Keeping you Safe - Partnership Working

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Staying safe with our local partners

Dover District Council work hard to keep the residents of Dover safe, and to do this we look to work with other agencies and also local organisations who agree that everyone should be able to walk down our streets feeling safe. Part of the way we do this is via Community Safety Partnership work as well as with other local organisations

Throughout the year the Community Services team work on events and initiatives to promote safety and equality, both in relation to violence reduction, violence against women and girls, as well as general community well-being. Street Harassment  is unwanted behaviour of a gender based, often sexually motivated nature such as cat-calling or wolf-whistling, indecent exposure, being followed, unwanted touching, rude gestures, or persistent chat ups when the other party clearly is not interested.

DDC Community Services & DDC licensing team have been working with local businesses, including taxi drivers and licensed premises to roll out Active Bystander training to help those working in town centres be aware of what they can do to help keep individuals safe. This applies to all types of abuse or harassment and not just that which is gender based. 

In addition to this,here are some other ways in which Community Partnerships strive to keep Dover District a safe and sound town for everyone. 

Dover Partnership Against Crime

Set up in 2001, DPAC is a Business Crime Reduction Partnership which covers the towns of Dover, Deal and Sandwich. It has more than 120 members including retailers, licensees, taxi companies, transport firms and local tourist attractions. It is one of the most successful business crime reduction partnerships in the country and has been consistently awarded a distinction at its two-yearly assessments. The purpose of the Scheme is to prevent, detect, or reduce the impact of, low-level crime and anti-social behaviour on local businesses within the Dover Partnership Against Crime Scheme Area. Dover District Council work closely with DPAC and other partners to ensure the useful and legitimate sharing of incidents in real time and slow time to identify persistent law breakers and problematic issues as well as protecting the vulnerable community and those working in businesses in the District.

Dover Street Pastors   

Dover Street Pastors, are passionate about loving and caring for Dover town and the people in it in practical ways. Made up of volunteers from all walks of life; from churches across the town, working together for Dover. The Street Pastors patrol the streets of Dover town on Friday and Saturday nights, as well as one Wednesday afternoon and one Friday afternoon each month, stopping to chat with anyone – caring, listening and helping where appropriate – while supporting a peaceful presence on the streets in our local community.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Best Bar None              

Best Bar None is an initiative supported by the Home Office and helps to identify well-run pubs, bars, clubs and other businesses that serve alcohol. Kent Police and Dover District Council have worked with local businesses to promote this initiative and we have seen several local businesses receive accreditation for their hard work and training to support keeping their customers safe. The accreditation focuses on the safety of the customer and ensures appropriate training is in place for staff to support customers and taking positive steps to reduce noise and other effects on the community.

 

 

Ask for Angela    

Dover District Council, Kent Police and Dover Partnership Against Crime (DPAC) in rolling out the Ask for Angela Scheme in businesses in the Dover District, funding stickers and leaflets to promote the scheme which aims to ensure that anyone who is feeling vulnerable or unsafe is able to get the support they need at the time, which might be on a night out, on a date, meeting friends or other times when out in the evenings. The scheme works by training staff in vulnerability management and what to do when someone Asks for Angela when a trained member of staff will understand the person asking is in need of help and support and will be able to respond in an appropriate, discreet way. They might call security, lead the person to a safe space, or help them leave the premises unnoticed. The aim is to support venues to keep their customers safe, which in turn improves perceptions of safety and patronage in the night-time economy.