Wiltshire Police is urging anyone who has concerns about the safety of public places in their area to report it via a dedicated service.
StreetSafe allows people to report any issues like poorly lit streets, abandoned buildings, or vandalism, as well as instances where they feel unsafe due to someone following or verbally abusing them.
This is completely anonymous and takes no more than a couple of minutes.
By completing the report police can target the main areas of concern and work with partners to make the county a safer place to live.
Click on the link to report: StreetSafe | Police.uk (www.police.uk).
StreetSafe is also one of the many initiatives being used to help the police prioritise our ongoing work to reduce Violence Against Women and Girls, reduce incidents of violence and intimidation and make people feel safe on our streets.
PC Lisa Draper, Neighbourhood Harm Reduction Unit, said: “We want everyone living and working in our county to feel safe. However, the police cannot do it alone – we need the public’s help in identifying where the areas of concern are so we, along with our partners, can do something about it.
“A dark alleyway due to a broken street light, a dilapidated building or overgrown shrubbery causing a blind spot on a pavement – these are all examples of things which can make people feel unsafe in their community. And these are all examples of things we want reporting.”
Safer Streets funding has already been used to improve CCTV and lighting in parts of Swindon, Chippenham and Salisbury and it’s also been used to provide night-time economy wardens in Salisbury and Trowbridge on Friday and Saturday evenings.
More funding
Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson said: “Since 2022, my office has successfully bid directly, or support bids for over £3.4M of Safer Streets funding to be invested in Wiltshire and Swindon.
“This has been used to tackle neighbourhood crime, such as burglary, robbery, theft and vehicle theft, as well as reducing violence against women and girls.
“In addition to this, my office also successfully bid for £1M of anti-social behaviour (ASB) hotspot funding to increase patrols in the areas worst hit by ASB.
“There may be areas where statistics will tell us they are safe, but there’s a world of difference between being safe and feeling safe.
“The data we obtain from Streetsafe will help us to target those areas where communities may feel vulnerable, by allowing them to tell us about the issues making them feel threatened.”