National Community Safety
Network Conference
Karen Wenzel – Alcohol Outreach Practitioner,
Westminster Drug Project
A/Sgt Paul Austin - Essex Police
Rachel Kearn – Community Safety Officer, Chelmsford
City Council
Chelmsford – a snap shot
• Vibrant night time economy
• Licensing capacity of 15,000, often reached on
Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights
• Large catchment area
• Large student population, Anglia Ruskin University –
8,500
• Busy train station with a direct link to London and bus
terminus serving the whole of the county
• Pubs, bars, clubs and restaurants
• Leisure, retail, theatres, cinema and festivals
• Significant future development and public realm changes
Map of Chelmsford
Chelmsford – Crime Overview
• A safe place to live, work and visit
• 94% of respondents feel safe outside in Chelmsford
during the day
• 71% of respondents feel safe outside in Chelmsford after
dark
• Majority of crime and disorder generated by the night
time economy (40% of division’s recorded crime)
• Identified pockets of anti-social behaviour by youths or
street drinkers
• Domestic abuse - alcohol has been a contributing factor
to a third of all DA incidents
Chelmsford – Alcohol Impact
Overview
• Highest percentage of adults in Essex whose
health is “increasingly at risk” due to excessive
alcohol consumption
• 2nd highest in Essex for binge drinking – 21.3%
of adults self report this pattern of alcohol use
Safer Chelmsford Partnership’s Key
Priorities
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Reducing violent crime
Tackling anti social behaviour
Protecting vulnerable people
Reducing acquisitive crime
Public Health Priorities
• Tackling binge drinking
• Reduce consumption of those increasingly at risk
Challenges
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Street drinking and the associated crime and ASB
Binge drinking culture
Irresponsible drinks promotions
Large student population
Popular Wednesday student nights
Increase in violent crime
63% of crimes committed are by people from out
of Chelmsford
The Response
• The policing response to the night time economy –
Operation Nightsafe
• Aim – ‘to reduce crime and provide a safe environment
for the public to enjoy the night time economy’
• Zones
• Early intervention
• Dispersal
• Positive policing response
• Prevention advice and reassurance
• Nights of Action – A Safer Chelmsford Partnership
initiative providing a high visibility multi agency approach
to tackle crime and ASB associated with the NTE
• Held at key times of the year
• Coordinated emergency services and community safety
response
• Ambulance triage facility – fewer ambulances called
making a significant saving to the public purse (£300
each time an ambulance is called to transport someone
to hospital)
• Accredited patrols
• Each night has a main focus – personal safety, domestic
abuse, mobile phone theft, sensible drinking
• Intelligence Gathering – Licensing
• Reinforce Key Messages
• Licensing Visits
• Briefings with Pubwatch Committee – Brief key
issues of the evening
• Partnership working
Alcohol Outreach Project
• Baroness Newlove
funding
• One of the ten areas in
the country to achieve the
funding
• The Alcohol Fund is a
£1m project to help
communities across
England tackle alcoholfuelled anti-social
behaviour.
inside out : team alcohol
The Outreach Project offers a free and
confidential service to:
• Dependant drinkers
• Non dependant drinkers
• Binge drinkers
• Pre-detox or post-detox or rehab
• Hazardous and harmful drinkers
How is it different?
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Outreach
Assessments
Brief Intervention
Advice
Education and harm minimisation advice
1:1 Key Working
Referral to group work
Supported detox/rehab applications
Continued support for clients released from prison
What happens?
Arrest Referral
Prisons
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Police custody suites
Magistrates courts
Crown courts
Brief interventions
Liaison with Court Probation
Officers
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Assessment
1-1 Key Working
Referral to group work
Supported rehab applications
Coordinate support on release
Tracking individuals who
transfer within the prison system
Can accept referrals from other
establishments country wide
Supported rehab applications
Appointments offered for release
Case Study
Miss G came to the Project via a Conditional Caution following an
arrest for shop-theft (alcohol). Miss G was instructed to engage for a
period of three months in order to comply with her requirement
otherwise the caution would be reconsidered and she could be
charged.
After completing a full assessment and attending regular key work
appointments a connection gradually emerged between her alcohol use
and her eating disorders. Essentially, when Miss G eats more she
drinks less.
This has remained the focus of subsequent key work sessions and
every couple of weeks the appointment is held in a local café where
Miss G is given encouragement and support around healthier eating
habits.
Intelligence Led Enforcement
• Essex Police data
• CCTV data
• Partners – WDP, Essex Probation (IOM) and
Family Solutions (Troubled Families)
• Essex Insight
• Ambulance data
• A&E data
• Street Pastors data
Key Facts
• Leading the way – UK’s first and only designated
International Safe Community
• Purple Flag Accreditation
• Showcasing – Taiwan, LGA and Westminster
Briefing
• Education delivered to 3,322 participants
• Bluetooth to your mobile (194 accepted in one night
at Evoke)
• Safety literature and Taxi App