Welcome from the team 

Elderly and vulnerable victims of fraud and rogue trading

Friends Against Scams

An East Sussex Against Scams Partnership has been launched to help raise awareness about the impact of scams upon residents.  Remember, scams are fraud and fraud is a crime!

The Partnership aims to help make East Sussex a scam-free county through encouraging businesses, organisations, clubs, societies, voluntary groups etc. to sign up to a Charter and pledge to do at least one thing to help people learn about scams and how to protect themselves.  This could be, for example, to direct your staff, clients, members, friends and neighbours towards the short 20 minute online Friends Against Scams awareness session (click here). 

When signing up to the Charter, further suggestions can be provided on other types of initiatives you could consider doing.  Please visit the website to find out more information and find out who has signed up to the Charter so far.  Remember, we want to raise the level of awareness around the county, we want organisations of any size to sign up! 

We would be particularly interested in hearing from organisations working directly with people in vulnerable circumstances, or those who can reach our more socially isolated residents who are at great risk of being targeted by criminals in their own homes.  Together we can make a difference and deter criminals from targeting people in our county.

Offending

The Policing and Crime Act 2017

The Policing and Crime Act received Royal Assent on the 31st January 2017.  The Act further reforms policing and enables important changes to the governance of fire and rescue services. 

Under the act there are changes to bail arrangements; The Act aims to reform pre-charge bail to stop people remaining on bail for lengthy periods without independent judicial scrutiny of its continued necessity. To strengthen the position of the suspect under investigation, the Act raises the presumption that suspects will be released without bail unless it is necessary and proportionate, authorised by an Inspector or above, and pre-charge bail is limited to up to 28 days, or extendable up to three months where authorised by a Superintendent, or more than three months with Judicial authorisation.  For further information relating to changes to bail refer to chapter 1 of part 4 of the Act. The Act can be reviewed in full at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/policing-and-crime-bill
 
The College of Policing has published briefing materials to support forces in England and Wales preparing for significant changes to the law around pre-charge bail. To access the e-learning and amended FAQs you can log on to the Managed Learning Environment (MLE) here

The penalties for using your mobile phone while driving have increased

From March 1, you will now receive a £200 fine and six penalty points on your licence if you use your mobile phone while driving. These changes, which are double the original consequences of £100 and three points, are the result of a government consultation with the public, so they reflect not only how socially unacceptable the Department for Transport want to make the practice, but also how intolerant the majority of the public are of it.

The law states that the only time you can use a hand-held mobile phone while driving is when calling 999 in an emergency. Hands-free kits are allowed by law, but they could still be an in-car distraction. If an officer thinks you are not in proper control of the vehicle, this could also be an offence.
Sussex Safer Roads Partnership (SSRP) has been running a campaign since January entitled #ItCanWait, which stresses that nothing is as important as focussing on driving, and whatever your phone is doing, your main concern should be getting to your destination in one piece. 

With these changes in the penalties, the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) is leading a national week of enforcement specifically surrounding this topic. Surrey and Sussex Police forces are deploying officers for a highly-visible operation which will target motorists who do not see the risks of what they are doing, and who continue to put other road users in danger.

Last year, 22 collisions cited mobile phones as a causation factor. There were 1,058 tickets sent out for mobile phone offences, and Operation Crackdown, Sussex Police’s public report tool for anti-social driving, received 3,103 reports of motorists being on their mobiles.

The Safer Hastings Partnership (SHP) continues to develop a range of initiatives, and fosters good relations between the constituent partner agencies set up to tackle crime, disorder and fear.

As reported previously, the Safer Hastings Partnership & Safer Rother Partnership are trialling a merged strategic board to enable  a joint approach to a range of shared priorities. The Partnerships are learning from one another’s experiences and working together to examine how to address local shared community safety issues.

The ongoing street community issues and associated anti-social behaviour, that  is present in Hastings, is impacting on neighbouring towns and communities. A local meeting with the wide number of support agencies is planned in mid-March to  develop a consensus approach.

The long awaited proposed PSPO should be out for consultation in March. Check www.hastings.gov.uk for more information again in mid-March. The Local Alcohol Action Area, Phase 2, is  examining the impact of  alcohol across Hastings with ESCC’s Public Health Team and local police.  More details will be available in later bulletins.

If you wish to raise any local community safety issues please do not hesitate to contact the Safer Hastings Partnership on communitysafety@hastings.gov.uk or visit its website www.saferhastings.co.uk