25th November 2020

West Lancashire Borough Council in partnership with the Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner and Lancashire Constabulary, has started work on crime prevention measures which are aimed at reducing theft and anti-social behaviour.

Birch Green in Skelmersdale is one of only two areas in Lancashire to receive funding to help reduce crime and make communities safer. This is after a successful joint bid by the Police and Crime Commissioner and the Council to the Home Office’s Safer Streets fund.

Skelmersdale will receive almost £200k to fund measures such as CCTV, improved street lighting and motorcycle barriers. The Safer Streets funding will be aimed at making residents feel safer in their homes.

The decision to allocate funding was based on work done by Lancashire Constabulary that showed Birch Green as being an area where these measures could have the most impact.

The police will be looking at opportunities to engage with the local community to communicate the nature of the work being done to reduce crime in the area.

The CCTV, lighting and motorbike nuisance prevention measures should be commissioned and installed by the 31 March 2021. These will be absorbed into existing services delivered and maintained by the Borough Council and County Council, ensuring their sustainability and effectiveness for many years into the future.

Announcing the funding, Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner Clive Grunshaw said: “I am consistently told by Lancashire residents that tackling theft and burglary in their areas should be a priority for Lancashire Police.

“These crime prevention measures are proven to work and will make criminals think twice before engaging in illegal activities. It was clear from research done by my office and Lancashire Police that simple measures such as CCTV, improved lighting and motorcycle barriers can reduce crime significantly.

“I want the people of Lancashire to feel safe in their communities and homes and the prevention measures this funding will put in place will go some way to doing that.”

Councillor Gareth Dowling, West Lancashire Borough Council portfolio holder for Communities and Community Safety, said: “We welcome this extra funding and look forward to working with the community and other organisations to improve safety in Birch Green and helping residents feel safer in their homes and when out and about in Skelmersdale.”

Heidi McDougall, West Lancashire Community Safety Partnership chair, said: “This is great news for the people of Birch Green and shows how the partners work together to protect our communities.”

Chief Inspector Kev Evans said:  “This is a great opportunity to work with partners and support other work around crime prevention and detection, which will help promote an improved quality of life for people affected by crime and ASB.

“As well as working with partners, we also want to work with communities by getting them to report incidents in their local area and would ask that they help us to help them.”

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