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Safer Neighbourhoods is a truly local style of policing: local people working with local police and other partners to identify and tackle issues of concern in their neighbourhood.

Police Safer Neighbourhoods’ teams usually consist of a sergeant, constables and police community support officers (PCSOs). They are trained to communicate with a wide range of people, communities and partners, to tackle and solve community problems including quality-of-life issues, such as anti-social behaviour, criminal damage, abandoned cars and graffiti.

Safer Neighbourhoods teams are dedicated to the needs of each specific neighbourhood, with the policing priorities for that area decided in partnership with the local community. The teams are permanent and not a 'quick fix' brought in to respond to local changes in crime and disorder.

Examples of what we have achieved include...

The Safer Stables Initiative

Many horse riders in the south of the borough can now rest a little easier knowing that potential thieves of expensive saddles will think twice before stealing their equipment.

The Safer Bromley Partnership has sponsored an initiative by Darwin Safer Neighbourhood Team to mark leather items with a unique identifying code and owners will be given a certificate showing that the property belongs to them.

The Safer Neighbourhood Team worked with the community to bid for just under £5,000 of Partnership money to buy two ‘branding tools’ to mark the leather goods and their first outings were a resounding success with some 40 to 50 riders bringing their saddles and other riding tack to be marked.

Marked items become less attractive to thieves, are more difficult to sell and are easier to trace, which means that there is more likelihood of owners being reunited with their property if it goes astray.

Darwin ward experiences a disproportionate number of burglaries where the target is equipment associated with horses and livestock. Items such as saddles, other riding tack and animal transporters can be expensive with a high resale value.

Sergeant Katey Martin, Head of the Darwin Safer Neighbourhood Team, said: “Darwin is a very unique ward in the Metropolitan Police District and as such requires bespoke policing solutions to its problems. We have 52 stable blocks on the ward and needed an innovative solution to deal with the theft of saddles and other tack. In Surrey, where a similar scheme exists, they recovered a total of 48 out of 50 stolen saddles – the two that weren’t recovered were the only two that hadn’t been marked. So this initiative has a proven track record”.

Safer Bromley Partnership Chairman, Cllr Colin Bloom said at the official launch in Biggin Hill: “This is a fine example of how we address people’s real life local issues around crime. The theft of this kind of equipment is a serious problem for some areas of the borough, particularly Darwin ward. This initiative is a tribute to the way in which partners listen to their communities and work together and involve residents to solve problems that are important to local neighbourhoods.”

PCSO Michelle Perrin said: “Saddles and other tack are generally of a high value and we will now have a police database of marked tack, with the main advantage being that any police officer will be able to make an immediate check on any marked item of tack they come across to make sure that it isn’t stolen. If you are interested in having your saddles marked, or if your stable is on Darwin ward and you wish to register your stables, please contact us with your details on 020 8721 2603.”

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Last modified: 02/28/10