Neighbourhood Watch Newsletter - Spring 2022

Neighbourhood Watch Newsletter Edition 14 – Spring 2022

making Mid & East Antrim safer

FOREWORD from Mid and East Antrim Policing and Community Safety Partnership Chairperson, Councillor Danny Donnelly.

Welcome to the 14th edition of the Mid and East Antrim Neighbourhood Watch Newsletter. Hopefully like me you are feeling optimistic about moving forward into springtime as happily we appear to be moving out of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Despite being essential the restrictions have been difficult for all of us but now it appears we are approaching the light at the end of the tunnel.

We should still play our part in maintaining a sense of responsibility to ourselves and our communities by being careful, recognising there is currently huge demand and pressure on our Health service by continuing to follow the message of ‘hands, face, space’ for a bit longer.

As we move away from the isolation and loneliness brought on by Covid and the restrictions there will be an increase in the amount of interaction that will emerge going forward.

There will be higher numbers of people out and about again and with this comes other concerns. Fear for our personal safety may increase as we see more people

about at night. Worries about anti-social behaviour with increased numbers of younger people on the streets at nighttime sometimes with the added problems of underage drinking and drug abuse.

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council is working on an interagency basis with community groups and other stakeholders including the PSNI, YMCA, NI Housing Executive and other volunteers to provide a support hub at weekends for young people ensuring there is a place of safety to chat and get something to eat where alcohol is not a focus for a few hours.

There is a continued drive to provide support and advice to help prevent crime for which I am very grateful.

There are still causes for concern regarding the number of people being scammed and I am in no doubt that by sharing crime prevention advice and making others aware of such scams, many criminals have been prevented from prospering.

The PSNI Facebook page has some excellent crime prevention advice which you

can also talk to our local crime prevention officer about and there is some very useful advice from organisations such as the ScamwiseNI partnership.

PCSP already has several initiatives planned to take forward this spring. These include schemes to help make young people safer, support for older and vulnerable individuals as well as community groups to address fear of crime, working with Women’s Aid to help address domestic abuse and also to help support vulnerable members of the community.

We continue to work hard to make Mid and East Antrim Borough safer. Our action plan will build on previous good work as well focusing on the development of new projects.

You will see at the back of this edition a list of useful contacts including how to contact the PCSP. Please do not hesitate to make contact if you wish to find out more about the work of the partnership or if you have any concerns you wish to raise.

Best wishes and stay safe!

Health Fair Saturday 19 March Sunnylands Community Centre 10-12 noon All Welcome

Sunnylands and Woodburn Community Development Group

Come along and find out what services could help you and your family.

www.midandeastantrim.gov.uk

Say NO to Antisocial behaviour incidents Antisocial behaviour incidents have increased over the last three years.

The PSNI, Councils, Housing Executive, Volunteers, Community Groups and other stakeholders have joined forces to try to curb the increase of young people engaging in such behaviour after reports about significant spikes in some areas.

Antisocial drinking or drug use

The incidents are not minor and can range from noise levels being unacceptable, drinking and drug use, damage to property and damage and harm to individuals taking part in ASB. Up to 45% of people say ASB is a problem where they live and 56% have been victims or witnesses to ASB, but fundamentally, none reported such incidents to the police.

Vandalism to property, damage and graffiti

Recognising ASB – What is it? It is a range of behaviours that cause nuisance, harm and distress to a person in their home, neighbourhood or community.

Arson

Noise nuisance - loud music, banging, loud parties etc

Household disputes - loud arguments

Harassment and Intimidation - threats of violence or abuse aimed at causing distress

Environmental antisocial behaviour - dumping rubbish, dog fouling

Driving in a careless way or drivers congregating in an area for racing or cruising

What can you do to help: • Keep a record of the incidents and behaviours • Helps you to get some perspective on how often it occurs • It can help establish a pattern of nuisance should you decide to report it at a later stage.

Dog Theft Awareness of a The theft y a d a e dog is alr ence ff o criminal heft T e under th .

8 6 9 1 Act

•

Microchip your dog and fit with a collar to have your surname and contact detaills on

•

Take a photo of your dog from various angles, especially if they have distincitve markings and a photo of you with the dog too.

In Sight •

Never leave your dog unattended in a car or outside a shop.

•

Train your dog to return to you when called.

•

Keep dogs on an extended lead in unfamiliar surroundings.

•

Vary the times and routes you use when walking your dog.

•

Be careful of stangers asking you a lot of questions when you are out walking your dog, hey could be distracting your which makes it easier to steal our dog.

• Dog Owners are increasingly concerned about their dogs being stolen.

Current figures show that there has been a 170% rise in dogs being reported stolen from 172 dogs in 2019 to 456 dogs in 2020 during the Pandemic.

Here are some ways to minimise the risk of your dog being stolen: •

Don’t leave your dog alone in the front garden, fit an alarm to your side or rear gates.

•

Consider fitting a bell, alarm or lock on any outside kennels.

•

Be careful of sharing or publicly posting details on social media of where you live and the type of dog you own

If you use a dog walking service, check the reference first to ensure the offer is genuine.

House Burglaries You can significantly reduce the chance of your home being burgled by taking a few simple precautions:

Top Ten Tips

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Close and lock all doors and windows even if you are only going out for a few minutes Leave a light on if it will be dark before you get home.Consider security lights. To a burglar a dark house is an empty house.

Keep your valuables out of sight.

Cancel milk or other deliveries if you will be away from home.

Don’t leave car keys near your door, letterbox or windows.

Always check who is at the door. Not sure? Don’t open the door.

Set your alarm when going out and at night time. If you do not have an alarm consider installing one.

Ask a neighbour or a friend to check your property and to remove post from the porch/hallway.

Inform police if your house is to be vacant for any length of time.

Always keep sheds and outbuildings locked and secure ladders

Launch of Chatty Café at Lunch Box Café AEL, Larne and Chatty Café Toolkit Lunch Box will be hosting a Chatty Café table every Monday and Friday between 10am – 12 noon. We understand lots of people have been dealing with issues of loneliness recently and we know the positive impact a conversation can have on your health and wellbeing. A short conversation with another person can really brighten your day. We hope this new Chatty Café will get people talking and meeting new people”

Mid and East Antrim Loneliness Network has been proactive in establishing Chatty cafes across our Borough to tackle loneliness and reduce isolation by creating opportunities to talk and interact

Meanwhile Mid and East Antrim Loneliness Network are delighted to launch their Chatty Cafe Toolkit which is a useful resource to help local café owners establish a Chatty Café in their area.

Following on from the success of four Chatty Cafés opened last year, AEL Larne are pleased to announce they are joining the Mid and East Antrim Chatty Café scheme.

The idea behind Chatty Cafés is to encourage venues to designate a table and make it available as a ‘chatty table’ where customers can sit if they are happy to talk to other customers.

Rosie Craig Manager of the Lunch Box Cafe said “We are so pleased that the

The new Chatty Cafe Toolkit has been designed to support start-up of new Chatty cafes and Mayor of Mid and East Antrim, Cllr William McCaughey commented: “One in three people in Northern Ireland are likely to experience feelings of loneliness in their lifetime. Throughout these difficult past few years of lockdowns, isolation and restrictions on our social activities, human contact has been limited which has impacted upon our mental health.

The challenges the Covid 19 pandemic has created in terms of creating loneliness in communities is something that the Mid and East Antrim Loneliness Network aims to tackle. I am delighted to attend this launch and look forward to seeing many more established across the borough.”

On the launch of the Chatty Café Toolkit Yvonne Carson, Lead for Loneliness and Social Isolation in the

Northern Trust said “The Toolkit aims to provide practical information and advice to anyone in the Mid and East Antrim Borough wishing to take part in the Chatty Café Scheme. We hope it will be a useful tool to help provide consistency and support to Chatty cafes.”

Chairperson of Mid and East Antrim Loneliness Network, Marjorie Hawkins, added: “Mid and East Antrim Loneliness Network are dedicated to raising awareness of loneliness and helping people make new friendships and we are delighted to be launching the fifth Chatty Café in the Borough today. Chatty Cafes brings companionship and joy to those struggling with loneliness and isolation.

With the help of the Toolkit we hope the roll out of the Chatty Café scheme further across the Borough will help local people struggling to make new connections and relationships” The new Chatty Café Toolkit is available to Café and coffee shop owners interested in learning more about how they can help reduce loneliness and isolation amongst local people.

To find out more go to: www.midandeastantrim.gov.uk/ healthandwellbeing

Your PCSP members

Chris Mcllroy

Sergeant

Neighbourhood Policing Team Carrick/ Larne

Carrick

07787224732

Chris.Mcllroy@psni.pnn.police.uk

10 Elected Members

9 Independent Members

7 Statutory Partners

Tony McClelland

Sergeant

Neighbourhood Policing Team Carrick/ Larne

Carrick

07827925770

Daniel.mcclelland@psni.pnn. police.uk

Ald Gregg McKeen

Mary Watson (Vice Chair)

Northern Ireland Housing Executive

Michelle McKillop

Sergeant

Neighbourhood Policing Team Ballymena

Ballymena

07585703099

Michelle.adams@psni.pnn. police.uk

Ald John Carson

Marjorie Hawkins

Police Service in Northern Probation Board

Stephen Rainey

Sergeant

Community Planning Sergeant

Ballymena

02825667277

stephen.rainey2@psni.pnn. police.uk

Cllr Andrew Wilson

Brenda Leslie

Youth Justice Agency

Cllr Lauren Gray

Wendy Kerr

Northern Health and Social Care Trust

Cllr Timothy Gaston

Thomas (Lexie) Scott

Education Authority

Cllr Thomas Gordon

Norman Hamilton

Community Planning Sergeant

Mid and East Antrim PCSP contact details

Cllr Cheryl Johnston

Sharon Maxwell

Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service

Contact the PCSP staff by phone, email, or call into the office:

Cllr John McDermott

Gillian Gordon

Cllr Danny Donnelly (Chair)

80 Galgorm Road Ballymena County Antrim BT42 1AB Tel: 028 93 358311 Email: pcsp@midandeastantrim.gov.uk

Charlene Thompson

Cllr Marc Collins

PSNI Contact Details Name

Rank

Role

Station

Mobile

Email

Beverlie Reid

Inspector

Neighbourhood Police Team Ballymena

Ballymena

07780110529

Beverlie.reid@psni.pnn.police.uk

Colin Ash

Inspector

Neighbourhood Police Team Larne and Carrick

Carrick

07557261796

colin.ash@psni.pnn.police.uk

Simon Coupland

Sergeant

Neighbourhood Policing Team Carrick/ Larne

Carrick

0791739043

simon.coupland@psni.pnn. police.uk

In an emergency call 999 PSNI non-emergency number 101 • • • •

•

Victim Support: 028 2563 0784 Crime Stoppers: 0800 555 111 24 hour Domestic and Sexual Violence helpline: 0808 802 1414 Antrim, Ballymena, Carrickfergus, Larne and Newtownabbey (ABCLN) Women’s Aid: 028 2563 2136 Crime Prevention Officer Stuart Willkie: 07500036996 / Ext 86008 / phone 101

This newsletter is supported by the Northern Ireland Policing Board and the Department of Justice.

With thanks to PSNI, Crimestoppers and Neighbourhood Watch for providing information for this leaflet.

making Mid & East Antrim safer