Officers and partners continuing Making Great Places initiative following week of action

Enforcement is continuing against criminals and those blighting communities in Stoke-on-Trent following a Making Great Places week of action.

From Monday (8 July) to Friday (12 July), we teamed up with the Stoke-on-Trent City Council, the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), Partnership Against Business Crime in Staffordshire (PABCIS), Brighter Futures and more specialist organisations across a series of locations in the city.

By the end of the week, two people were arrested on suspicion of public order offences, five vehicles were seized, 14 parking enforcement notices were issued, three fly-tipping sites were cleared, eight letters were served to properties in poor condition, 24 derelict properties were checked over and 12 new businesses signed up to the crime support scheme.

Support was also provided in the week of action to members of the rough sleepers community and those suffering with addiction across Hanley, Stoke, Bentilee, Norton and Tunstall.

Making Great Places, the initiative that underpins the commitment across local partners, was launched back in February. We’ve been talking to people who live and work in the city about their main priorities and have been acting robustly on these concerns as part of our vision in making Stoke-on-Trent a cleaner, safer, healthier and wealthier place for everyone.

More than 500 engagements took part in the first step of this approach in Fenton, culminating in the arrest of 40 suspects, nine search warrants being carried out, seven vehicles seized and 26 tickets issued for driving offences.

Since then, partners have been continuing to develop relationships with local communities as part of efforts to build on these successes and stop criminals from setting up their operations again in the city. 

Chief Superintendent Elliott Sharrard-Williams, who commands policing in Stoke-on-Trent, said: “Partners working in collaboration to tackle key community priorities in hotspot areas can only be a good thing for those living and working across the city each and every day.

“It’s vital that we continue to drive engagement with local people so we can gather all of the available intelligence, address concerns robustly, and continue taking decisive action against those causing harm.

“We know this is a gradual process that is going to require far-reaching enforcement and engagement as a collective, but we’re pleased to see so many partners pulling in the right direction to benefit the communities we proudly serve on a daily basis.”

Councillor Majid Khan, cabinet member for community safety and resilience, said: “We have really strong relationships with our partners and support organisations across the city which helps to make these regular events such a success. Over the course of the week numerous issues were identified and work has been done or is now underway to resolve them.

“We are committed to acting on community concerns, tackling the issues which matter most to residents and businesses and continuing to carry out local initiatives collectively with our partners.”