Stoke Community Focus Week
Staying safe on our roads, reducing anti-social behaviour and improving community spirit are all coming under the spotlight for Stoke’s Community Focus Week.
Councillor Chris Penberthy, Cabinet member for Co-operatives and Community Development said: “This week of activities starting on 18 November will focus on a number of issues in the neighbourhood and will bring together the community and various agencies so we can tackle them together.”
The Community Focus Week is being organised by the Community Safety Partnership.
On Tuesday 19 November, to mark road safety week, Devon and Somerset Fire Service will stage a mock accident rescue at City College Plymouth. The demonstration shows how fire crews free someone who is trapped after a road traffic collision. This may involve using specialist cutting equipment to remove the roof or other parts of the vehicle. It is designed to illustrate how serious the consequences can be of a road traffic collision and the professionalism of the emergency services when dealing with incidents.
Community Safety Manager Ros Clarke, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, said: “In the UK at the moment, one in eight licence holders are aged 25 or under, yet one in three drivers who die on the roads is under 25. It’s statistics like this that we are working hard to reduce through working with young people and projects such as The Honest Truth and Learn 2 Live.”
The police, Trading Standards and the Plymouth Domestic Abuse Advice Service will also be at the event offering advice and information.
Claire Roberts, Student Services and Tutorial Manager at City College Plymouth said: “The College is proud to be working with the local authority and Devon and Somerset Fire Service to help raise awareness to our students the importance of road safety.
“This continued close working supports the College’s focus on the Every Student Matters Agenda ‘Staying Safe’ and also teaches our students to be more aware of how their actions can impact others.”
Police officers will be attending coffee mornings to meet with residents and the Community Bus will be in Stoke village on Thursday 21 November from 3pm to 7pm offering advice and information about safety and crime reduction.
PC Shelley Charlton said: “The week will focus on issues affecting the Stoke area of Plymouth, such as burglary, vehicle crime and shoplifting and from a police perspective we’ll be talking to local people and carrying out activities that target these issues, such as crime prevention advice, property marking and working with retailers, through Plymouth Against Retail Crime (PARC). We’d encourage any local residents or business owners in the area during the week to come and talk to us while we’re out and about.”
