Halton to be focus of crime purge

HALTON is to be included in a Home Office pilot scheme aimed at steering vulnerable residents away from serious and organised crime.

The project was revealed by security minister Ben Wallace in response to a question from shadow policing minister Louise Haigh on what the Government was doing to divert young people away from being drawn into gangland.

Mr Wallace said the Home Office is investing in five ‘community co-ordinators’ around the country, one of which is a shared scheme for Halton and Speke, with the others in Bradford, Brighton, Newport and Sedgemoor.

The minister said their aim is to build ‘community resilience’ and ‘deliver targeted interventions’.

They also feature in the Government’s new Serious And Organised Crime Strategy (SOCS) which said the five areas had been identified as ‘priority’ locations.

It said the serious and organised crime co-ordinators are intended to ensure a ‘single, coherent response at a local ● A police raid in Widnes; inset, Ben Wallace level’, adding that extra funding was being provided for the scheme and guidance will be issued for professionals involved in building ‘community resilience’.

Involvement from businesses is also earmarked to form part of the strategy.

The SOCS report said: “At the local level, the serious and organised crime community co-ordinators will seek to integrate local business associations, and local enterprise partnerships in England, as part of the multi-agency response within communities.

“At the national level, we will create a dedicated hub within the Home Office to provide a focal point for the department’s work with the private sector on a wide range of crime types, including serious and organised crime.

“At the international level, we will look to set the global agenda on public-private partnerships.”

It added: “The community coordinators will also have access to new project funding to deliver further targeted local interventions to raise awareness, build resilience in communities and draw vulnerable people away from serious and organised crime.”