http://www.empowering-communities.org/forum/blog.php This is a discussion forum. en Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:19:38 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.empowering-communities.org/forum/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.empowering-communities.org/forum/blog.php http://www.empowering-communities.org/forum/blog.php?b=46 Wed, 16 Dec 2009 21:14:23 GMT Today we sent to all our partners and supporters some information explaining how we will be forming the first national crime reduction partnership... Today we sent to all our partners and supporters some information explaining how we will be forming the first national crime reduction partnership for the UK. The Empowering-Communities National SIRCS Business Crime Reduction Partnership will be made available to its membership free of charge to encourage and maximise participation and thereby guarantee its effectiveness. To ensure compliance with the Data Protection Act membership and enhanced access to participating systems will be restricted to SIRCS administrators, UK police officers, SOCA, ATCM and BCI members.

This will be an invaluable tool for business crime reduction partnerships and the police. For example a police officer whose local Pubwatch uses a SIRCS system will be able to log in and select to view information and images from the gaming industries national SIRCS database. This will help reduce the organised, cross border crime that the gaming/pub industry suffers. Alternatively if that officers scheme doesn't use a SIRCS system they can register for free membership to the National Partnership in order to access information and images held on other SIRCS partnerships systems. Obviously the same processes can be applied to other business crime such as the retail sector.

Offering free membership to over 500 town and city centre managers across the UK will mean that those areas not using SIRCS can still benefit through their local ATCM representative. Once launched we anticipate that this will be the largest business crime reduction partnership in Britain both in terms of geographical area and membership numbers. I have no doubt from my experience of administering a national partnership for over 9 years that this scheme will be a very effective in tackling, preventing and reducing cross border crime.

Empowering-Communities will act as the partnership administrators and will issue regular National Community Intelligence Bulletins.

More information on the Empowering-Communities National SIRCS Business Crime Reduction Partnership will be made available in coming months. ]]> Heather http://www.empowering-communities.org/forum/blog.php?b=46 http://www.empowering-communities.org/forum/blog.php?b=45 Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:10:16 GMT Great news following a meeting in Essex today. We're delighted that Pitsea and Basildon have decided to become the latest regions to adopt the SIRCS scheme to tackle crime reduction in their town centres and shopping areas. Empowering-Communities will be carrying out the administration of the scheme and more discussions are due to take place shortly to hopefully strengthen the relationship with the county of Essex further. ]]> Heather http://www.empowering-communities.org/forum/blog.php?b=45 http://www.empowering-communities.org/forum/blog.php?b=44 Mon, 30 Nov 2009 21:41:06 GMT We are delighted to announce that on Thursday 26th November the Domestic and Sexual Abuse Reduction Partnership won a 'Community Impact Award' and this has now turned into an international project. Another EU country is going to mirror the programme enabling us to network support groups and service providers between the two countries.

The official launch of the partnership takes place tomorrow and further information will be given shortly. ]]> Heather http://www.empowering-communities.org/forum/blog.php?b=44 http://www.empowering-communities.org/forum/blog.php?b=43 Mon, 30 Nov 2009 21:38:41 GMT Gary will be hosting a series of NightSafe review meetings across the county between now and early in the New Year to go through some of the... Gary will be hosting a series of NightSafe review meetings across the county between now and early in the New Year to go through some of the operational procedures for Nightsafe-SIRCS and to get feedback from SIRCS users on the scheme. All licensees, door supervisors and police officers from Norwich are welcome to attend.

There will be a review meeting held with the police on 10th December regarding Norfolk Nightsafe. If you have any feedback about the scheme for the police or items you would like on the agenda please email info@empowering-communities.org


For Great Yarmouth SIRCS members there is going to be a meeting about 'Purple Flag' at 10.30am on Wednesday 9th December 2009. The meeting will be held at the Arena, Marine Parade and one of the items to be discussed is the setting up of a 'Purple Flag Licensees Steering Group'. For more information or to request attendance please email info@empowering-communities.org or contact Dave Gladden at Norfolk Police: gladden@norfolk.pnn.police.uk ]]> Heather http://www.empowering-communities.org/forum/blog.php?b=43 http://www.empowering-communities.org/forum/blog.php?b=42 Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:23:03 GMT We are pleased to report that the launch of the Count Me Out Gambling Self Exclusion Scheme's extension to include Under 18s went very well. The overall feedback from FEC operators was very positive and we are extremely pleased they are supporting their local community by providing this service to teenagers in their area.

The other good news is that both the Yarmouth Conservative candidate, Brandon Lewis and Labour MP Tony Wright are very supportive of the Count Me Out Self Exclusion scheme. Gary has had meetings with both and they agree that a centrally administered scheme is better for everyone. To that end Tony Wright is going to be making some representations to BACTA who he has supported strongly in the past and Brandon Lewis has sent a presentation on the Count Me Out scheme to the Shadow Team for DCMS who have expressed interested.





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Empowering-Communities are involved in several projects and we have some 'Community Champion' volunteers who are going to help us try and get more operators involved. The only real argument we now hear from the smaller operators is that they would be part of the scheme if everyone in their local area was. I will keep you updated if I hear anything from the Labour or Conservative parties. ]]> Heather http://www.empowering-communities.org/forum/blog.php?b=42 http://www.empowering-communities.org/forum/blog.php?b=41 Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:42:49 GMT Another great opportunity has come our way in the form of an invitation to attend the Joint Licensing Forum meeting in January to give a presentation... Another great opportunity has come our way in the form of an invitation to attend the Joint Licensing Forum meeting in January to give a presentation on SIRCS.

The presentation will be to Police Licensing Officers and officers from the local authorities in Essex and will give Empowering-Communities an ideal platform to showcase some of the models used to fund schemes in other areas and demonstrate how SIRCS can effectively be used as a National Crime Database.

We will also explain how our Admin Support Service can benefit users. We currently administer the national scheme for the UK's gaming industry, a county wide Pubwatch scheme in Norfolk and the Colchester business crime partnership. Over the next 2 weeks we will also take over the administration of the Lowestoft, Norwich and Bowthorpe-SIRCS crime reduction partnerships. ]]> Heather http://www.empowering-communities.org/forum/blog.php?b=41 http://www.empowering-communities.org/forum/blog.php?b=40 Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:31:23 GMT 2009 is the 10th anniversary year of the launch of the Great Yarmouth Seafront Partnership which was started by our founder, Gary Pettengell in April... 2009 is the 10th anniversary year of the launch of the Great Yarmouth Seafront Partnership which was started by our founder, Gary Pettengell in April 1999. It has gone onto become the most successful national crime reduction partnership in the UK and will now be the model for the National SIRCS Retail scheme which Empowering-Communities is now putting in place.

We are looking to mark this event by holding a presentation in Great Yarmouth on Wednesday 9th December with the original members and the press in attendance to talk about how it started and where it has gone. There really are some amazing facts and figures associated with this project.

More details about location and times will be given shortly. ]]> Heather http://www.empowering-communities.org/forum/blog.php?b=40 http://www.empowering-communities.org/forum/blog.php?b=39 Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:24:23 GMT We were delighted to receive an email from Gamcare last week in support of our extension of the Count Me Out Gambling Self Exclusion Program to... We were delighted to receive an email from Gamcare last week in support of our extension of the Count Me Out Gambling Self Exclusion Program to include Under 18s. Eileen Kinghan, GamCare's Marketing Director wrote "Our latest Care Services Report shows that under 18s calling our helplines gambled in betting shops, pubs and clubs and amusement arcades. I would also add that recent research which we and the Money Advice Trust commissioned from Manchester Metropolitan showed that young people were particularly reluctant to seek help so anything that can encourage them to take appropriate action would be a step in the right direction, in my view." ]]> Heather http://www.empowering-communities.org/forum/blog.php?b=39 http://www.empowering-communities.org/forum/blog.php?b=38 Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:52:54 GMT The Business Crime Initiative is well underway and we've had some great responses following our Training Days and Workshop roadshows held over the past three weeks in Yorkshire, Bath, St Neots and at the ATCM's HQ in London.

The workshops were most beneficial, giving us the opportunity to get feedback from retail groups and individuals involved in town centre partnerships and also from crime and disorder reduction partnerships who can also be accredited by the scheme. The benefits of the accreditation can be summarised thus:

- Status that will be recognised by the nationals
- Raising standards overall, so that those you liaise with will share your values
- Strengthen funding applications
- Allow data sharing with confidence
- Provide "benchmarking"

In discussion afterwards Empowering-Communities Gary Pettengell and Martin Blackwell of the ATCM agreed that the BCI would offer additional benefits to "Gold" members. In particular for a Gold Members symposium to be held and for Gold Members to be invited to help undertake Assessments and serve on the steering group (to be formed in the New Year).

Also discussed was the issue of re-accreditation and the BCI's thinking now is to re-accredit "light touch" in year 2. This will largely include revisions and additions within the past year, with a full accreditation in year 3. The BCI pledge that the accreditations in year 1 & 2 will be included in the BCI membership fee as standard.

If you would like to undertake the accreditation please visit this link to find out more about the full benefits of membership http://www.atcm.org/business-crime-initiative/index.php ]]> Heather http://www.empowering-communities.org/forum/blog.php?b=38 http://www.empowering-communities.org/forum/blog.php?b=37 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:57:51 GMT Following the creation of the Domestic and Sexual Abuse Survivors Programme we are proud to announce that the Empowering-Communities Domestic and... Following the creation of the Domestic and Sexual Abuse Survivors Programme we are proud to announce that the Empowering-Communities Domestic and Sexual Abuse Reduction Partnership will be launched in Great Yarmouth on Tuesday 1st December.

Our founder, Gary Pettengell said "During some work I was doing in relation to a project called 'Brighter Lives in Norfolk' it became apparent that we needed to find an innovative and sustainable way to provide long term delivery of programmes to the survivors of domestic and sexual abuse. We will be creating a crime reduction partnership with the aim of breaking the cycle of abuse because in 90% of domestics children are present and the World Health Organisation recognise that if children are exposed to violence, or the threat of violence, between parents they are more likely to develop harmful drinking patterns later in life. This is why we need to try and address repeat victimisation now and for future generations. I am hopeful that the crime reduction partnership approach will enable us to run a long term project, that short term funding doesn't allow to happen."

Gary has been in discussions with leading support groups and a number of local MPs who has informed the Home Secretary of our mission together with an invitation to attend the launch.

Empowering-Communities will be funding two pilot Domestic Abuse Survivors Programmes in early 2010. The first will be in Great Yarmouth starting on 7th January and the second programme will be in Norwich starting on 26th February.

One aspect of the partnership will be to deliver the 6 week Domestic Abuse Survivors Programme and then create a support group made up of the attendees of that course. We will then provide them with a half day personal safety programme to reinforce the message that the earlier they take action when they sense danger the more options they have to get out of that potentially violent situation. We would then work to develop our network of support groups as the partnership grows. ]]> Heather http://www.empowering-communities.org/forum/blog.php?b=37 http://www.empowering-communities.org/forum/blog.php?b=36 Mon, 05 Oct 2009 19:43:16 GMT Following many months of planning, Empowering-Communities will soon be delivering a series of training days focusing on the issues of domestic and... Following many months of planning, Empowering-Communities will soon be delivering a series of training days focusing on the issues of domestic and sexual abuse. The Empowering-Communities Domestic and Sexual Abuse Survivors Programme will begin with a pilot scheme, the first to be held at the Surestart Centre in Great Yarmouth in January. The pilot will consist of 6 x 2 hour weekly sessions and will be followed up by a second course to be held in Norwich's Surestart Centre in February.

The Survivors programme will benefit course members in so many ways, not least by helping them identify domestic abuse, providing knowledge of how to stay safer within an abusive relationship and how to leave an abusive relationship as safely as possible giving advice of who to access for help and support in doing so.

We are delighted to be working with a team of very experienced professionals who have the necessary knowledge and understanding to ensure the programme is delivered in a sensitive and mature way that will really impact on peoples lives in a positive way.

The programme will give attendees the opportunity to meet with others and share experiences to move their lives forward and to develop new supportive social structures that enable them to have a more fulfilling and rewarding life. ]]> Heather http://www.empowering-communities.org/forum/blog.php?b=36 http://www.empowering-communities.org/forum/blog.php?b=35 Sun, 04 Oct 2009 21:29:54 GMT Following some very positive feedback and suggestions from Gamcare and Gambling Therapy we will be changing the under 18 gambling self exclusion... Following some very positive feedback and suggestions from Gamcare and Gambling Therapy we will be changing the under 18 gambling self exclusion consent form so that an appropriate adult can sign the form. We have defined an appropriate adult as;

An appropriate adult is a responsible person who is over 18 years of age.

There are several reasons for this including situations where a young person may have left home and have no positive relationship with their parents or where a young person is gambling due to abuse within the home.

Gary has also had some conversations with agencies involved with young persons and they have confirmed that they would use the under 18 gambling exclusion option instead of taking an ASBO route which is fantastic news.

We have also had confirmation that the launch of the Count Me Out under 18 gambling self exclusion scheme can be included in the Brighter Lives in Norfolk project that goes live during the first week in November.

Please keep your comments and feedback coming. For more information about Count Me Out Gambling Self Exclusion please click here: http://www.countmeout.org.uk/gambling/index.php ]]> Heather http://www.empowering-communities.org/forum/blog.php?b=35 http://www.empowering-communities.org/forum/blog.php?b=34 Sun, 04 Oct 2009 21:11:55 GMT There's been much progress made over the past week on a number of fronts. Firstly Empowering-Communities has been invited to speak at a meeting for the members of Thetford Shop Watch by the Community Safety Officer at Breckland Council and Inspector Adam Hayes, Thetford SNT, Norfolk Constabulary.

The meeting has been called to help the Shop Watch members reduce their risks and help business sustainability and we have been asked to explain how SIRCS can support retailers using its photograph data base management system to quickly share information about individuals causing problems / those that have been banned from premises.

On a separate note we were delighted to launch the COLBAC SIRCS scheme which went live on 1st October. The scheme is a collaboration between Essex Police and Colchester Business Against Crime Partnership to run a SIRCS retail scheme in the town's centre.

We have had seen a fantastic response from business crime partnerships since the launch of our BCI accreditation initiative which we are delivering together with the ATCM. Over the past week we have had unprecedented levels of enquiries regarding how the SIRCS scheme can help tackle the problem of retail crime and I will update you with some of the new initiatives we are in the process of signing up over the next couple of weeks. ]]> Heather http://www.empowering-communities.org/forum/blog.php?b=34 http://www.empowering-communities.org/forum/blog.php?b=33 Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:22:22 GMT Press release distributed by ATCM, Tues 8 September 2009 Cutting business losses from crime will help more of them to survive in our High Streets... Press release distributed by ATCM, Tues 8 September 2009

Cutting business losses from crime will help more of them to survive in our High Streets and town centres says the Association of Town Centre Management (ATCM). It today launches a new national initiative in partnership with Empowering Communities to support local business crime reduction partnerships.
Business Crime Initiative (BCI) will share information and experiences across the UK and set standards recognised through accreditation that will ensure local partnerships adopt the best approach. This new network will allow the collective voice of these initiatives to be heard.
BCI will initially be targeted at supporting the more than 420 local town centre partnerships that are already part of the ATCM network. “Around half of these have already established business crime reduction partnerships and we want to provide support to them in ensuring compliance with protocols and
legislation, whilst also helping the others to develop effective initiatives,” says Martin Blackwell, Development Director of ATCM.
It is estimated that more than 20% of all crime is targeted at businesses. “Many businesses are facing a tough time and losses from crime can have a notably adverse impact on their operating margins,” says Simon Quin, Chief Executive of ATCM. “Business survival and growth in town centres is crucial to both
their vitality and viability and therefore we see this new initiative as something ATCM should be driving forward. We recognise we cannot do this on our own however, which is why we are working with Empowering Communities who bring technical expertise and knowledge.”
BCI will provide advice and support for local partnerships, independent assessment and accreditation, networking and formal qualifications for those working in the area.
“The new BCI accreditation scheme will help build mature, robust and sustainable partnerships with the aim of maximising active participation by local businesses, the police and town centre partnerships to address a key community problem,” says Gary Pettengell, founder of Empowering Communities.
Local business crime reduction partnerships can apply to participate in BCI from today and details can be found at www.bciuk.org. ]]> Heather http://www.empowering-communities.org/forum/blog.php?b=33 http://www.empowering-communities.org/forum/blog.php?b=32 Mon, 14 Sep 2009 19:46:05 GMT It's likely to cause some controversy but we've decided to extend our Count Me Out Gambling Self Exclusion scheme to include Under 18s with gambling problems.

Having worked with gaming operators for many years now and having much contact with players we at Empowering-Communities know that for most people gambling is no more than an enjoyable passtime, however, for some it is an activity that can get badly out of control.

Many problem gamblers start gambling in their teens and go on to develop serious gambling addictions so our view is that giving youngsters the tools to help themselves would be of great support if they feel they have a habit which is getting out of hand. According to the Salvation Army, the proportion of problem gamblers amongst adolescents in the UK could be more than three times that of adults, at 1.7% for 16-24 year-olds against 0.5% for adults 25 and over. The UK is the only western country which still allows children, of any age, to gamble.

With drug and alcohol addiction, the physical signs are often clearly evident. These symptoms don't occur with gambling making it very difficult for parents and other adults to detect a problem enabling young people to get further and further into trouble. Currently if teenage problem gamblers are troublesome then the police have the ability to issue Anti-Social Behaviour Contracts or the threat of an ASBO. Unfortunately neither tend to deal with the root cause.

The Count Me Out Gambling Self Exclusion scheme is the only national self-exclusion scheme in the UK. It provides problem gamblers with the opportunity to self-exclude from more than one gaming operator's premises at the same time and without the need to enter a gambling venue to do so. People wishing to self exclude enter into an agreement for a 6 month period and are challenged by gaming operators if an agreement is breached. Any person under the age of 18 will need parental consent in order to enter into the agreement.

We hope through extending our scheme in this way we are able to help youngsters with a gambling problem or addiction and provide an effective option to their parents who wish to support them. ]]> Heather http://www.empowering-communities.org/forum/blog.php?b=32