Community Safety

Over the last 12 months, Worcester City Council has spoken to local residents and community groups about their experience of discrimination in Worcester. As part of a campaign called Speak Up!, the Council has asked people what prejudices they have experienced in the city and explored some of the language that can be used to challenge offensive remarks in a calm and non-confrontational way.

The Council has put together some of the key phrases used by the public and incorporated them into a range of posters to equip more people with the language they can use to challenge offensive remarks.

The work comes from extensive consultation with individuals, faith groups and community organisations around the nine protected characterises listed below.

These are:

Age
Race
Sex
Religion or Belief
Disability
Gender reassignment
Marriage or civil partnership
Pregnancy or Maternity
Sexual Orientation

The consultation involved face to face meetings, online surveys, and social media feedback.

Worcester City Council’s Champion for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Councillor Robyn Norfolk, said:

“We wanted to know how people stand up for themselves or speak up about language that makes them uncomfortable, whether it is intended to or not. Or simply, how to ask those awkward questions without the risk of offending someone.

“We hope that these key phrases will help people Speak Up and challenge offensive remarks clearly, kindly, and confidently.”

As part of Hate Crime Awareness week in October, these posters will be displayed across various locations in the city. We encourage you to download your copy below and show your support

The posters are based on the feedback residents gave on the key themes of ‘challenging’ offensive behaviour; ‘empathy’ with other people’s characteristics; and ‘allyship’ to build a stronger community.

Thank you to everybody who shared their experiences and helped us to understand what is happening in Worcester.

As part of the project’s next step the Council would like to hear from any organisations interested in helping to develop a Speak Up! pledge or charter to tackle discrimination in the city. Anybody interested should email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Safer Worcester Safe & Sound Scheme

There are many ways to protect the things you treasure in your home!

Create a FREE private and secure portfolio of all your personal property.

If your phone, bike, computer or any other registered item is lost or stolen, use Immobilise to instantly tell police, insurers, and the second-hand trade. These actions help greatly in the recovery of your property and capture of thieves.

Benefits of registration:

Immobilise helps police identify the owner of lost & stolen property thousands of times each day.
Loss & theft updates you make are immediately available to the Police nationally.
Combat the sale of stolen gadgets & valuables; alert the second-hand trade & publicly checkable stolen goods database CheckMEND if an item goes missing.
Simplify insurance claims and Police reports with certificates of ownership.
Great member offers from Immobilise's numerous supporters, often helping support provision of Immobilise.
These features are unique to the FREE Immobilise service.

Nip garden crime in the bud

West Mercia Constabulary is urging people to protect themselves from burglars by reviewing and improving their garden and shed security.

The arrival of spring often heralds an increase in thefts from garden sheds. Around 1,000 shed burglaries take place every year across West Mercia, so it is important that people take the time to ensure their valuables are stored securely.

Garden security is part of the force's Safe & Secure campaign, which provides people with advice about how they can make their homes, gardens and cars more secure.

The force has produced a crime prevention advice leaflet, which gives handy tips on how people can make their gardens and sheds more secure and prevent burglars from breaking in. The ‘Tips to Nip Garden Crime in the Bud' leaflet is available to download from the force website www.westmercia.police.uk and will also be available shortly from garden centres and police stations across Herefordshire, Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and Worcestershire.

PC Rebecca Handy, from the force's Local Policing Support team said:

"While many people take steps to protect their homes and the property inside them, they often leave valuable equipment such as power tools, mowers, garden tools and bikes in unsecured sheds or in sheds that are not strong or secure enough to protect the items from thieves.

"Garden crime is an unfortunate reality so we are advising people to look at how secure their garden is and if necessary make some adjustments to help ‘weed out' garden thieves."

Here are West Mercia Constabulary's top tips on how to make a garden more secure:

Gates, fences and walls should be kept in good repair to stop intruders getting in.
Grow ‘defensive planting' (prickly plants, bushes and shrubs) close to vulnerable areas such as windows, fences, boundary walls and drainpipes.
Most garden sheds are not designed for safe storage and should not be used to store expensive equipment such as garden tools, mowers, mountain bikes and power tools. If you have no where else to store valuable equipment, take measures to secure your shed by using a closed shackle padlock or invest in an alarm.
Don't leave ladders and tools lying around in your garden – these could be used to break into your home.
Mark your garden tools and equipment with your postcode using a UV pen or similar device. Make a note of the serial numbers on your equipment and consider taking photographs of the items stored in your shed so you have a record in case your shed is burgled.
Check your household insurance policy carefully to ensure it covers garden and shed equipment and whether any minimum security standards apply.

For more details on keeping your garden secure, please visit West Mercia Constabulary's website www.westmercia.police.uk, which also provides crime prevention advice for your home and vehicle.

To report a garden crime please call the non emergency police number 0300 333 3000.

Further Information

South Worcestershire Safer Streets

Summary

The South Worcestershire Safer Streets project will redesign public places to be more welcoming with a view to improving the perception of the areas and improving safety for women and girls but also for the wider community. In addition to the physical measures, there will be a series of educational inputs for a wider audience.

The combination of all of these interventions will increase education and awareness about the issue of violence against women and girls and will support the prevention of anti-social behaviour (ASB), Public Order offences, other violent crime and retail crime.

Investment for the project work was secured through the Government’s Safer Streets Fund following a successful bid endorsed by West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner, John Campion.

Nearly half of the total £1 million secured for projects in West Mercia has been invested by West Mercia Police and local partners in the South Worcestershire Project to make our public spaces safer.

Project

Education

School sessions for 11–18-year-olds.
Sessions for university students
Guardian Bystander programme workshops to staff within the Night-Time Economy hospitality and retail industry.

The term ‘night-time economy’ is used to describe a wide range of activities from a trip to the theatre or a family meal to a night out at a club. Night-time economies are an important part of our towns and cities and are estimated to bring in over £60 billion to the UK economy every year. The vast majority of people enjoy a night out safely and sensibly. We will be working with the nighttime economy to tackle sexual violence and harassment and victim-blaming attitudes.

Lighting

The project has been improving lighting to aid natural surveillance in key areas, further reducing both crime and the fear of crime by making paths and alleyways more user-friendly.

CCTV

Trinity Passage

Funding has been used to install CCTV cameras in areas that are more vulnerable including additional and mobile CCTV cameras monitored 24/7.

Canals

Canal Bridge underpass

The Canal and Rivers Trust have carried out landscaping and maintenance to improve the look, feel, and visibility for people using entrances onto the canals. The project funding has also been used to install new, clear signage for safety messages.

Underpass artwork - Droitwich

Parks/Underpasses

Crofters Hill Underpass

It is hoped that the combination of all of these interventions will address concerns raised by members of the public, will increase education and awareness, and will support the community.

Area

The South Worcestershire area encompasses three local authority districts.

Worcester City is a mixture of urban and suburban residential areas. It is the most densely populated district within South Worcestershire. The University of Worcester is located in various campuses around the city and has a high ratio of female students of 69.1%.
Wychavon district consists of towns such as Pershore, Evesham, and Droitwich.
Malvern Hills district consists of towns such as Upton-Upon-Severn, Tenbury Wells, Kempsey, and Great Malvern.

*Purple Leaf is a trading name of West Mercia Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre (WMRSASC). WMRSASC has been supporting survivors of all types of sexual abuse and sexual violence for over 35 years and provides a range of services including advocacy, therapy, online and a helpline service.

Purple Leaf is a team of specialist sexual violence counsellors, advocates and support workers who come from a range of backgrounds including social work, counselling, play therapy, youth offending and the police.

News

South Worcestershire showcase their Safer Streets project at partnership event

Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs) were introduced on 13 April 2011 as part of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004.

They consider the circumstances leading to the death of a person as a result of a domestic violence incident and identify where lessons could be learned and responses to the situation could have been improved. They are on top of inquests and any other inquiry being carried out into the death.

Members of a variety of public bodies are brought together to carry out the DHR including councils, police, the NHS and other community based organisations. Officials who have been directly involved in the case can not take part in the review.

The review team will consider what happened and what could have been done differently but will not seek to blame any individual or organisation. They will also recommend actions to be taken to improve responses to domestic violence situations in the future.

The findings are then published by Community Safety Partnerships which are legally responsible for overseeing DHRs.

The findings and recommendations of completed DHRs in the South Worcestershire area are available to view below.

Public Space Protection Orders Safeguarding Flooding information CCTV Safer Worcester Partnership Hate Crime Partnership Garden and home security Accidents, emergencies and safety Report a community safety issue