Students help police express crime reduction message

SIXTH form students of the West Somerset Community College, Minehead, have been working with police to help find ways to put across crime reduction messages to the local community.
It was part of the teenagers’ public services course as they looked at ways of solving problems such as reducing theft from sports changing rooms.
Their ideas included crime prevention pop-ups on school computers, new crime reduction posters, and better lockers.
The course also involved working with West Somerset Council and the West Somerset Crime Prevention Panel.
Minehead Police crime prevention officer PC Charlie Fitzpatrick, who organised the initiative, said: “The council, ourselves, and the crime prevention panel were very impressed with the level of work carried out by the students.
“They were given a real problem to research and solve and their ideas were innovative and positive.
“The school has seen a small number of thefts from changing rooms, but we are hopeful the number will be reduced following the students’ ideas and the crime reduction advice we have been able to give them.
“I am hoping this will be a regular part of the public services course and that in future we can give them some other local issues to look at.”
Council community safety officer Pete Hughes said: “These projects are an excellent example of young people taking ownership of an issue that affects them and other users of the sports facilities.
“Their breadth of thought to identify ways of stopping these thefts is to be commended.”
One student, Emma Taylor, said: “The project was a fun and interesting. It is amazing to think that we as a group have come up with something to reduce the crime.”
Another of the students, Emily Ketchen, said: “The project enabled us to work closely with the local police on a subject that directly affects us as a college and we hope our ideas can be taken forward and put into action, benefiting the community as a whole.”

• Our photograph shows Minehead Police Inspector Carol Pearce (front, centre) and PC Charlie Fitzpatrick, with council community safety officer Pete Hughes (front, second from left), college principal Nick Swann (front, right) and some of the staff and students involved in the course. Photo submitted.

Pay and display crime reduction advice in council car parks

IMPORTANT crime reduction and road safety advice will be just the ticket for Christmas shoppers in West Somerset.
Police have linked up with West Somerset Council and the Somerset West Crime Prevention Panel to put crime reduction and road safety messages on car parking tickets across the district.
People will be reminded not to leave their vehicles vulnerable to opportunist thieves after using any of the council’s parking ticket machines.
Minehead crime reduction officer, PC Charlie Fitzpatrick, said: “The tickets will remind people to keep valuables out of view and keep their homes secure.
“There will also be messages encouraging people to report suspicious activity and stick to speed limits so that highways are safer for all road users.
“Although crime in West Somerset remains low, we are committed to making our communities safer by using messages like this.
“The tickets will have four messages and will be around for the next year.
“Anything we can do to reduce crime and promote the positive actions of residents can only assist in keeping West Somerset one of the safest places to live.”
Council community safety officer Peter Hughes said: “We are happy to support initiatives such as these because it is easy to forget the simple measures that can protect your vehicle when you are caught up in the excitement of seasonal shopping.
“The fact that the messages will be displayed beyond Christmas is great because they will be positive reminders to people to remain vigilant.”
Council parking services manager Mike Lewis said: “The council has been happy to help provide people with a reminder to look after their belongings and to keep their vehicles as safe as possible.
“We are comparatively lucky because we do not experience a lot of problems, but prevention is better than cure.
“We hope this will help people remember some very sound advice from our local police.”
Crime prevention panel chairman John Lees said: “We are delighted to support this initiative. We hope that the timely reminder will help deter potential crime which can only be good news for our community.”

Dulverton residents invited to drop-in to raise community concerns

A DROP-in session is being held in Dulverton to allow local residents to meet representatives of a range of community service organisations and raise any issues of concern
It takes place in Dulverton Town Hall (pictured) between 10.30 am and 12 noon on Wednesday, November 21.
Police, West Somerset Council, Magna West Somerset Housing Association, the county youth service, and Dulverton Town Council will be among the organisations represented.
Residents will be able to discuss any community safety issues or other matters that they would like to raise.
District council community safety officer Pete Hughes said: “West Somerset has low levels of crime but that is no reason to rest on our laurels.
“The council and its partner agencies are working hard to ensure that levels remain low, and a part of this work involves going out into the community and understanding their concerns.
“This is a good opportunity to listen to local residents and, in many cases we can offer reassurance or give further advice on the day.
“However, it also gives us an insight into how the community perceives crime and disorder, and how we may be able to act on their information in future.”
Anybody is welcome at the drop-in session and light refreshments will be available.
People who cannot make the event are being advised to contact the appropriate agency if they have specific concerns.
More drop-in sessions will be held in Dulverton on future dates to provide the community with further opportunities to meet representatives from the agencies.