Projects address anti-social behaviour

As the 2010 Community Safety summer programme comes to an end, Orlaith Quinn, Coleraine Borough Council’s Community Safety Coordinator, looks ahead to the beginning of the new autumn and winter programme.

Orlaith explained the focus of the partnership: “In essence our ethos is delivering local solutions to local problems that have been identified by local people. Coleraine Community Safety Partnership was re-established in August 2009 to co-ordinate, across different agencies and communities, practical and innovative ways to reduce crime, anti social behaviour and enhance safety in the borough of Coleraine.

“Since then the partnership, and the agencies within, has been committed to preventing, reducing and containing the social, environmental and intimidatory factors which affect people’s right to live without fear of crime.”

Orlaith added: “The Coleraine Community Safety Partnership, which is led by Coleraine Borough Council, is made up of a wide range of statutory, public and community organisations including PSNI, Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service, Housing Executive, and The North Eastern Education and Library Board youth service to put preventative measures in place to tackle what is regarded as the main issues that affect our communities.

“This involves the design and delivery of projects that are based on addressing anti-social behaviour, drug and alcohol misuse and fear of crime. The summer programme ended a few weeks ago and we believe it was very well received amongst the communities in the Borough.

“The Partnership delivered a number of key projects including Brighter Nights which prompted the employment of Seafront Rangers who patrolled Portstewart and Portrush on the busy summer evenings. As well as giving people the peace of mind and assurance that they were safe as they enjoyed their evenings out, it contributed toward reducing anti-social behaviour and crime in the two seaside resorts.”

OrIaith continued: “Another very worthwhile summer project was the summer splash programme which catered for 80 young people in the Borough during June and July. The young people took part in diversionary activities including: sporting skills, outdoor challenges and team building activities. They also attended a final celebration event when all participants came together to enjoy bowling at the Jet Centre.

“Each participant also took part in a series of Personal Development, Drug & Alcohol and Citizenship workshops, aimed at encouraging participants to become active members in their own and wider community. The key aim of the project was to discourage teenagers from partaking in anti-social behaviour when on their school holidays. I believe that by engaging as much as 80 young people and involving them in such activities we have helped reduce adverse behaviour in the Borough.”Orlaith added: “Keeping our communities safe is a key priority and we will continue to provide tried and tested methods and innovative projects. There are a number of effective community safety projects about to commence which we hope will be beneficial to the areas they are rolled out in.”

Working with all the agencies the partnership has put together a comprehensive programme for the autumn and winter months, this will include: The Youth Inclusion Project aims to address and reduce anti-social behaviour in Coleraine.

It will seek to create opportunities for 30 young people to participate in educational initiatives that will build their social skills, diverting them away from crime and risk taking behaviour.

Lead by Coleraine Urban and Rural Network, in partnership with the NEELB, the project will specifically target ‘at risk’, persistent offenders and young people in identified hotspot areas.

Through engagement with key youth workers the programme will deliver a range of initiatives that will contribute towards the personal development of the young people involved. It is hoped that by enhancing their skills and encouraging them to take part in activities it will increase their self esteem, motivate them to take responsibility of their lives, and give them a positive life view.

The Community Safety Partnership has also spearheaded a campaign to tackle the problem of underage drinking. The Off Licence Code of Practice was launched in September 2010 to deliver best practice training to off licence employees within the Coleraine Borough.

The training which will directly benefit staff working in the sale of alcohol will cover licensing laws in Northern Ireland, alcohol units and alcohol consumption. It will also inform the participants on local Bye Laws and how to confiscate alcohol from young people. It is hoped that by educating those on the front line, it will in turn reduce alcohol misuse, which may have an indirect positive impact on reducing anti-social behaviour.

Additional autumn projects funded by the Community Safety Partnership that will come to fruition within the next few weeks are the Midnight Soccer Programme in Garvagh and Coleraine and Get home safe campaign which encourage party goers to stay safe on an evening out in the run up to Christmas.

Councillor David Barbour, Chairman of the Community Safety Partnership, concluded: “One of our main priorities is tackling and reducing anti social behaviour in the Borough and it’s encouraging to see that there was an overall reduction in anti social behaviour by 9.6% from September 2009 to August 2010 in comparison to the previous year.

“The council and its partners are making a concentrated effort to target hotspots and this is reflected in our performance. Sometimes it’s just a matter of doing a simple action, such as having a community clean up. On other occasions it’s a more complex and targeted project, such as the Youth Inclusion project that commands the backing of all agencies on the partnership as well as the local community. Nonetheless they all contribute to making our communities a safer place to live in”.

The partnership and the 2010/11 action plan projects are funded entirely by the Department of Justice Community Safety Unit.