Sinn Fein councillor Eric McGinley.
A new initiative geared towards improving safety in the home for older people has been hailed a major success by the local Derry and Strabane Policing and Community Safety Partnership (PCSP).
The initiative was delivered by the PCSP in partnership with Teamworks and the ‘Handy Van’ service, and aimed to improve the security of residents’ homes, especially those who have been a victim of crime or are living in fear of crime.
Commenting on the success of the project, the Chairperson of the Policing and Community Safety Partnership. Councillor Eric McGinley, said:
“The achievement of this project, delivered by the PCSP and its partners, is a really good news story for our residents.
“Between March 2015 and May 2016 almost 700 residents across the city and district, have availed of the service to enhance their home security by fitting additional equipment to make their homes safer and less likely to be targeted by criminals.
“Equipment fitted under the scheme includes oil tank locks, wheeled bin locks, door alarms, window alarms, door chains, key safes etc.
Cllr McGinley praised the partnership approach taken to addressing issues of safety throughout the programme.
“The success of this initiative is built on the partnership approach to delivery with referrals received from PSNI, Community Safety Wardens, Victim Support, Women’s Aid, WHSCT, CRJ, local elected representatives and residents themselves.
“The programme increases community confidence, reduces fear of crime and makes homes less attractive to burglars.
“I feel that this partnership initiative has contributed to the 13.7% reduction in domestic burglaries recorded in our Council area last year.
“As a PCSP we are committed to continuing this high impact initiative to protect the homes of our most vulnerable residents.”
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