Boston and South Holland Newsletter - March 2023
Activity in Boston and South Holland
The end of last year was an important time for the Safer Together Team as we were out and about in the community asking the public their views on Marc Jones’s Police and Crime Plan and following the results being published in January, I have been busy in both Boston and South Holland feeding back to the public the results.
Once again as I have found one of the best ways of doing this is setting up a stand in the market and speaking to local people. So, in March I had engagement events in Spalding and Boston, and these followed on from a community event in Fenside Community Centre in Boston in February. Rather than try and condense the results of the survey, which were largely positive, into my newsletter I will be happy to share the results if you want to contact me. Or you can find the full results of the survey here.
There is however another advantage to doing public engagement events and that is allowing partner agencies to join you. So during the consultation I was joined by JUST Lincolnshire and Sortified who were speaking to people to better understand local issues and the impact of anti-social behaviour, prejudice and hate crime as part of the Safer Streets Project.
In January along with my colleague Maisie McMahon, I had the pleasure of working with Holbeach Academy and Boston Pilgrim School pupils as part of the Lincolnshire Stronger Voices initiative asking them about their views on crime, what they think about where they live and how they think things could be improved.
The rest of this quarter has seen me continue my commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant Board and the Veterans and Families group. You may wonder why I represent the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner at these type of meetings and it is because I am myself a veteran, having served 22 year with the Royal Military Police so understandably I have a keen interest in this area.
I continue to work with both Boston and Spalding Community Alcohol Partnerships, the Boston Central Neighbourhood Action Group and Boston Community Leaders and of course the Neighbourhood Policing Teams.
In March I had a meeting with Kate Lillman from St Barnabas Hospice who provide vital support across the county. We spoke about how the team could raise awareness of the hospice, particularly in Boston and I look forward to supporting her over the rest of the year.
Have your say on how to tackle drug and alcohol misuse in Lincolnshire
You can share your concerns about drug and alcohol misuse in the county at an upcoming community meeting.
The meeting is being held online on Tuesday 25 April from 6‐7pm. It will be led by the Safer Lincolnshire Partnership’s community safety strategy coordinator for drugs and alcohol misuse, Jemma Clarke.
Jemma said: “The partnership is committed to tackling drug and alcohol misuse in Lincolnshire and reducing the impact this can have on our communities. We are particularly focused on early prevention in the areas of greatest deprivation and are working to ensure there is the necessary support in place to achieve positive outcomes for individuals, families and communities.”
“We want the community’s input into the work that we are doing and would like to know what your concerns are about drugs and alcohol within Lincolnshire. Are the services supporting drug and alcohol misuse working? What would you like to see within your community? Join us on 25 April and share your views.”
Find out more and book your place.