Promoting respect

The resident who has helped reduce crime in his neighbourhood by 30 per cent - plus the Government’s Respect Tsar visits Hull.

Making a stand: Sean Tierney and his girlfriend Vicki Skelton set up a neighbourhood watch group with help from Hull City Council

Hands on approach: Hull City Council Leader Cllr Carl Minns and the Government’s Respect Tsar Louise Casey clean up graffiti in the Orchard Park market area.

When Sean Tierney came across a disturbance at a neighbour’s home he had no hesitation but to intervene.
“The first thing that alerted me was the shouting,” says Mr Tierney (45), from Egton Street, east Hull.
“As I looked through my front window I saw someone trying to shoulder-barge their way through the front door of a house where an old lady lived.”
After trying to speak to the man at the door, the next thing Mr Tierney knew was that he was being threatened with a knife.
Thankfully this incident ended without injury after more neighbours and the police arrived.
But it gave Mr Tierney the impetus he needed to do something about crime in his neighbourhood, which included vandalism and thefts, much of which was drug related.
Helped by Hull City Council’s Antisocial Behaviour Team and Humberside Police, he set up a Neighbourhood Watch group which has grown to 120 members and, according to police, has contributed to a 30 per cent fall in crime in the neighbourhood.

Boost from Tsar

On a recent visit to Hull, the Government’s new Respect Tsar Louise Casey, who is in charge of tackling antisocial behaviour throughout Britain, discovered for herself how residents, police, council officers and community wardens were working together to deal with problems.
Pledging an extra £202,000 to help fight antisocial behaviour in the city, she said: “Hull has already made excellent progress. The new funding includes money to fund parenting programmes and to find a designated parenting expert to ensure we identify and get to problems in the home before they spill out into the community.”
As part of her visit, Ms Casey observed activities during a Citysafe Action Day in north Hull which included truancy sweeps, extra police patrols, graffiti clean-ups, litter patrols and safety advice for residents from the fire service. Community wardens also gave out Smartwater, a chemical applied to valuables which can help trace them if stolen.
Ms Casey was also joined by Hull City Council leader, Cllr Carl Minns, in removing graffiti from a shop front in the Orchard Park Market area of Hall Road (pictured).
“Tackling crime and antisocial behaviour is our number one priority,” said Cllr Minns.
“Local people should not have to live in fear or feel threatened in their own neighbourhoods.
“I support the Government’s drive for Crime Action Days but I believe that councils and police have a duty to tackle crime and the fear of crime all year round.
“This is our approach in Hull and I’m sure everyone involved in making our communities safer will ensure that this continues to be the case.”

Respect in Hull

The extra funding announced by Ms Casey is in recognition of Hull being named as one of forty flagship ‘Respect Areas’ across Britain.
Hull was given the status because of its strong record in tackling antisocial behaviour and because of the willingness and capacity of local agencies to step up the fight.
Being a Respect Area means new projects will be launched including those which challenge and change the behaviour of problem households within the community.
‘Face the People’ sessions, which are meetings where members of the public hold to account the police, council and other agencies, are also now taking place across the city.