Sandwell Council backs scheme to support vulnerable residents and prevent violence

On Wednesday, Sandwell Council’s Cabinet endorsed the Safer Sandwell Partnership Police and Crime Board’s Community Safety Strategy 2022-26.

The main priorities of the strategy are to prevent violence and exploitation; reduce offending, re-offending and serious organised crime; tackle serious violence; and prevent and reduce crime and anti-social behaviour.

The partnership will continue work to protect and support vulnerable victims and tackle substance misuse, saving lives and reducing crime.

Councillor Bob Piper, Sandwell Council’s cabinet member for community safety, said: “We want everyone in Sandwell to feel safe, protected and confident in their homes and neighbourhoods.

“Community safety is not something that can tackled by any single agency – it requires good and effective partnership work at a local level as well as having good links with regional and national partners.

“Over the past three years, we have strengthened our approaches to community safety. We’ve worked with partners to tackle violence and exploitation and to better support those experiencing domestic abuse, hate crime and anti-social behaviour.

"Sandwell has become a national exemplar of good practice for our modern slavery work.

“But any victim is one too many – we are committed to tackling crime and disorder, improving information sharing and identifying and supporting those at risk as early as possible.”

The strategy has been developed following a range of surveys and engagement with Sandwell people and partners.

It also highlights examples of good practice and recognises the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on vulnerable people in Sandwell’s communities.

Organisations in the partnership with Sandwell Council include West Midlands Police, West Midlands Fire Service, Black Country and West Birmingham Clinical Commissioning Group, and the Probation Service.