main content Community Safety - Housing

The Community Safety Partnership brings together agencies such as Council departments, the Police, health authority, fire service, probation service, victim support, voluntary, business and community organisations.  A concerted co-ordinated united approach is far more effective in reducing crime and disorder than agencies working individually.

Challenging the Fear of Crime

The chances that you or a member of your family will be a victim of crime are low.  Crimes and especially violent crimes are still comparatively rare. Many people are frightened that they, or someone close to them, will be the victim of crime.  The best way to minimise the risks of crime are by taking sensible precautions.  This guide aims to inform people of some of the very straightforward ways in which they can reduce crime for themselves and their community.

Personal Safety

• Use only your surname and initials in the telephone directory and on the doorplate.  That way a stranger won't know if a man or a woman lives there.
• If you see signs of a break-in at your home, like a smashed window or open door, don't go in.  Go to a neighbour and call the police.
• If you are selling your home, don't show people around on your own.  Ask your estate agent to send a representative with anyone who wants to view your house.
• When you answer the phone, simply say 'hello'; don't give your number.  If the caller claims to have a wrong number, ask him or her to repeat the number required.  Never reveal any information about yourself to a stranger and never say you are alone in the house.
• If you receive an abusive or threatening phone call, put the receiver down beside the phone, and walk away.  Come back a few minutes later and replace the receiver; don't listen to see if the caller is still there.  Don't say anything - an emotional reaction is just what the caller wants.  This allows the caller to say what he or she wants to say, without causing distress to you.  If the calls continue, tell the police and the operator and keep a record of the date, time and content of each phone call.

Your Home

Most burglaries are committed by opportunist thieves.  Burglars don't like locked windows because breaking glass attracts attention.  They don't like security deadlocks on doors because they cannot open them even from the inside and they have to get out through a window.  Simple precautions like these do work:

• Looking after your flat:  Make sure your front door is strong. It should be as strongly built as the main outside door of the block.  Fit hinge bolts which stop someone pulling the door from its hinges and/or fix a special steel strip into the doorframe.
• Door entry systems:  If your block does not have a telephone entry system, talk to the landlord about putting one in.  This may be easier if you get together with other tenants to form a tenants' association. If you do have a telephone entry system, don't let strangers in or hold the door open for someone who is arriving as you are leaving.
• Strangers:  Be alert to people loitering in residential streets.  If it is no one you recognise, call the police.
• Burglar alarms: Visible burglar alarms make burglars think twice.
• Front door roof:  A thief could reach first floor windows from this roof - so fit window locks.
• Gates and fences:  A high wall or fence at the back of a house can put off a burglar.  Check for weak spots where a thief could get in.  A thorny hedge along a boundary can also be a useful deterrent.  Make sure the front of the house is still visible to passers-by, so that a burglar can't work unseen.
• Small windows:  Even small windows like casement windows, skylights or bathroom fanlights need locks.
• Spare key:  Never leave a spare key in a hiding place like under a doormat, in a flowerpot or inside a letterbox - a thief will look there first.
• Garages and sheds:  Never leave a garage or garden shed unlocked, especially if it has a connecting door to the house.  Lock tools and ladders away so that a thief cannot use them to break in.
• Side passages:  Stop a thief getting to the back of the house - where he can work with less chance of being seen - by fitting a high gate across the passage.  If you share an alleyway with a neighbour, talk to him or her about sharing the cost.

In the Home

• Make sure your house or flat is secure.  Always secure outside doors. Fit barrel locks top and bottom.  If you have to use a key, keep it nearby - you may need to get out quickly in the event of fire.
• If you are buying or renting a new house or flat, ask the builders or landlord to fit window locks, deadlocks and strong doors.
• If your Housing Association house or flat is not secure, ask for something to be done.
• If other people such as previous tenants could still have keys that fit, change the locks.  Don't give keys to workmen or tradesmen, as they can easily make copies.
• If you wake to hear the sound of an intruder, only you can decide how best to handle the situation.  You may want to lie quietly to avoid attracting attention to yourself, in the hope that they will leave. Or you may feel more confident if you switch on the lights and make a lot of noise by moving about.  Even if you're on your own, call out loudly to an imaginary companion - most burglars will flee empty-handed rather than risking a confrontation.  Ring the police as soon as it's safe for you to do so.  A telephone extension in your bedroom will make you feel more secure as it allows you to call the police immediately, without alerting the intruder.
• Draw your curtains after dark and if you think there is a prowler outside - dial 999 - and always tell the operator exactly what is happening.

Car Parks

• When parking in a public car park - look for one that is well supervised, with restricted entry and exit points, good lighting and security cameras.  In multi-storey car parks, choose a widely visible bay.
• Car parks can be a target for thieves and a source of fear for many people.  A police scheme - 'Secured Car Parks' - aims to make car parks safer, more attractive places - by setting high crime prevention standards of internal design and layout.

Our Community

There is a lot we can do outside our home and family to prevent crime.  You can take action by getting together with other people and working in partnership with the police to reduce crime in our Borough.  You can help by simply being alert and observant when out and about in our neighbourhoods - or you could apply to join the local Neighbourhood Watch or Special Constabulary.

• Roads, footpaths and subways: You can help to maintain a safer environment by reporting to the council if streets, footpaths and subways are not well lit.
• Building design:  Developers and local authorities should demand that new developments like housing estates, shopping precincts and car parks are designed to minimise the opportunities for criminals.
• Schools: Arson and vandalism cost schools dearly - between five and ten per cent of some education authorities' maintenance budgets are spent repairing vandalism damage.  The money could be spent elsewhere by reducing vandalism through good design, sensible security measures and better management practices.
• Home insurance:  Does your insurance company offer discounts on home insurance if you are a member of Neighbourhood Watch? If not, try to find an insurance company who does.
• Mobile phones:  Every mobile phone has a unique IMEI number - Dial*#06# to get yours and make a note of it so that if your phone is stolen, you can give the IMEI number to the police to help them recover the phone, or to your service provider to stop the phone being used by anyone else.

Young People

Young people are vulnerable to being victims of crime.  The Community Safety Partnership is keen to work with young people to develop youth crime prevention, aiming to prevent young people from become victims of crime or anti-social behaviour.

Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour

Anti-social behaviour can range from noisy neighbours to neighbourhood disputes and from aggressive or threatening behaviour to vandalism.  Some of this behaviour is unlawful while some of it is simply a nuisance. What it all has in common is that it raises the fear of crime, lowers the standards of an area and is often the entry point for areas to become crime hot spots.  We are committed to challenging and reducing such behaviour and tackling the problems of anti-social behaviour.

Developing a Local Neighbourhood Watch

Neighbourhood Watch schemes are a way for people in an area to get together to help prevent crime and make their neighbourhood a safer place. Groups can vary in size, depending on the area and what people want.  They target local concerns - like burglary, vandalism or graffiti and devise ways of dealing with them.  Schemes develop close links with the police, who can provide advice and information about local problems.