Beacon Status - Community Safety

Tameside has become a beacon council for its work in cracking crime.

We competed against 88 applicants for the prestigious award under the heading of crime and disorder in town centres.

To win the award we had first to show that we are a well managed organisation which is modernising its services to improve performance generally.

Our effective approach to crime reduction has been based on partnerships with the Police and other agencies and has involved

• Over £1m to improve street lighting in urban areas, targeted specifically at those parts of the borough with high levels of street crime - to date over 1100 extra street lights have been installed
• A guaranteed £35,000 each year for the next three years, to assist the police in developing activities within the borough
• £41,000 for the Partnership to spend on implementing this strategy
• A team of 16 "Town Centre Wardens", supported by the police, patrolling town centres to deter crime and take action against litter louts, graffiti, vandalism and dog fouling
• New bylaws preventing drinking in the streets are in force
• National acclaim for Tameside's pioneering PODs - mobile youth centres for young people
• Well-established CCTV systems and radio links in place in some of the town centres

Beacon councils provide opportunities for all in local government to learn from each other to set the pace of change.

Of the 88 applicants, 10 were shortlisted and 6 were successful

Now, councils, police forces and other agencies will be encouraged to learn from Tameside's experience to improve their own performance. One of the main strengths of its bid was the way the council showed how it works in partnership with the police, the probation service, retailers and others to crack crime in town centres.

Beacon status is not only for our strategy to cut crime. We had to prove to the government we're a well-managed authority, modernising, consulting and responding to our local communities.

It's a great accolade to be one of the first councils to gain this award and we're determined to live up to the government's aspirations for Beacons to be national examples of excellence.

For further information please contact:

Contact Information
Send us a Message	Community Safety Unit Tameside MBC Council Offices Wellington Road Ashton under Lyne OL6 6DL  View local map
0161 342 2171
0161 342 2379