Police and council chiefs are urging West Norfolk's residrents to work with them to reduce crime and improve safety across the borough.

People can help influence where local resources are directed by having their say at  one of the regular Safer Neighbourhood Action Panels (SNAPS) held across the district.

The community meetings, held bi-monthly in each of the nine policing neighbourhoods, give people a voice in setting local priorities.

Issues raised by the community in the local area are discussed by the panel - made up of representatives from all the local agencies that can help - before a decision is made on which issues need to be addressed as a priority.

Communities with priority issues will see a concerted multi-agency effort to help alleviate the problem.

 

SNAP information

• SNAP panels will always be chaired by a local councillor and will be made up of repesentatives from the police (usually the local Sgt or Inspector), the Borough Council (Environmental Health), West Norfolk Partnership, and may also include other agencies dedicated to that neighbourhood, including houseing, education and health.
• People who can not attend but have an issue to raise can contact their Safer Neighbourhood Team, housing or neighbourhood manager, or the borough council, to record their concern and raise it on their behalf  at the next SNAP.
• At each meeting, the panel reports back on the work that has been carried out to resolve previous issues, as well as discussing and making decisions on the next set of priorities.

Cllr Nick Daubney, Chair of the West Norfolk Partnership and Leader of the Borough Council of King's Lynn & West Norfolk, said "Now, more than ever, people need to know that public services are working together to make a difference in the local community. Getting in touch with us needs to be easy and people don't want to be passed from pillar to post.

"SNAPs provide a great forum for people to talk to us about the real issues that are affecting their lives and to work with us to identify and prioritise solutions. They also make all the service providers involved even more visible and accountable."

West Norfolk's police chief Supt Davison said: “If you have a concern I encourage you to come along to your local SNAP meeting and tell us about your experiences and the problem you face.

” If it is an issue that is clearly affecting the community then it is likely to be adopted as a priority for the police, council and partner agencies to work on, but even if it’s not, we can look at other ways to help.”

The meetings have been facilitated by the West Norfolk Partnership, a group of agencies and voluntary organisations that work together to deliver improvements to key aspects our community life in West Norfolk including housing, skills, the economy, younger and older citizens as well as our diverse communities.

Local services working together

Police and council already combine resources to address common issues around crime reduction and community safety.

Closed multi-agency meetings are held regularly to identify individuals, families and areas linked to persistent anti-social behaviour.

Using combined powers, the group can take enforcement action to curb anti-social behaviour from simple engagement at one end of the scale to gathering evidence and applying for Anti-Social Behaviour Orders, Dispersal Orders and eviction.

Further information about local priorities in your neighbourhood and the work being carried out to address this can be found on the adjacent Safer Neighbourhood links.