Reassuring presence this festive period in your community

Suffolk police will be making a concerted effort this festive period and into the new year to reassure the public with high-visibility patrols and strengthening their engagement with the public.

The activity, as part of the national ‘Winter of Action’ initiative, will see police responding and adapting to seasonal pressures in town centres. This includes busier retail activity, festive events, increased socialising, and heightened risks of shop theft, crime and disorder as part of the night-time economy and violence against women and girls.

Officers will be providing a visible, reassuring presence in town centre ‘hotspots’, with targeted deployments. They’ll also be supporting victims, deterring offenders and working with businesses and partners to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour.

This will mean the public will see police on highly visible patrols during peak times around retail areas, transport hubs and bars, pubs and clubs. Officers will be deployed to late night shopping venues, Christmas light switch-ons and using the local Project Vigilant initiative to identify and deter predatory behaviour in night-time economy locations.

Project Vigilant uses dedicated uniformed and plain clothed officers to carry out patrols in areas outside nightclubs, bars and pubs, to identify people who may be displaying signs of predatory behaviour, such as sexual harassment, inappropriate touching and loitering. 

The operations will be carried out on a frequent basis with the aim of proactively preventing violence and sexual offences against women and girls, whilst also ensuring anyone of any gender can enjoy their night out.

Officers will be engaging with shoppers in high ‘foot-fall’ locations, as well as speaking to people out socialising in clubs, bars and pubs. They’ll also be working with partner agencies on proactive operational activity to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour, offering both reassurance and a visible deterrent.

Chief Inspector Matt Breeze said: “We want people to enjoy the build up to Christmas and New Year in a safe environment and people should feel reassured we will have officers and staff on duty at those times and in those places where we anticipate our highest demand.

“We will also be working closely with our community safety partners, licensed premises and third sector volunteer agencies, such as the town pastors, who support us in the night-time economy.

“The key thing to remember is to enjoy yourself responsibly and respect others, as reckless behaviour, such as drinking too much, can have serious consequences - we will take appropriate action when we need to if you break the law or commit ASB.

“During peak demands, for example on Fridays and Saturdays, there will be an overlap of shifts to ensure we a have a strong presence in the night-time economy locations of clubs and bars, as well as ensuring our presence remains in the early hours to address the potential vulnerability of some individuals.

“We will also work with town centre shops to address shoplifting and assaults on shop staff at this busy time of year. High-visibility and covert patrols will be used in a bid to disrupt shoplifters, in particular targeting persistent offenders who choose not to change their criminal behaviour.

“It’s also important to remember that this policing activity in retail areas will continue after the Christmas shopping period and into the new year with the January sales likely to see more people visiting shops to look for bargains.

“We will also continue to use preventative powers to tackle theft such the powers given under the Anti-Social Behaviour Act to tackle persistent offenders, through the use of Community Protection Notices and Criminal Behaviour Orders. Our Design Out Crime Officers will also provide crime prevention advice to many of the shops and business networks regarding what they can do to reduce theft and burglary.”

Police and Crime Commissioner Tim Passmore said: "It is really important that everyone feels safe when enjoying a night out so I welcome the multi-agency Winter of Action campaign which focuses on the issues which undermine those feelings of safety.

“I fully support the Constabulary’s additional focus on tackling retail crime and persistent anti-social behaviour, and offending linked to the night-time economy and violence against women and girls.  

“We are determined to maintain Suffolk’s reputation as one of the safest counties in the country and I thank everyone who will be working over these busier, festive months to keep people safe.

"This Winter of Action sends a clear message that our town centres are safe and welcoming places. I want residents, visitors and businesses to feel confident that we are taking action to protect them, not just during the festive season but all year round."