Partner organisations join together to deliver community action week in Stoke-on-Trent

Officers from Stoke-on-Trent Neighbourhood Policing Teams joined forces with Stoke-on-Trent City Council and other partner organisations to deliver a community action week across the city.

The project ran for five days from Monday (21 March) and promoted crime prevention, health and well-being, public safety and environmental awareness in the area.

There were plenty of opportunities for local residents to meet officers and discuss any concerns they had about their community or ask for advice. A police carrier was used as a ‘mobile police station’ and based at Market Square in Buslem, Tower Square in Tunstall, the Portland Street estate, and outside of the Potteries Centre in Hanley, at various points throughout the week to give members of the public the opportunity to chat with officers.

Specialist teams were on hand to offer support and advice about drugs, alcohol, employment and housing. Officers also worked alongside the Rough Sleepers Team to ensure vulnerable people received help where needed.

In Burslem, representatives from Stoke-on-Trent City Council visited areas including Hamil Road, Louise Street, Dartmouth Street and Leonard Street to tackle fly tipping. They removed household items including a mattress, sofa and bath, which had been dumped in alleyways alongside discarded general waste. Three fixed penalty notices were issued to householders for failing to transfer household waste to an authorised person.

Civil Enforcement Officers visited over 160 streets in the town and issued 26 penalties for dangerous and illegal parking. They visited a local school and gave advice around stopping on yellow zigzags lines, with one driver receiving a penalty notice. The CCTV camera car also patrolled the red routes along Waterloo Road.

In Hanley, Environmental Crime Teams visited Portland Street and surrounding areas. They issued three fixed penalty notices for waste offences and six properties were issued with waste clearance notices.

Further visits were made to local residents and business who have recently experienced issues with anti-social behaviour and nuisance noise. They were offered advice and support and given updates on the action being progressed by officers.

On Friday (25 March) officers took part in an engagement event in Longton, answering questions and concerns from the local community followed by high-visibility patrols. 

A number of enforcement operations also took place across the week, with an increased police presence tackling issues such as anti-social behaviour, drug crime, theft, burglary, driving and vehicle offences.

In addition, police executed four warrants at addresses on Federation Road, Burslem, St Michaels Road, Pitts Hill, Denbeigh Street and Century Street, Hanley. Officers seized suspected drugs, made one arrest and interviewed two individuals, with enquiries on-going at this time.

Neighbourhood Inspector Hayley Eaton said: “We’ve had a successful and busy week working with partners to solve the issues that really matter to local communities.

“We have listened to recent reports and concerns and agreed on co-ordinated activity that the police, local authority and our wider partners can take to help improve things for everyone.

“There have been some really positive results and it’s been a great opportunity for us to focus our efforts on each area across the city with lots of community engagement. However, this action is not a one off and the hard work continues beyond this week for us.

“We are committed to addressing residents’ concerns and ensuring that Stoke-on-Trent is a safe and pleasant place for people to live, work and visit.”

Stoke-on-Trent City Council leader Abi Brown said: “We have been out right across Stoke-on-Trent, carrying out the latest in a series of weeks of action. We have been out with the police and partners, and speaking to businesses and residents and had a whole variety of teams taking part in a wide variety of actions to build up community confidence and ensure that everybody feels safe in our city.”

To round off the week of activity, an online community engagement event is taking place tonight (30 March).

Questions can be submitted in advance via Stoke Chat (sli.do) with officers and partners responding to queries in real-time from 6pm.