanctuary, a place of
recuperation enjoyable past times. However, once this sanctuary has
been broken, it becomes almost untenable to remain, people feel
violated within their own home and decide they require a move away just
to feel safe again. Yet this is a dilemma that many victims of crime within
the home face on a daily basis. So the question remains, „what can we
do to make our homes more secure so we do not fall victims to crime
ourselves?
The Metropolitan Police Service offers many guidelines and tips to
assist in crime prevention within the home. With the further development
of current technology it has become even more difficult to protect one‟s
home with the most flagrant of crime associated with the home being
burglary. Burglary victims often wonder why the burglar picked on their
house. To find out you need to consider how a burglar‟s mind actually
works. Burglary, on the whole, is an opportunist crime. A burglar will
select his target because it offers him the best opportunity to carry out
his crime undetected and with the fewest number of obstacles in his
way. A building that presents itself as unoccupied and insecure is far
more likely to be targeted than one which is properly secured:
side gates open
accessible windows open
ladders left out, allowing access to otherwise inaccessible windows
garden tools available to force entry
untrimmed hedges or high fences preventing natural surveillance
Each of these makes access to the building far simpler and is an
indication to the prospective burglar that it's worth a second look.
Residents of multi occupancy dwellings or flats should be mindful not to
grant entry to people via an entry phone system, if they do not know
them, and to be cautious of people seeking to 'tailgate' them into
buildings.
One of the easiest ways for a burglar to spot if there are people within a
property comes from the simplest of observations, milk bottles or parcels
on the doorstep; newspapers and mail in the letter box; unlit houses
after dark and all windows shut in very hot weather.
These are signs telling the burglar that he is unlikely to be disturbed in
the course of his work.
Naturally, circumstances may arise when such situations may be
unavoidable. If we can take measures that tell the burglar
Community Safety Plus CIC www.csplusonline.co.uk
that this building is too difficult or too risky a target, he will hopefully move on.
Many homeowners believe it is safe to leave a spare key lying around in case of
emergencies. The simple truth is never leave a spare key concealed anywhere near
the front door - burglars know all the hiding places. Prevent letterbox burglaries by
storing keys away from the front door. Do not label your house keys in case you lose
them and they fall into the wrong hands.
There are also other simple guidelines to help minimize the chances of being a
victim of burglary. Remove temptation where possible; try to keep valuables out of
sight from windows. Make it look as though your house is occupied by installing
timers which switch lights or radios on and off automatically; have a neighbour or
friend pop round to clear your letter box or doorstep; encourage a neighbour to park
on your drive; if going out after dark, draw the curtains,
leave some lights on and a radio playing.
Another thing to consider is if you are going away on
holiday or leaving your home for a prolonged period of
time.
Cancel the delivery of milk and newspapers; disconnect
the telephone answering machine, or re-word your
greeting message to give the impression that you are only
temporarily unable to answer; enlist the help of a
neighbour, friend or relative to keep a regular eye on your
property and keep the front door clear of deliveries; if you
are prepared to leave a key with a willing neighbour/relative, ask for curtains to be
drawn and lights to be put on at night. If snow is on the ground a few footprints will
make the house appear inhabited; check your insurance policy. Some insurance
policies for contents don't cover you if you are away for more than 30 days; set your
burglar alarm and if you do not have an alarm, consider investing a few pounds in a
dummy alarm box. It may well deter the opportunist thief.
These are all simple things that you would think everyone would consider in the
protection of their property, however it is such simple acts that an opportunist
burglar would notice. The key is to not make your house stand out as a target.
One of the easiest ways for a burglar to spot if there are people within a property
comes from the simplest of observations, milk bottles or parcels on the doorstep;
newspapers and mail in the letter box; unlit
houses after dark and all windows shut in very
hot weather.
These are signs telling the burglar that he is
unlikely to be disturbed in the course of his
work. Naturally, circumstances may arise when
such situations may be unavoidable. If we can
take measures that tell the burglar that this
building is too difficult or too risky a target, he
will hopefully move on.
Many homeowners believe it is safe to leave a spare key lying around in case of
emergencies. The simple truth is never leave a spare key concealed anywhere
near the front door - burglars know all the hiding places. Prevent letterbox burglaries
by storing keys away from the front door. Do not label your house keys in case you
lose them and they fall into the wrong hands.
There are also other simple guidelines to help minimize the chances of being a
victim of burglary. Remove temptation where possible, try to keep valuables out of
sight from windows. Make it look as though your house is occupied by installing
timers which switch lights or radios on and off automatically; have a neighbour or
friend pop round to clear your letter box or doorstep; encourage a neighbour to park
on your drive; if going out after dark, draw the curtains, leave some lights on and a
radio playing.
It is quite simple. Anti-social behaviour hurts everybody involved, both the perpetrator and the victim. This may sound a strange concept, but often the reasons for members of the public acting out in this way is due to underlying problems in their lives which although may not be forcing them to act in such a manner, carries enough weight for them to be crying out for attention. A cry for help of sorts. It is because of this that we believe it must be stopped early, before too much damage has been done and a positive solution can be found.
Because of that, we rely on early interventions, including police visits and warning letters, as these can nip many problems in the bud before they develop into much more serious issues.
Community Safety Plus CIC www.csplusonline.co.uk
Recovery +
Recovery Plus is frontline contact point for people who would like to talk
to someone who understands the problems of addiction whether this be
your own addiction or a
member of your family or a
friend.
Mark, our resident advisor
has lived with addiction for
many years and is aware of
all the taboos connected
with addiction. He is able to
give advice and information
on organisations that can
give support.
Mark is a stage two counsellor and has participated in support and
counselling for individuals and groups. He is always willing to discuss
any matters concerning addiction.
Recovery Plus in partnership with other agencies to achieve targets in
the reduction of substance misuse and positive outcomes including
abstinence from drugs or alcohol .
For more information please visit the Recovery Plus section on our
website:
www.csplusonline.co.uk/recoveryplus.php
Community Safety Plus CIC www.csplusonline.co.uk
Drink Driving
Although the government has recently embarked upon a much publicised campaign to raise awareness of the legal limit of alcohol that can be consumed if a person wishes to drive, there still remains much confusion over how this correlates to an individual drink.
The UK legal limit for drivers is 80 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood, often referred to as a BAC or blood-alcohol concentration. In US terms this would be expressed as 0.08%. This is alternatively expressed in terms of breath alcohol - 35 µg (micrograms) per 100 ml (which is now the usual official measure in the UK), or alcohol in the urine - 107 mg per 100 ml.
This is often reckoned to be equivalent to two pints of ordinary strength beer which, for a man of average weight, is broadly true, but should not be used as a general rule.
It is impossible to draw an accurate
correlation between the amount of alcohol
consumed and the resulting peak BAC,
and anyone trying to "drink up to the limit"
runs a serious risk of exceeding it.
It is also possible to be charged with
driving or attempting to drive under the
influence of drink or drugs even with a
BAC level is below 80 mg. Such cases
are rare but not unknown. In addition, a BAC level not far below 80 mg is likely to be
regarded by the courts as an aggravating factor if charges are brought for causing an
accident.
In 1998, the UK government issued a consultation paper proposing the reduction of the UK
legal limit from 80 mg to 50 mg, but after lengthy deliberations announced in March 2000
that they were not going to proceed with this for the time being, pending a European Union
Review.
So how do the police go about enforcing this limit on road users who are under the
influence? For the police to be able to require a breath test, a driver must have either:
(a) committed a moving traffic offence, e.g. speeding, failing to observe a stop sign, having
a defective light etc.,
(b) have been involved in an accident to which the police were called, or
(c) have given the police grounds to suspect they had consumed alcohol above the legal
limit, e.g.
by driving erratically or walking unsteadily before getting into the car. It is questionable
whether the mere fact of having driven out of a pub car park constitutes reasonable grounds
for suspicion.
Although there have often been calls for the police
to be given "unfettered discretion" to administer
breath tests, this has never been implemented.
However, in practice the police interpret the powers
above very liberally - and who never exceeds the
speed limit by at least a few mph? It is difficult to
conceive of circumstances under which the current
law prevents police from carrying out a breath test
where they believe there is any chance of obtaining
a positive result.
Although there are restrictions on police powers to
require breath tests, the police are entitled to stop
any vehicle without giving a reason. This allows
them to operate anti drink-driving roadblocks,
particularly over the Christmas period.
UK Crime Statistics 2008-2009
Community Safety Plus CIC www.csplusonline.co.uk
Anti Social Behaviour
Anti social behaviour (ASB) has become a prominent issue in today‟s society in which almost every member of the community will at some point suffer as a victim. Anti-social behaviour is defined as “virtually any intimidating or threatening activity that scares you or damages your quality of life.” Examples of this include: rowdy, noisy behaviour; 'yobbish' behaviour; vandalism, graffiti and fly-posting; dealing or buying drugs on the street; fly-tipping rubbish; aggressive begging; street drinking or setting off fireworks late at night.
Anti-social behaviour doesn't just make life unpleasant. It holds back the regeneration of disadvantaged areas and creates an environment where more serious crime can take hold. It has a negative effect on many people‟s lives, and we as a community have to be committed
to tackling it to provide positive solutions and negate the effect that this unsavoury attitude from members of the public has on our community. So the question has to be what can we do about such behaviour in order to eradicate it from our lives?
One of the first steps the government took to combat anti-social-behaviour was to introduce the ASBO. An Anti-Social Behaviour Order or ASBO is a civil order made against a person who has been shown, on the balance of evidence, to have engaged in anti-social-behaviour in the United Kingdom and the Republic Of Ireland. The orders, designed originally by Tony Blair in 1998, were designed to be imposed after minor incidents that would not ordinarily warrant prosecution. The orders restrict behaviour in some way, by prohibiting a return to a certain area or shop, or by restricting public behaviour such as swearing or drinking. As the ASBO is a civil order, the defendant has no right to evidence that might disprove the assertions of the plaintiff, though violating an ASBO can incur up to five years imprisonment.
The government have shown a clear dedication to dealing with the issue and have offered the following procedures and measures as a manner of control for ASB.
Individual support orders: These court orders target 10-17 year olds, imposing rules designed to address the problems behind the bad behaviour, and stop that behaviour immediately.
Agreements and contracts: These are formal non-legal agreements, contracts and warnings. We're also ensuring that social tenancy agreements have rules forbidding anti-social activity.
Youth specific interventions: These include youth inclusion programmes that involve teenagers 13 - 16 years old who have already committed crimes, or who are believed to be at risk.
This list is not exhaustive however and various other tools are put in place to assist in the control of ASB. The police in particular have been afforded certain tools and measures to aid them in their mission to limit the impact that such behaviour has on our local communities.
Community Safety Plus CIC www.csplusonline.co.uk
Follow these top tips:
1. Secure All Doors and Windows.
2. Install Vertical Bolts on Sliding Doors.
3. Indoor Lighting - Use Timers.
4. Outdoor Lighting - Motion Censored Lights.
5. Keep House Keys Safe.
6. Have Some of Your Curtains/Blinds Open
7. Don’t Let People Know When You’re Not at
Home.
8. Join Your Local Neighbour Hood Watch.