New community safety hubs are helping to keep Sunderland residents safe.
Located in Hendon, Pennywell, and Concord and Sulgrave, the hubs bring together council teams, Northumbria Police, community groups, and other partners under one roof to address local concerns about anti-social behaviour.
Focussing on priorities identified by residents in each area over the summer, the new hubs will build on the success of similar partnership projects, such as SAIL in the city centre, SARA in Southwick and HALO in Hetton and Easington Lane
Councillor Michael Mordey, Leader of Sunderland City Council, said:
โWe know that tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for our residents.
โThatโs why weโve done a huge amount of listening in our three new community hub areas over the summer to identify the community safety priorities and issues that matter most to our residents in each area.
โPast experience has shown how tackling anti-social behaviour effectively requires strong collaboration. Thatโs why weโre working in partnership with the police, fire service, Gentoo, and Together for Children, because it allows us to make a real difference in our communities.
โThese new hubs build on the success of our SAIL, SARA, and HALO projects, which have had a massive impact in the communities theyโre based in.
โWorking together in our new hubs in Concord & Sulgrave, Pennywell, and Hendon will not only deliver joined-up support but strengthen local networks and help us to keep our city safe.โ
ASB includes verbal abuse and harassment, or threatening behaviour; and other public nuisances such as rowdy behaviour, public drunkenness, noisy neighbours, and environmental crimes such as littering and fly-tipping, graffiti and vandalism.
Councillor Kelly Chequer, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Safer Communities at Sunderland City Council, added:
โThis is all about putting residentsโ voices at the heart of making Sunderland safer.
โHundreds of residents shared their priorities with us over the summer and weโve listened carefully to what matters most to everyone who took part.
โWe know anti-social behaviour is a real concern for residents, but by working in and with our communities, our new hubs will be able to tackle these priorities at a local level.
โWith their mission to act on residentsโ feedback, they can respond to real needs in Concord & Sulgrave, Pennywell, and Hendon and make a real difference in the communities they serve.โ
Chief Superintendent Mark Hall, Sunderlandโs Area Commander, said:
โThe new multi-agency hubs are based on the projects and success already experienced in Southwick, Hetton and Sunderland City.
โWe are working extremely closely with our partners including Community Safety colleagues at Sunderland City Council to tackle the issues that matter the most to you, in our communities.ย
โThe police activity, including dedicated patrols in specific areas are as a direct result of members of the public reporting crime, anti-social behaviour and providing community intelligence.
โThe intentions of the introduction of the new Community Safety Hubs are to tackle the issues most impacting on our local communities, to reduce crime, anti-social behaviour and improve community confidence.โย
Over the last year, residents have seen real benefits from three projects the new community safety hubs are based on. Incidences of ASB have dropped by around a third in the city centre and Southwick areas, and by a fifth in the Hetton and Easington Lane hub area.
Dozens of community protection notices, warnings and acceptable behaviour agreements have also been issued across the three areas.ย
Each of the new hubs in Concord & Sulgrave, Pennywell, and Hendon has its own community safety officers, community safety specialists and community engagement lead as well as dedicated police and other partner support.
