BSafe Together
Issue 3 – July 2008
Blackpool is Safer!
Figures out this week have shown that Blackpool’s crime reduction
partnership organisation has successfully met its government set
targets on crime.
Celebrations have started after
BSafe Blackpool has helped
thrash the government’s PSA
1 targets for crime reduction,
bringing some categories of
crime down by over 50 per cent
in the last four years.
The PSA 1 targets were set to
reduce British Crime Survey
(BCS) crimes by 16% overall in
Blackpool based on a baseline
figure taken in 2003/04. Working
in partnership with Blackpool
police, fire and rescue, PCT and
Blackpool Council the figures
have actually reduced by 17.6
per cent.
Councillor Tony Williams,
Chairperson for BSafe Blackpool
and Cabinet Member for Culture
and Communities at Blackpool
Council, said: “When we were
first informed of our targets I
have to say we were a little
overwhelmed at the size of the
task ahead of us. Many people
said that they were unrealistic
and that we would not meet the
target or even come close.”
Blackpool
Crimes such as All Vehicle Crime
have been reduced by 43.6
per cent with Burglaries from a
Dwelling coming down by 36.7 per
cent and All Robbery down by a
pleasing 24.3 per cent.
Councillor Williams added: “This
really is fantastic news. I cannot
express how pleased we are and
how proud I am of everyone that
has been involved. In order to
reach such figures the partnership
has funded initiatives from head
cameras for the police to sporting
clubs for children. All have helped
to prevent crime either through
intervention or by acting as a
deterrent or distraction.
“I also want to recognise the
people of Blackpool who
have helped to reduce crime.
Conscientious residents who
have taken crime reducing steps
such as the introduction of Alley
Gates and adopting the No
Cold Calling zones are equally
responsible for making their town
a better place to live. The good
news is that Blackpool is now a
safer place to live and play.”

“Having said that, we cannot be
complacent. We have not removed
crime completely and I know that is
what the people of Blackpool really
want. Some areas of crime have
increased very slightly but that
has been attributed to the positive
work we have done to increase
the reporting of sensitive crimes.
We have to be realistic with what
we can achieve but considering
the mountain we have climbed to
reach this target who knows where
we can go from here!”
Chief Superintendent Russ
Weaver of Blackpool Police
said: “Some recorded categories
of crime have increased very
slightly due to positive work we
have done to encourage people
to come forward and report
what has happened to them
when they might have felt less
confident to do so in the past.”
Wendy Swift, Chief Executive
of Blackpool PCT added her
thoughts on the news: “Blackpool
PCT is delighted with the news
of the partnerships achievement
towards reducing crime in the
Inside this issue:
Proxy Sale Campaign....2
CCTV for Blackpool
Taxi-Cabs................... 2
No Cold Calling.......... 3
De Vere Pop Awards.... 3
Crack Down on
Binge Drinking............. 4
Traders Warned
to DISARM................. 4
Emmerdale Star’s
Message to
Blackpool.................... 5
Mobile Phone
Enforcement............... 5
National Tackling
Drugs Week................ 6
BSafe Joins
Facebook Revolution.....6
town. The PCT has led on the
implementation of the highly
successful Drug Interventions
Programme (DIP) initiatives that
aim to get offenders who misuse
drugs out of crime and into
treatment. People who misuse
Class A drugs often commit
crimes to fund their drug habit.
As a result, they can get caught
in a cycle of drug misuse, crime
and prison. The Programme aims
to break this cycle by making
every stage in the criminal justice
system – and beyond – an
opportunity to get offenders into
treatment.
“The programme brings together
the police, the courts, the Prison
Service, the National Probation
Service, treatment providers,
aftercare support services.
These partners work together
to provide tailored solutions for
drug-misusing offenders from
arrest, court, sentencing and
prison through to post-prison
and post-treatment.”
 Proxy Sale Campaign
BSafe Blackpool in
partnership with Blackpool
BID (Business Improvement
District) is rolling out an
initiative in the off licenses
and supermarkets of
Blackpool warning people
against buying alcohol on
behalf of young people.
Purchasing alcohol on
behalf of young people is
an offence and you can be
fined up to £5000 if caught.
Police now also have powers
to issue fixed penalty notices
to young people who ask
adults to purchase alcohol on
their behalf. The campaign
features posters that will
be displayed in premises
together with warning
stickers that will be placed on
J/89653 4/08

bottles, cans and shelves. J/89652 4/08

Alcohol women and 21 units a week for men,

Are you concerned that you
may be drinking too much?
The unit calculator is a good ‘first
check’ to see how many units there are
in your drink. The safe limits for alcohol
consumption is 14 units a week for
but the recommended maximum units
to be consumed in a 24 hour period
is 2-3 units for women and 3-4 units
for men. Statistics are showing that
people drink more at home than they
do in pubs or clubs, and this makes it
more difficult to measure drinks out.
When you pour your drink at home
what may seem like a single shot
could actually be the equivalent of a
double at your local bar.
Visit the NHS ‘Alcohol, Know Your
Limits’ website at http://units.nhs.
uk where you will find an online unit
calculator. There is also a handy
‘Drink Diary’ where you can record
your alcohol intake.

CCTV for Blackpool Taxi-Cabs

Blackpool Council has
teamed up with BSafe
Blackpool to fund a
£16,000 initiative to
install CCTV in some of
Blackpool’s Taxi -cabs.
More than 30 taxis have
been installed with the new
systems over the coming
weeks, with the first trialled
in June.
This new scheme uses
state-of-the-art technology
to record visual and audio
in the cab and organisers
hope it will help bring
more prosecutions against
those who have carried out
crimes in cabs, as well as
acting as a deterrent.
Hackney drivers have
been chosen to pilot
the scheme, and if the
scheme is successful, it
will be rolled out to private
hire firms later this year.
The Hackney cabs were
chosen to be the first to
use the scheme because
they are more likely to
be flagged down by
customers, unlike private
firms who normally arrange
pick-ups in advance.
A similar scheme carried out
in Liverpool last year saw a
decrease in attacks on taxi
drivers of around 90%.


BSafe Blackpool has launched a new initiative,
which targets Cold Callers in the area.
By now most, if not all of the 65,000 residents of Blackpool,
should have received their “no cold calling” information
packs through the door, giving them all the information they
need to know to be able to say NO to cold callers.
Included in the pack is a window sticker that should be
attached to the front window, where any unwanted callers
can see it.
If residents are still pestered by unwanted callers there
is a number on the back of the sticker that they can ring
with any complaint they may have. This will invoke action
against the callers.
There will also be strategically placed road signs that will be
displayed on every road entering Blackpool to inform travelling
sales people that they are not welcome in Blackpool.

De Vere The group often proved intimidating to

the local residents and were occasionally
involved with underage drinking, criminal
New fencing was erected in the area,
which meant it was easier for police to
approach the group and talk to them

Pop Awards damage and causing a nuisance. When about their behaviour. Regular licensing
police were called to the area the youths checks were carried out in the area to
were making use of a very low fence and stop underage sales and a purpose built
shelter was put in place to make sure the
The prestigious De Vere POP overgrown trees and bushes to make
group had somewhere safe to congregate
(Problem Oriented Partnerships) their escape. that did not cause a nuisance.
awards honoured all the groups Understanding that young people like to Regular police patrols were also used to
and initiatives that have made hang out with friends and that this did speak to the youths and encourage them
not always have to be a problem, Sarah to make use of other local facilities.
a difference in the community Darwen of Lancashire Constabulary and
through working together to Les Ball of BSafe Blackpool decided to The awards ceremony was a tribute to all
the hard work the partners have done to
solve an identified problem. tackle the issues that were contributing to
remove the problems that affect residents
the overall problem. in Blackpool and Fylde boroughs.
The awards, now in the 9th year, were
sponsored by the De Vere Hotel Herons
Reach and were open to any of the
BSafe Blackpool Partner agencies such
as Lancashire Fire and Rescue and
Blackpool Council, as well as the Police.
The judges of the awards had the task
of filtering the mountain of nominations
put forward to them, but they managed to
whittle the results down to 20 initiatives
that all received an award.
Superintendent Richard Debicki then
presented the awards.
The Juvenile Escape took this year’s
award for Blackpool and the overall De
Vere Award. The Juvenile Escape initiative
tackled a problem of large gatherings of
young people on St Edmunds Road.


 Alcohol Strips to Crack Down
on Binge Drinking...
BSafe Blackpool is supporting the
Police in their efforts to impact on
binge drinking by providing testing
strips for officers to use.
Whilst officers can confiscate alcohol and dispose of it
when it is in branded containers it can be more difficult to
identify alcohol when young people are drinking it from
soft drinks containers.
Police are delighted with the strips, which will help with
two main issues that they have to deal with. Firstly the
problem of ‘Street Drinkers’, where people are drinking
alcohol out of non-alcoholic containers and secondly
youths that are causing alcohol-related nuisance including
anti-social behaviour, violent crime and criminal damage.
By testing the drinks, the Police can prove if it is alcoholic
and tell how strong the drink is and therefore confiscate
or dispose of it.

Traders Warned to
Blackpool Trading
Standards, in
partnership
with Lancashire
Police, are
warning traders in
Blackpool to check
changes in the law
surrounding the
sale of imitation
guns or face the
consequences.
From 1st November
2007 any trader found in
possession, or offering
guns, banned under the
new legislations, will face
wide-ranging sanctions
from stock being seized,
potential arrest and
prosecution. The penalties
on conviction could lead to
six months imprisonment, a
fine of up to £5,000 or both.
The Trading Standards
Enforcement Team have
paid visits to traders
advising them of the
regulations and warning
them to remove the guns
from sale and return
them to their supplier. An
imitation firearm is anything
that has the appearance
of being a gun, whether it
is capable of discharging a
shot or not.
Disarm
Inspector David Old from
Blackpool Police said:
“Imitation firearms are
often difficult to distinguish
from the real thing. There
have been a number of
occasions in Blackpool
where armed officers have
been deployed to sightings
of people with guns, which
have turned out to be
imitation firearms. People
who take such weapons
into the public arena are
putting themselves and
others at risk. Therefore
any measures to limit the
sale of imitation firearms
in Blackpool are very
welcome, and we will
support trading standards
in enforcing the new
legislation.”
The new regulations,
governing the sale or
manufacture of replica
firearms, are detailed in
the Firearms Act 1968 as
amended, Violent Crime
Reduction Act 2006 and the
Violent Crime Reduction
Act 2006 (Realistic Imitation
Firearm) Regulations 2007
Any further information
or guidance leaflets can
be obtained from Trading
Standards at 125 Albert
Road, Blackpool or by
contacting the Service
directly on the telephone
number 01253 478375.

Emmerdale Star’s Message to Blackpool
Emmerdale actress Kelsey
Beth Crossley dropped in at
Palatine Leisure Centre when
she visited her hometown
of Blackpool to launch a
youth summer scheme. More
than 250 teens packed into
the South Shore centre to
meet the star and sign up
for a jam-packed summer of
sporting and musical fun.
The ‘Your Space’ scheme, which is
running until the end of August, is a
bid to keep South Shore teens aged
between 11 and 17 occupied and off
the streets. It is a free scheme, which
includes supervised sessions in sports
such as football, netball, basketball,
hockey and rugby.
Andy Dziegiel, Police Community gives the kids something to do in the can attend 5pm - 6pm and those 14-17
Support Officer for the Palatine area evenings which not only stops them years can attend from 6pm - 7.30pm.
said: “The launch was really well from prowling the streets but also
Your Space is funded by BSafe
attended, having Kelsey Beth there keeps them in a safe environment.”
Blackpool who have worked with the
was a really big draw and lots of
The scheme will run every Wednesday local policing team and Blackpool’s
youngsters signed up for the scheme.
evening until August 20 at Palatine integrated youth service to put
“Your Space is great because it Leisure Centre. Youngsters aged 11 - 13 together the programme.

Mobile Phone Enforcement

One-year on and positive results, March 2008
was the anniversary of the introduction of
tougher penalties for using a mobile phone
when driving.
On one enforcement day, the police were pleased that
they did not have to stop anybody.
Recent research has shown that the new laws are having a
positive impact with a 40% reduction in the number of car
drivers seen using hand-held mobile phones at the wheel
between September 2006 and August 2007.


National BSafe Blackpool
Drug and Support Services
Open Day

Tackling
Drugline’s open day offered a

Joins Facebook
chance for everyone from Drug

Drugs Week
Services and other support
services, to members of the

National tackling drugs
week took place 19th
- 23rd May 2008 and
various events took place
during the week for the
public to go along to.
Purpose of week:
 Raise awareness of work
undertaken by agencies
 Tackle drugs and reduce
drug-related crime in
communities
 Highlight the wide ranging
activities and services
available
Events Included:
(In conjunction with World
Hepatitis Day)
Drugline located at 102 Dickson
Road showed the documentary:
Louie, Me & Hepatitis C at
various times throughout the
day with staff on hand during the
day to help answer questions.
public, an opportunity to go
and see what they offer for
substance users, their families
and carers, and also find out
about volunteering and training
opportunities.
First Aid training for service
users
A 2-hour course that took
people through the basics of
First Aid, and showed how
you can help someone if
they overdose. Training was
provided by the Red Cross.
Revolution
A craze has swept
the country that
simply cannot be
ignored and that is
the phenomenon of
Social Networking
Websites such as
Facebook. No doubt
you already have your
own Facebook profile
and if you are like the
other few million people
that use the site you will
be checking it every day to
catch up with friends and
join different interesting groups.
BSafe Blackpool has got on board and created its
Facebook group that will allow anyone to join and keep
up to date with the latest news.
Members can even start up and join in with discussions
about topics they feel are relevant to the group and the
work that BSafe Blackpool gets up to.

Useful Numbers BSafe Blackpool

Reporting a crime in an emergency: Seasiders Way
If there is an emergency telephone 999 Blackpool
You should use this number if you think there is an immediate threat to FY1 6JY
life or property. Phone: 01253 651166
Reporting a non – emergency crime or incident: Fax: 01253 651210
Non – emergency police line telephone 08451 253545 or Blackpool Email: info@blackpool.com
Police Station 01253 293933 Website: www.bsafeblackpool.co.uk

Reporting a crime anonymously:

If you have any information on a crime and wish to report it anonymously.
Crimestoppers telephone 0800 555 111

Partners of BSafe working together to make a difference

“The majority of Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour is committed by a minority of people”.

J84892 8-08