Cleaner, Greener and Safer
Safer
Crime and disorder
The Council, its partners and the police have been working to reduce crime in the borough, make people feel safer and tackle the issue of antisocial behaviour.
This year we have seen crime fall by 13% and this is due to initiatives such as:
- Giving away 3,000 free light timers, these give the illusion that someone is home by turning on lights at a specified time in different areas of the home, to distract burglars
- Initiatives to tackle antisocial behaviour have seen young offenders carrying out community service removing graffiti and painting fences. This is aimed at helping the youngsters understand the illegal and antisocial nature of their actions, and give them pride in the borough
- We have also re-launched an art project in Parsloes park, aimed at engaging young people and decreasing the amount of antisocial behaviour in areas across the borough. The project has transformed a graffiti-covered football changing room into a mural featuring the borough's many football heroes. The project will then roll out to Barking and Mayesbrook Park
- Schemes such as Gascoigne Focus Week has helped to reduce burglary in the borough, the scheme saw over 140 ground floor homes fitted with window locks and catches to prevent them from being broken into
- We have also been targeting untaxed vehicles and those who drive without insurance or a valid licence. A dedicated team of police offers, the council's abandoned vehicles teams and the DVLA stake out the borough's busy roads and supermarkets. They have been seizing vehicles that do not have insurance, issuing fixed penalty notices and giving people points on their licences
Talking CCTV
- We will also be one of the first London boroughs to have talking CCTV. CCTV cameras will be fitted with loudspeakers and will use children's voices, as well as members of staff and the police to tell people to stop behaving badly. The talking cameras will be activated by people in the council's CCTV control room and will deliver messages about fines for littering and antisocial behaviour. Barking Town Centre, the Gascoigne Estate (Barking), Ibscott Close (Dagenham), the northern relief road in Barking and Barking Park will all benefit form the new cameras
Youth projects
- We have been working to provide diversionary projects for young people like the Kickz project. The scheme aims to keep young people off the streets by delivering 3 football training sessions a week for 48 weeks of the year. Youngsters can refer themselves to the project, referrals are also made by the police and the council's youth offending team
