Voice your concerns about community safety in Reading

The Reading Community Safety Survey for 2017 has been launched by Reading Borough Council’s Neighbourhood Initiatives Team which is urging as many people as possible to take part.

The survey, which is available online from today, asks people about issues such as crime, parking, litter and anti-social behaviour.

Responses will be analysed over the New Year, broken down into area-by-area data and then considered in conjunction with the Community Safety Partnership (CSP) priorities for Reading, Berkshire, along with locally reported crime across the borough, the British Crime Survey and priorities identified by Thames Valley Police.

Priorities will then be fed back to the local Safer Neighbourhood Forums (formerly Neighbourhood Action Groups) and other local community groups, and priorities will then be set accordingly. Local residents will then be able to attend meetings to discuss their top three priorities and talk about possible solutions or feed in to online discussions.

It only takes a few minutes to fill in the survey which can be filled out here

The survey begins on Monday 6th November and runs through until Friday 15th December.

Anyone without access to a computer can drop in to a session at Reading Libraries during the ‘Get online’ sessions which you can find out about here.

Neighbourhood Initiatives Officers will be available on the following dates and times to help residents complete the survey:

• Whitley Library, 205 Northumberland Ave, Reading RG2 7PX – Thursday 16th November, 2pm-3pm
• Central Library, Abbey Square, Reading RG1 3BQ – Thursday 23rd November, 2pm-3pm
• Central Library, Abbey Square, Reading RG1 3BQ – Tuesday 28th November, 2pm–3pm
• Battle Library, 420 Oxford Rd, Reading RG30 1EE – Friday 24th November, 10am-11am
• Tilehurst Library, School Rd, Reading RG31 5AS– Monday 27th November, 2pm – 3pm
• The Weller Centre, Amersham Road, Caversham, Reading, Berkshire, RG4 5NA - Wednesday 6th December, 11am-12pm

Councillor Liz Terry, Reading’s Lead Councillor for Neighbourhoods, said:

“Safer Neighbourhood Forums and other local community groups play a big part in tackling issues which matter to people.

“However, they can only work effectively if they know the priorities of the local community. This is why it is so important residents have their say.”

The 2015 survey received 1,250 responses across Reading, and showed speeding and traffic issues as the biggest priorities in most areas with drugs and anti-social behaviour also featuring high.

The Safer Neighbourhood Forums consist of representatives from Thames Valley Police and Reading Borough Council and members of the community who work together to tackle specific issues.

More information about the SNFs and how to get involved is available by contacting the Neighbourhood Initiatives Team, e-mail: neighbourhoodinitiatives@reading.gov.uk or by registering interest at www.uknags.org.uk.