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Mr P Breckon introduced the update and gave a
presentation. An overview of the charity was given, it was noted
that it was an independent 24/7 charity and all those who contacted
the charity were given anonymity with no personal details taken.
95% of users said that anonymity was
important.
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It was said that by the end of the year,
Crimestoppers expected to disseminate 195,000 pieces of information
to police forces across the UK. It was noted that Crimestoppers
were able to get into some communities better than the Police due
to mistrust in the Police and authorities.
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Partnership Members were encouraged to contact
senior members of Crimestoppers if they thought the charity would
be able to support work in their areas of interest or if they had
noticed any emerging trends. Crimestoppers could supply materials
and raise awareness which in turn would generate more information
that could then be passed on to the Police.
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An overview of recent national and local campaigns
was given, including puppy trafficking which led to a 40/50%
increase in reports. It was noted that campaigns would be tailored
to the specific contexts of the issues or areas being targeted. A
drug campaign in Maidstone and Medway was successfully targeted at
younger people by utilising Social Media platforms Snapchat and
Instagram.
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In Kent, there would be around 4,500 information
disseminations in the financial year 2022/23 which would lead to
6,000 crime reports. The most wanted page had produced numerous
results which helped locate those individuals.
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Fearless, the youth branch of Crimestoppers, helped
raise awareness of various crime types with young people. The
service was undergoing a revamp in Kent and work was ongoing on how
to make it most effective. There had been ongoing struggles to
recruit an outreach worker.
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Mr P Rollington gave
further details on Crimestoppers zones, which were first
implemented in Kent and then set up in the rest of the country. The
zones were implemented where neighbourhood watches were not in
place. It had been shown to be effective at reducing crime but
could only be targeted in specific areas, so could be just a block
of flats but not across the whole of Kent.
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The Chair asked about the impact of the pandemic on
the Charity. Mr Breckon replied that there had been an increase in
public order offences reported due to the lockdown regulations, but
otherwise a decrease. However, it was said that in Kent over the
past year, the number of dissemination
had so far indicated that they would be higher than the levels seen
before the pandemic.
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Asked by the Chair about funding, Mr Breckon said
that there was funding and noted that it was a £6 million
turnover charity which was not massive in national charity terms
but enough to maintain day-to-day operations. National campaigns
were difficult the charity had to bid for funding from various
areas and pots. Overall, the financial situation was characterised
as being solid, but there could be difficulties going
forward.
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The Chair remarked on the important work the charity
was doing and that the figures and outcomes delivered were
encouraging.
RESOLVED that the
Crimestoppers update be noted.