Bleed control kits rolled out in South Northants and Daventry areas
Kits holding life-saving equipment to help control traumatic bleeding have been rolled out for the first time to public places in South Northants and the Daventry area.
The rollout is thanks to a partnership between campaigning group Off the Streets NN and Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold, who has funded 14 kits to be located in an area spreading from Brixworth to Brackley.
The new bleed control kits are in shops and other venues that will be shown by a window sticker and have items that are used to stop catastrophic bleeding and support an injured person until the emergency services arrive.
Work by Off the Streets NN that has already seen more than 120 bleed cabinets and kits installed around the county, and hundreds of people trained in life-saving skills.
These 14 new kits are the first available for public use that have been rolled out in South Northants and Daventry.
Off the Streets NN set up the scheme to tackle knife and gang-related crime through a partnership approach, involving community bodies ranging from educational establishments to faith-based organisations and voluntary agencies.
Jane Capps of Off the Streets NN, said: “We are grateful for the support from all with extra thanks to Mr Mold for funding these kits for South Northants/Daventry. The recent heart-breaking death in Kingsthorpe, Northampton shows that an incident really could happen to anyone at any time and these kits need to be everywhere. We are running free training on how to use the contents of the kit on 4th May, Southbrook Centre, Daventry for anyone in the community over age 13 to attend.”
Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold said: “The work being done by Off the Streets NN is phenomenal. Rav and Jane have not only raised money, but they have installed the kits and arranged training in skills that would save a life, as well as shining the spotlight on the issue of knife crime and violence.”
Retail crime investigator drives better results on shoplifting
A pilot scheme to support businesses in north Northamptonshire with better investigation of shoplifting and other retail crime has been made permanent, thanks to impressive results in the first year and continued funding from Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold.
Paul Franks, Retail Crime Investigator
The scheme is a partnership between the Northamptonshire Business Crime Partnership and the Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner that aimed to improve the response to retail crime.
Under the 12-month pilot scheme, the Commissioner funded a specialist retail crime investigator to collaborate closely with retailers in the towns and villages in the north of the county. The investigator – retired Northamptonshire Police detective Paul Franks – helped businesses to gather improved evidence – such as statements and CCTV footage – that was sent onto Northamptonshire Police to investigate.
The aim of the scheme was to focus on prolific and violent retail crime offenders and to work closely with Northamptonshire Police to increase the number of crimes that are resolved.
As a result, the scheme has significantly boosted the number of retail crimes that are detected.
Ali Farr, Crime Manger of the Northamptonshire Business Crime Partnership, said: “The feedback we have received from retailers is fantastic and that has been backed up by solid results. Retailers have told us that they value the support, knowledge, and professionalism that Paul Franks has provided, and that it has helped to reduce their loss as a business.”
Flare Report app will boost confidence
Have you downloaded the new, free smartphone app, Flare Report to your smartphone yet?
Flare Report has been launched to help women and girls feel and be safer on the streets of Northamptonshire. The app allows women to report, anonymously and quickly, any incidents or behaviour that make them feel unsafe when they are out and about.
Police will collate and analyse the reports made, so that problem areas can be identified and action taken.
Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold has brought the app to the county. Stephen hopes that reports made on Flare will help to build a clearer picture of where incidents are happening and give women the confidence to report things that might otherwise go unreported.
“We know anecdotally that many women and girls simply would not report incidents like cat-calling, street harassment or even unwanted touching to Police, either because they are embarrassed, or they don’t think it will be taken seriously. We can’t live in a community where women accept that harassment is just something that happens to everyone, we must call it out. Flare Report is the mechanism for doing that,” Stephen Mold said.
Flare is not for reporting crimes in progress, but Police will check reports every day to make sure that nothing that needs an urgent response has been submitted.
Flare is free to download and can be installed on any mobile device by scanning the QR code below.
New doors and lighting for homes in Safer Streets project
Work to improve safety in the Queensway area of Wellingborough has taken a significant step forward, with the fitting of new doors and security lighting at properties now well underway.
The work is part of an ongoing community safety project funded by the Home Office’s Safer Streets scheme. Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold was successful in bidding for more than £600,000 to spend on Queensway from the Home Office.
This is third time that the Commissioner has been successful in bidding for money from the Safer Streets fund to tackle acquisitive crime such as burglary, bringing the total brought to the county by the Commissioner to more than £3.3 million since 2020.
Improvement works in the project include around 650 new doors for properties in Kiln Way and Minerva Way, which is being done in partnership with Greatwell Homes. More than half of the doors have already been fitted.
More than 100 homes were also identified to receive security lighting, and this work is now complete. The residents in these properties have also received a free pack of security products.
Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold said: “The doors and security lighting are practical measures that can help to deter crime and anti-social behaviour, and these are issues which residents have told me they want to see dealt with. Jo Savage, Chief Executive of Greatwell Homes, added: “It’s a fundamental human need to feel safe and secure at home. We are extremely proud of partnering with the Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner again to ensure our customers and other residents feel safe in their communities.”
Mr Adderley was also able to report continued success in the fight against burglary across Northamptonshire with an 11.6 per cent fall in residential break-ins and a 14.1 per cent drop in commercial burglaries.
Safer Streets-lite comes to Kingswood
Work has been taking place on the Kingswood estate in Corby to improve an area where residents felt less safe.
Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold has been successful in bringing funding to the county to run projects under the Home Office Safer Streets banner, but this scheme is only open to areas that have a higher level of crime. The Commissioner funded a ‘Safer Streets-lite’ programme, to carry out small – but effective – improvements to the area to boost security.
The work carried out in Kingswood was all suggested by residents and has included trimming back overgrown hedging, replacing lighting and cleaning graffiti from a nearby underpass. Improvements have also been made to CCTV in the area.
Some of the work has been carried out by offenders under the Probation Service’s community payback scheme.
Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold said: “I’ve been really encouraged to see how much impact small changes can have on a community, particularly when these changes are driven by the people of that community themselves.
“This project has proved once again, that agencies have more impact when they come together on a focused programme of work than we could have alone. We are now looking at how we can continue to work together and support local people to sustain the improvements that have been put in place in Kingswood.”
Community organisations receive new year funding grant boost
Thirteen organisations from across Northamptonshire have received a share of grants totalling more than £100,000 from the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner’s Community Grants Scheme, the Making Northamptonshire Safer Fund, over the past 12 months.
Estelle Keeves, Kelmarsh Parish Clerk is very pleased that the signs installed in the village are working well!
Eighteen parish councils from around the county were also awarded grants with a joint total of £73,326 from the Road Safety Community Fund to make their villages safer.
Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold offers a Community Grants Funding Scheme that supplies support of between £500 and £10,000 to charities, voluntary or community groups for projects that align with his Police, Fire and Crime Plan.
Stephen Mold said: “Our police and fire services work hard to make this county a safer place, but they will not succeed without the support of the communities they serve. Groups like these are working tirelessly to support people facing a variety of different challenges and helping create a resilient, safe Northamptonshire.”
Community Grants can be applied here.
Road Safety Community Fund to boost safety
The Road Safety Community Fund gives grants of between £500 and £5,000 to groups and organisations to help them run projects that tackle speeding, enhance road safety and other anti-social road use – using money that has come from fines paid by drivers who attend speed workshops.
Eighteen parish councils that were awarded funding from the Road Safety Community Fund all used the grant to fit vehicle activated speed signs in their area. They were Bulwick; Clipston; Kelmarsh; Blisworth; Easton on the Hill; Kings Sutton; Overthorpe; Barnwell; Aldwinckle; Whilton; Braybrooke; Bozeat; Pitsford; East Hunsbury; Guilsborough; Sywell and Great Oxenden Parish Councils, and Far Cotton and Delapre Community Council.
The Road Safety Community Fund can be applied for here.
