Crime reduction

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Door step safety DVD

This video has been produced by Wiltshire Council to help reduce the number of victims of rogue traders.

Rogue Traders are people who often cold call offering to do household maintenance such as gardening, roofing and drive ways. They charge vast amounts of money frequently for a poor job. Acquiring as much money as they can from vulnerable people is a rogue traders ‘profession’ and their ‘earnings’ can be vast.

We urge people to help the fight against doorstep crime, by simply following the advice in this DVD. We hope that it will make people feel more confident about how to deal with door step traders and know who they need to contact for help and advice.

If you would like a DVD to show to others in your community, please contact Trading Standards on 01225 713248.

View the full length video

• Transcript of the full doorstep safety video 30kb

View a summary of the video

• Transcript of the summary video 21kb

Latest Information

• How to avoid being a target for crime - going on holiday 1mb

Tackling Door Step Crime The fight to reduce doorstep crime is an on-going battle and relies on the help of people who work or volunteer in the community. Wiltshire’s Operation Liberal group brings these people together and as part of their on-going work to raise awareness have produced their first newsletter 519kb  focusing on rogue traders and distracters burglars.

What is Crime Reduction?

There are three main approaches to reducing crime:

Education – working with people and communities to change or stop behaviour which increases the risk of them being victims or perpetrators. Also known as Social Crime Prevention

Environment or Engineering – designing or changing the environment to make it harder to commit crime, or by increasing the risk of being caught. Also known as Situational Crime Prevention

Enforcement –targeting offenders by use of the law and other regulatory powers, by the police and a range of other agencies.

The Council has a statutory duty, along with other partners, to reduce crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour. All council services and departments must consider the potential impact on crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour when they deliver services and make decisions.

What does the council do towards crime reduction?

The Council has a significant role to play in reducing crime and anti-social behaviour, using all three crime reduction approaches, because so many of our services directly affect the safety and wellbeing of individuals, families and communities.

For example we work with and support individuals, families, and communities to change or stop behaviour which increases the risk of them being victims or perpetrators through Schools, Social Services, Services for Young People, Housing and Homelessness (advice and provision) Trading Standards, Road Safety, Sports, Leisure and Arts Development, to name but a few.

Our Environmental Services and Planning departments work towards making the built environment safer through design and careful management of our streets, towns and open spaces, Highways management and cleansing and waste management services.

A number of the council’s services can use enforcement powers to ensure that people comply with regulations which are designed to make communities safer. This includes Trading Standards, Licensing, Environmental Services, and Planning Services.

The council works closely with a wide range of partners including Wiltshire Police, Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service, Wiltshire Probation Service, NHS Wiltshire, and a wide range of voluntary organisations, both to plan joint approaches to crime reduction and also to carry out activities within the priority crime reduction themes:

• Alcohol and Drugs
• Violent Crime
• Domestic Abuse
• Road Safety and Fires
• Offending and Re-offending
• Anti-Social Behaviour

Last updated: 26 May 2011