Achievements

Since the Safer Hastings Partnership formed in 1998, we have strived to reduce crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour, as well as pioneering new initiatives to improve the safety and quality of our residents’ lives.

Crime has fallen by 41% in Hastings & St Leonards (2010/11 compared with 2003/04), with massive reductions in theft from vehicles (down 1,121 crimes), dwelling place burglary (703 fewer victims) and violent crime (778 fewer victims)"

Our Street Warden Service was among the first five in the country to receive the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister’s Quality Standard Award.

The Hastings & St Leonards Bar Watch Scheme bans more than 100 troublemakers from our town centre pubs and clubs a year.

Our local Shop Watch Scheme is also very effective in dealing with prolific and persistent and prolific offenders in our town.

Both Hastings & St Leonards town centres were recognised as safer places to shop, visit and run businesses, thanks to the commitment of the members and partners of the town’s Shop Watch Scheme. Their hard work was rewarded when they received the Home Office-sponsored Safer Business Award in November 2005.

Members and partners of the town’s Bar Watch Scheme were also rewarded for their hard work recently in making Hastings & St Leonards one of the first places in the country to receive the Home Office-sponsored Safer Socialising Award.

A town-wide street drinking ban covering the whole of Hastings & St Leonards was introduced on 1st September 2005. Many street drinkers have been handed down Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) since the street drinking ban came into force.

East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service conduct on average 2,000 Home Safety Visits each year, installing smoke detectors and offering bespoke fire safety advice.

Hastings Borough Council’s Parking Services team has identified and impounded hundreds of untaxed vehicles on the streets of Hastings & St Leonards since November 2002, as well as removing over 5,000 abandoned vehicles from our streets.

Among our other achievements, we were the first ever CDRP to finish in the top 3 for the finialist of the Home Offices Nataional Tilley Awards for our work to engage with young people in our town through schools competitions.

The following year we went on to win the South East Region Partnership Problem Solving Awards, presented by Home Office Regional Director for the South East, John Scott. He praised the Safer Hastings Partnership’ youth engagement work quoting the Tilley Awards judging panel, which said, “Very impressive. This is a sustainable activity that changes behaviour in the target audience with positive reinforcement. It is not dependable on any one agency’s resource commitment and […] is simple yet effective.”

We were also presented with the Government Office for the South East’s Best New Media Activity Award for our 11-screen community TV network, SHP-TV, in October 2005.

MP Charles Clarke praised the SHP as an “excellent partnership” in January 2005 when he made Hastings his first port of call as Home Secretary.