Wokingham

One month into her new job, Helen Grimbleby, Wokingham District Council’s new community safety manager, is working hard to help to reduce the fear of crime in the district.

Helen, who took up her Wokingham post on February 14, will lead Wokingham council’s work on the Community Safety Partnership, which is made up of organisations who have a responsibility for crime prevention such as the council, Thames Valley Police, National Probation Service Thames Valley, Wokingham Primary Care Trust, Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service, Wokingham Youth Offending Team and Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Her first priority is to review the progress made against targets set in the community safety strategy (2005 – 2008) which aims to reduce crime, disorder and the fear of crime throughout the Wokingham district.

She will also be leading Wokingham council’s work for the Safer Community Campaign across the district, which specifically aims to reduce crime in the home and in business, vehicle crime, anti-social behaviour and disorder, and substance misuse. Helen and her team will continue to work with a number of other agencies on targeted actions for the campaign.

Helen said: “Levels of crime in the Wokingham district are low, the second lowest in the whole country, but we recognise that the fear of crime is too high and it is my job to help alleviate this fear. We are not complacent and know that we have to work with our partners to ensure that crime remains low.”

Before joining the district council, Helen was anti-social behaviour co-ordinator at the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council. She led on a ‘Borough Blitz’ campaign, which introduced environmentally friendly graffiti kits for community groups and held awareness-raising ‘litter weeks’. She also supported campaigns with ‘Crimestoppers’ to identify graffiti tags, which resulted in official police action against two perpetrators.

During her time at the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, she led the anti-social behaviour project, which saw a seven per cent reduction in anti-social behaviour incidents reported to the police along with a shift in perceptions of levels of anti-social behaviour. Helen is also a qualified solicitor.

Before Helen arrived, the Wokingham community safety team were already leading some dynamic new initiatives, including extended CCTV is some of the district’s car parks, support for the voluntary sector in tackling domestic violence and the highly successful community warden scheme. Their next venture is to encourage residents to reduce dog mess by distributing ‘bag it and bin it’ polythene bags to pet owners.

Enjoying her new role, Helen said: “It’s a challenge getting to grips with the workings of so many different organisations but it’s a challenge I will rise to. Many of the organisations have different ways of working and slightly different objectives but we have a common goal of reducing crime and the fear of crime within the Wokingham district. We know that the fear of crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour can seriously affect people’s quality of life even though their chances of being a victim are low. I love the variety and the interaction with people especially working to address the concerns of local residents.”

Cllr Barrie Patman, executive member for Wokingham community safety, said: “The Wokingham district remains one of the safest places in the country to live and work and we are committed to ensuring that it remains so. I am delighted to welcome Helen to the team and I am looking forward to seeing her strengthen and build on the already good working relationships within the Community Safety Partnership and driving forward our priorities to reduce crime and fear of crime.”

Wokingham District Council