Kensington and Fairfield Respect Week October 2008

We had our second Respect week of the year in October 2008, and it was another great success. Please have a look at how hard everyone worked to put Kensington and Fairfield at the heart of everything they did that week.



Safer & Stronger Communities

Our fantastic Police Inspector, Dave Charnock has told us that 73 people were arrested or issued with Fixed Penalty Notices for crimes. 227 people were stopped and searched during the week, police were on the lookout for knives and weapons. Only 2 people were found carrying weapons. High visibility controls were in place and the knife arch (metal detector) was in use.

32 litres of alcohol were confiscated from youths in the park. Licensed premises and outlets where knives were sold received police visits and test purchasing with an underage volunteer was carried out. 25 checks were carried out throughout the week and 2 premises received warnings for failing to comply with the conditions of their licence. 8 people were arrested for outstanding court warrants within the area.

Drugs & Theft Act Warrants - A property in Adelaide Road, L7 was raided under the Misuse of Drugs Act. A cannabis cultivation farm was discovered, plants were removed and the farm was dismantled. Forensic enquiries continue to identify the offender.

A Theft Act warrant was executed in Holland Street, L7 and the suspect was caught throwing drugs out of his window and was arrested for possession of cannabis with intent to supply.

Misuse of Drugs Warrant was executed in Albert Edward Road, L7. The suspect attempted to flush away drugs however, the police recovered £200 worth of crack cocaine and heroin and £800 cash was seized as proceeds of crime.

Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service - A chip pan demonstration was carried out in the Lidl car park. Community Fire Safety & Fire Support Net generated 50-60 referrals from the events. 300 properties were called at and 80 home fire safety checks carried out and 100 alarms were fitted.

Advocates attended St Francis of Assisi School and conducted firework misuse presentations and attended the Market Place.

600 wheelie bin leaflets were distributed through Streets Ahead regarding wheelie bin fires. A tile warehouse was advised to remove wooden pallets from the pavement in the lead up to bonfire night.

Roads Policing Operations - Operations ran 3 days from early morning to late evening. Police worked alongside representatives from VOSA, HMRI, LCC Taxi Licensing and Enterprise Liverpool. Roadside checks were carried out and 282 vehicles were stopped at check points by all agencies, results included, 6 vehicles being seized for insurance and driving offences, 39 none endorsable fixed penalty notices were issued and 3 child seat belt warnings were issued.

Taxi Licensing involved 98 cabs being stopped. 6 defect notices were issued and 5 suspension notices were issued.

VOSA – 28 vehicles were checked and 3 prohibition notices issued (defective tyres).

Customs & Excise – 54 vehicles stopped and checked for red diesel, 4 were found to have red diesel.

Liverpool City Council Parking Services - 38 fixed penalties issued for parking offences and 8 verbal warnings given.

Liverpool Anti-Social Behaviour Unit/C7 Housing Association – LASBU/C7 conducted an ASB presentation/lesson at the Phoenix School. A bird feeding session was held with Sure Start.

Operation Cube-It – 18 offending vehicles were dealt with. 2 vehicles were seized for having no tax.

Merseyside Police Off Road Bike Units – 8 reports of vehicle nuisance reported whilst on patrol.

Tackling Crime & Anti-Social Behaviour on Public Transport (Operation Snowball) – Merseyside Police worked closely with Revenue Protection Officers, Arriva Bus Company and Mersey Travel to tackle anti-social behaviour. 196 buses were stopped, 1897 passengers spoken to throughout the operation, 1 male was found to be in the country illegally, 56 people were searched, 23 tickets withdrawn and 36 people summonsed for fraud offences.

Crime Prevention – Andy Drummond and a team of Community Support Officers delivered: burglary and auto crime presentation, mobile telephone marking, crime prevention advice booklets and personal safety advice. A Crime Reduction stand was placed at a community event in Sheil Road Community Event. Approximately 220 people were spoken to during the week and 15 further referrals taken.

Trading Standards / Police Test Purchase Operations – An underage volunteer attempted to purchase alcohol from Licensed premises and knives from outlets. 2 Licensed premises sold the volunteer alcohol and these received fixed penalty notices.

City Watch Warden Team – Warden team patrolled alongside the police and concentrated on: litter prosecutions, street furniture reports, lighting, truancy referrals and untaxed motor vehicle reports amongst other things. Alley dumping – 4 incidents, fly tipping locations – 24 referrals, street furniture – 22 referrals as well as sharps (needles), truants, littering and dog fouling.

Larry Murphy, our wonderful dedicated neighbourhood officer lead the work done by Neighbourhood Management Services – areas were monitored i.e. alleyways and letters were issued to residents who were found dumping rubbish in alleys prior to refuse collection day. 1022 skip leaflets were distributed to 15 roads. Bonfire material was removed from Coleridge Street with MFRS. Tour of area by Hillingdon Borough Council.

NEAT Team – trade waste visits to shops, 21 businesses with a contract, 6 businesses without contracts (Sec 34 notices being served) as well as fly tipping issues with no evidence.

Veolia – Regular bin and bag collections, cleansing of alleyways, emptying of blue contaminated recycling bins from Sheil Road for Kensington Clean Team to remove and store.

Enterprise Liverpool – General cleansing of all roads in area. 5 skips were placed out in Gloucester Court, Schomberg Street, Mallow Road, Morden Street and Upper Baker Street. 16 fly tipping jobs were cleared and 5 lots of offensive graffiti were cleared.

Kensington Wardens – Anti-Social Behaviour Workshop at Phoenix Primary School. Walk for Health – 100 pupils from Sacred Heart School attended. Bird Feeder Workshop with Surestart. 2500 newsletters were delivered. Regular patrols and void property checking was carried out.

Probation Service – Cutting back overhanging trees and shrubs from pathways in Newsham Park, cutting back ivy and bushes from walls in alleyways allowing clear access and refuse collection at 12 sites.

Kensington Clean Team/Morrisons Plc – Identification of white goods and gas bottles in alleyways, removal of remnants from abandoned cannabis factory, washing of pavements – removal of dog fouling, removal of large chest freezer full of rubbish, enhanced sweeping of area.


Healthier Communities & Older People

We had a good inter-generational event offering activities such as football, badminton, Wii Fit, salsa and massage to those attending as well as agencies such as Addaction, Psst and Fagends and Citysafe on hand to offer advice and support.

11 people accessed the Beat The Goalie competition, 10 people accessed the badminton and 12 people accessed the salsa and Wii Fit. All of these events were held at St Francis of Assisi School. Other organisations involved were SFA, Sports Alliance, PCT, Age Concern and Healing Space.

Children & Young People

Children & Young People – Tracey Ramsey from the Youth Service was great in co-ordinating the activities held for children and young people. For instance, a media workshop, climbing wall, beat the goalie, circus skills and market place were all well attended.

71 hours of activities were held in that week over 3 youth clubs in the area. Some extra sessions were funded for vulnerable groups. School sessions went well, Merseyside Fire & Rescue attended as well as Fag Ends and other agencies. Worked with 200 young people during the week. Children were taken out to parks for walks etc. Tracy raised the need to work with older children too i.e. 10 and above. Youth clubs need new children joining and more children need to know about the facilities and events available to them.

Children attended school assembly workshops with Merseyside Police and Fire and Merseytravel with regards to good behaviour. These projects will continue as a direct result of Respect Week. We paid for them out of our Working Neighbourhood Fund.

Positive feedback was received about the cooking sessions. The specialist make up workshop went well and we were able to hold some extra sessions due to extra funding. Question Time event at the town hall was very well attended with 120 young people from across the city taking park. The young people were found to be open to conversation, engaging and willing to take part and to think about the topics raised. Some young people felt that respect was very important, but they felt that it had to be shown to them first before they would show respect back. Louise particularly enjoyed this event which she took part in this year.

The Market Place involved 200 people, this involved presenting stalls i.e. Addaction, Connexions, Merseyside Fire and Rescue, FAG Ends and V Liverpool.

Economy & Enterprise

Lynn Debbazzi who is taking the lead on this, confirmed that 735 leaflets were distributed and that it was the best ever attendance for a job fair. 170 residents, 10 employers attended and bowls of scouse went down very well indeed.

As a result of this, Sony have said that they will do a ‘skills passport’ for local applicants and they will attend three times a year to similar events.

40 applications were received for vacancies at Matalan and 35 people came in to complete the career pathfinder. As a result of Respect Week, Job Café’s will now be held on a fortnightly basis within the local community. Venture Housing was an ideal location. Initial dates will be 13 Nov, 27 Nov, 11 Dec, 8 Jan, 22 Jan

Number of referrals to JET 69
Number of leaflets delivered 5,000
Number of Employers attending 10
Number of agencies attending 7

50 clients attending pre-screening events and interviews for:
Carlisle Security
Renown Rail
Seascope
Taxi Drivers (self employment)
20 vacancies in total

35 residents interested in care vacancies awaiting outcomes from employers.

25 residents interested in a career at Sony

Sony have confirmed their support for RESPECT Weeks and have informed us they would attend up to 2 events a year and would donate goods for raffles etc. Sony are also considering a Skills passport to encourage more local people to apply for positions within their organisation.

15 residents were supported via career pathfinder identifying what job roles would be suitable

15 residents offered welfare benefits advice

10 residents had reflexology sessions

All in all Respect Week has been a tremendous success and we have written to everyone who worked so hard to make this week a success, thanks again!