Before the meeting Andrew joined local officers and Sara Britcliffe on a short walk through the town to highlight hotspots for anti-social behaviour and dangerous driving- two of the priorities in his Fighting Crime Plan.
The Commissioner highlighted how, whilst results won’t be overnight, there are lots of positive changes being made in policing around the area with the establishment of a specialist anti-social behaviour unit, more focus and resources in neighbourhood policing and more officers on our streets thanks to the Police Uplift Programme, as well as local officers introducing ‘Coffee with a Cop’ style meetings with residents.
Speaking afterwards, Andrew Snowden, Police and Crime Commissioner for Lancashire said:
“As the publics voice in policing, meetings like this enable me to listen to people and work with to find solutions that fix the underlying problems.
“Anti-social behaviour, from drug-dealing to dangerous driving, is totally unacceptable and makes people feel unsafe. In leading the fight against crime, I want to make it clear that this will not be tolerated in Lancashire and I am funding the recruitment of extra police officers to tackle this and we will see more targeted operations.
“Residents mentioned a lack of youth provisions in the town as a big part of why there is anti-social behaviour as kids have nowhere to go. I told them about my Safer Lancashire Neighbourhoods Fund, which takes the ill- gotten gains from criminals to invest into our local neighbourhoods to prevent and deter crime. So far I’ve helped fund successful youth groups in Colne and Bacup that have reduced ASB and I’m hopeful Great Harwood will come together and bring a grant application forward.”
