Safety advice was the order of the day recently at a special community safety themed information day in Phillipstown.
Residents from Phillipstown and the surrounding area came along to the event at the village’s Community Centre, where a number of organisations were on hand to offer home safety and crime prevention tips and advice.
Members of the Safer Caerphilly Community Safety Partnership including Gwent Police, Caerphilly County Borough Council and South Wales Fire and Rescue Service were available to discuss any community safety related issues that residents had, including anti-social behaviour and youth activity provision.
There was also an opportunity for residents to talk to Caerphilly county borough’s Victims Champion, Lana Harrison, to find out about the help and support that is available to victims and witnesses of anti-social behaviour.
GAVO, Phillipstown Residents Association and Gwent Criminal Justice Board also came along to talk to residents about how they can get involved by volunteering to help make their area an even more pleasant place to live.
Drugaid were also on hand to provide information and advice on alcohol and other substance misuse.
Cllr Lyn Ackerman, cabinet member for the environment said, “I was delighted by the sheer number of people that took the time to come along and find out more about community safety issues in Phillipstown.
This excellent response illustrates how enthusiastic local people are to get involved and work alongside us to help make their community an even safer place.”
MP for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, Dai Havard and local ward member, Cllr Gerald Jones also came along to show their support, and took the time to chat to residents about any issues they had.
One resident who came along to the recent event said, “I thought it was really good that so many organisations all came together under one roof to answer any queries that people had, and also provided some really useful advice too.”
This event followed on from last year’s CANDO (Community and Neighbourhood Directed Operation) held in Phillipstown.
CANDO is an initiative that works with communities throughout the Caerphilly county borough to identify local solutions to local problems, providing a high visibility presence to tackle the identified issues.
For further information on community safety in Caerphilly county borough, please visit the Safer CCB website at http://www.caerphilly.gov.uk/saferccb/.
