©SSHCP2014
Press Release
The Safer St. Helier Group has been awarded the Parish of St. Helier Social Responsibility Award 2008 for work on the Q-Safe Taxi Marshal Scheme.
The work of the Safer St Helier group was recognised at the end of May
by the Constable of St Helier at the British Institute of Inn keepers'
awards ceremony at the Merton Hotel. The award was presented by the Constable
for the work the group has been doing towards making St Helier a safer
place, and in particular, the implementation of the Q-Safe Taxi Marshal
scheme at the Weighbridge. The award was presented to Colin Russell and
Sue Stoker of the Safer St. Helier Community Partnership who were invited
to receive the award.
Safer St Helier is an initiative that involves a participative partnership between the community, the Home Affairs Dept and the Parish of St Helier. It began in 2006 when Ian Rogan and Gill Hutchinson who work on the Building a Safer Society Community Safety Strategy from the Home Affairs department began a process of engagement with St Helier parishioners and businesses to address issues of crime and anti-social behaviour in St Helier.
Following a number of focus groups and meetings, members of the community agreed to set up four Community Action Groups with the aim of developing actions plans to address four main issues which had been identified: alcohol and licensing, late-night transport, anti-social behaviour and the perception/fear of crime.
The Q-Safe Taxi Marshalling scheme was one of the actions suggested by the community groups (following discussions with the Jersey Taxi Drivers Association) to address the issues of transport and anti-social behaviour at the weighbridge.
The scheme was piloted during December over the Xmas and New Year period and the effects were monitored closely. Results indicated a resounding success and the group were asked if the scheme could continue. An independent research was conducted during January and February which asked the opinions of both taxi drivers and users of the scheme which once again showed an extremely positive response.
The States Strategic plan is committed to Promote a Safe Just and Equitable Society (Commitment 3) and Create a Strong, Recognised identity for Jersey and Promote a Real Sense of belonging (Commitment 5). Within these statements there is a commitment to "A safe community protected against crime and disorder" and "A stronger sense of citizenship and community" by "developing a mechanism for effective public participation".
The Safer St Helier Community Partnership provides an example of the states, parish and community working together. It has adopted a participative approach to engaging with the community and provided an opportunity for the community to engage with the states on their own terms.
The results have been startlingly effective and many lessons have been learnt. Most importantly, the fact that operating this way is both time consuming and resource heavy, but if it were part of everybody's way of working would reap huge benefits. Many within the community are more than willing to give up their time and energy for action if they feel supported.
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