New plan for community safety

09 March 2011

As part of the States-wide initiative to rethink the way essential services are provided, the Home Affairs department is focusing its community safety work more closely on the priority issues that matter most to the public.

One of the objectives of the States’ Strategic Plan is to protect Islanders and keep the community safe. Home Affairs staff are now working even more closely with other agencies to achieve that aim in the most efficient way possible.

The Community Safety Executive Officer is coordinating with other States departments, the police, voluntary agencies like Prison! Me! No Way! and independent community groups like Safer St Helier, to help drive down levels of anti-social behaviour and disorder. This restructuring and tighter focus means the department will make annual savings of £46,000 from 2012.

Gillian Hutchinson says “We have always worked in partnership with other agencies to build a safer society. Now we are focusing our efforts more closely on the areas people have told us are their priority.

“We live in a largely safe community, but anti-social behaviour is a concern to some Islanders, especially at night in St Helier. So we are working with the Housing, Education and Health departments, the Alcohol and Drug service, the Honorary and States police, parenting groups and the local community to try to tackle this behaviour.

“We all have to keep our eye on the budget in these difficult times and we need to take care we are not spreading our work too thinly. That is why we have decided the night-time economy and anti-social behaviour are our 2 main priorities. This way we can deliver results on the high priority areas while also reducing our overall spend.”

The Home Affairs Minister, Senator Ian Le Marquand, says “Our community is largely law-abiding and responsible, but we do see some anti-social behaviour. Although such behaviour may not result in criminal charges, it nevertheless can have a detrimental impact on people’s lives.

“All States departments are reassessing how best to deliver services to the public and I am pleased with the strategy being adopted by the Community Safety team. Investing time and energy in early preventative work can prevent anti-social behaviour from escalating into a serious problem. The more closely we can work with other agencies and the local community, the more effective this kind of work can be.”