Office of Northamptonshire
Police, Fire and Crime
Commissioner
Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold has been awarded almost £1.2 million from the Home Office after two successful bids to the Government’s Safer Streets Fund.
The Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner will contribute more funding, so that almost £1.7 million will be invested in projects to improve the safety of women at night in Northampton and Kettering and to prevent crime on the Queensway estate in Wellingborough.
Safer Streets Funding is awarded by the Home Office for projects that will successfully prevent incidents in proven high crime areas.
The funding will be used to continue to tackle violence against women and girls in Northampton and Kettering and to improve the safety of residents on the Queensway estate in Wellingborough.
The work to be carried out includes:
Night-time economy in Northampton and Kettering
On-going projects to train bar staff to call out harassment and to help licensed premises improve their security will continue. There will also be significant investment in ID scan technology, so that around 30 venues in Northampton and Kettering can share information about people who behave inappropriately.
Queensway, Wellingborough
Around 650 properties in Kiln Way and Minerva Way will have new, secure doors fitted in a partnership with Great well Homes, and alleys in Shelley Road will be gated. Security lighting will be fitted to some properties and there will be a significant roll out of security products to residents.
There will also be:
Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold said: “I’m thrilled that the bids we have put forward for additional funding to tackle crime in Northamptonshire have yet again been successful. This money will be used on practical measures to make people safer and will focus on the priorities that local people have told us they want to see dealt with.”
A new digital forensic vehicle known as a ‘digivan’ is being used by Northamptonshire Police, to help gather evidence and improve the policing experience for victims of rape and serious sexual assault. Officers and forensic investigators will no longer have to take away and retain a rape victim’s mobile phone for forensic analysis, which means the victim won’t lose this important lifeline after such a traumatic event.
The digivan is a fully mobile, unmarked digital forensic unit which provides officers and forensic staff with faster and easier access to tools and technology to allow them to examine digital devices at any location and to return them immediately after they have been processed.
Chief Constable Nick Adderley said: “I am really pleased that we have this state-of-the-art digivan. It will increase the speed with which we can gather and analyse evidence and provide a much better service for victims of rape and serious sexual assault.
“We can now travel to the victim and then do a rapid mobile examination on site, without having to take their phone away for analysis. This means minimal disruption to the victim and offers a much more sensitive approach.
“Being without your phone or digital device when you’re feeling vulnerable is hugely impactive. Not having your phone in normal circumstances can be difficult enough but at a time of trauma it’s even more distressing.”
The digivan was supplied to the Force as part of the Government’s £5M Transforming Forensics Programme, which is designed to improve how policing handles rape and serious sexual assault, and lead to improvements in victim experience, scene examination and productivity.
Stephen Mold, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner said: “I’ve been concerned about the timeliness of inspections of digital devices, especially where this relates to victims, so I’m really pleased that government funding is providing Northamptonshire Police with new forensic tool. This will be a fantastic asset for investigators and gives them a fantastic new capability.
“I want victims to get the best possible service, leading to the best possible outcome, and the digivan can only enhance the way the Force supports people when they are at their most vulnerable. I would like to see the digivan as part of an ongoing improvement of the digital investigation service, and part of a holistic package of measures that keep women safe and create a better experience and outcome for victims in Northamptonshire.”
Seventeen new bleed control cabinets containing lifesaving equipment are to be installed across the county by Off The Streets NN, with the support of funding from Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold.
These new kits and cabinets join more than 50 others already installed by campaigning organisation Off The Streets NN and are funded through a grant of £10,000 by the Commissioner.
The cabinets contain medical items that are used to stop catastrophic bleeding and keep someone alive until the emergency services arrive. The cabinets are being fixed outdoors in high profile locations including in Northampton’s Skate Park and the Racecourse, in Eastfield Park, Wellingborough, the Skate Parks in Crow Hill and Kettering and at Adrenaline Alley in Corby.
In addition, 30 bleed control kits – trauma packs that are like first aid kits but contain specialist items that are used to stop serious bleeding – will be put into shops and stores that will be identified by a window sticker.
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.
The bleed control cabinets allow someone to call 999 and be linked to an emergency operator, who will talk them through using the lifesaving kit.
The cabinets are accessible at all hours, and while the bags that are placed in shops are only available during opening times, Jane Capps of Off the Streets NN said: “Having a bleed bag on their premises lets a business show how seriously they take their duty of care to their staff and to the wider community. We hope they are never used but if I had my way, there would be a kit in every shop in the county.”
Off the Streets NN also arrange training sessions, to give people across the community the skills to help save a life and more than 200 people have been trained so far.
Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold said: “I am full of admiration for Off the Streets NN, and so proud to be able to support them.”
Off the Streets NN is always looking to partner with local councils and groups to find locations and funding for more kits. They can be contacted at ots@offthestreetsnn.com
Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold has awarded Northants Litter Wombles a grant of almost £2,700 – to fund additional litter picking equipment to help them clean up neighbourhoods across the county.
The funding has enabled the Wombles to purchase high visibility jackets to help keep volunteers safe, sturdy litter pickers to access hard to reach litter and bag hoops to ease collection.
Northants Litter Wombles was set up in January 2021 and now has more than 3,100 members who are dedicated to improving the environment, raising awareness about the impact littering has on communities and encouraging more people to help clean up the county, as well as delivering educational sessions in school assemblies.
Since its inception, the volunteers have collected more than 42,000 bags of litter from across Northamptonshire. On a typical two-hour litter pick, volunteers could collect around 30 bags of rubbish.
Commissioner Stephen Mold visited the Wombles during their latest litter pick in Northampton and said: “Litter blights our streets, our parks and our communities and has been linked to increased crime and anti-social behaviour.
“Discarded rubbish in our public spaces sends the message that people don’t care about their community and possibly don’t realise the impact it can have on people, wildlife and the environment. The Northants Litter Wombles provide an important service in the county and are working hard to improve our communities for all.”
Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service has been commended for the improvements that it has made in keeping the county safe, by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Services.
A full inspection of the service was carried out earlier this year. In their report, the Inspectors say that they are “pleased to see the service has made significant progress since the 2018 inspection in how effectively and efficiently it keeps people safe and secure from fires and other risks”.
The inspection looks in detail at work across three categories – effectiveness, efficiency, and people. The inspection found that there had been major improvements in the Service’s effectiveness at responding to and preventing fires and protecting the public through regulation.
The Service received a ‘Good’ grading across the board for its operational effectiveness.
Efficiency, making the best use of resources and having a robust plan to manage its finances well into the future, also received a ‘Good’ rating overall. Both had been graded as requires improvement in the previous
inspection in late 2018.
There is more work to do in the ‘People’ area, however, where the HMICFRS graded Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service as “requires improvement”. This area of work includes promoting the right values, ensuring fairness, and encouraging diversity.
Darren Dovey, Chief Fire Officer of Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “I am pleased that the fantastic efforts of our firefighters and staff have had an impact and resulted in such a significant improvement.
“Our performance has come a long way, but now I will be challenging everyone to put the same energy into improving the culture of our organisation to make Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service the most supportive place to work, where everyone can be themselves and give their best.”