Shoplifting and Hate Crime Added to Community Priorities

Mole Valley District Council works alongside a number of other public bodies – including Surrey Police, Surrey County Council and Surrey Fire and Rescue Service – to tackle neighbourhood crime and anti-social behaviour through the Mole Valley Community Safety Partnership. The partnership has agreed an action plan and priorities for 2024/25, focused on making the district a safer place to live, work and visit. With Shoplifting and Hate Crime added to the Community Priorities 

The Mole Valley Community Safety Partnership (MVCSP) annually reviews and agrees an action plan and priorities to focus on, informed by analysing crime trends and statistics recorded in the district the year before. The priorities for 2024/25 have been published and will provide a framework for a partnership focus this year. The MVCSP will, later this year, be inviting people who live and work in the district to help shape next year’s priorities and action plan during a public consultation.

The primary objectives behind this year’s priorities and action plan are to:

• • • reduce the risk to victims and children from domestic abuse
    • increase a sense of safety in town centres and both residential and rural locations
    • provide positive activities for teenagers to engage in

Actions include engaging with pubs and businesses to raise awareness of safeguarding campaigns and working with schools and youth groups around offending and knife crime awareness.

Other areas of crime and disorder being targeted in 2024/25 will be to reduce hate incidents, anti-social behaviour and levels of shoplifting. Actions include tackling repeat and vulnerable shoplifting locations, providing an enhanced hate crime victim service and increased intelligence around fly-tipping hotspots.

Mole Valley District Commander Inspector, James Green, said: “The current priorities set by the Mole Valley Community Safety Partnership reflect the issues that are most important and impactful on the local community. A joint approach by Surrey Police and our partners is essential in solving these issues. Through the identification of these issues and the joint working in tackling them, together we can make Mole Valley a safer place to live. The proposed move of East Surrey headquarters to Leatherhead will provide an increased police presence in the Mole Valley area, which we know is important to residents.”

Councillor Paul Kennedy, MVDC’s Cabinet Member for Internal Services and Security, said: “The vital work carried out by all partners involved in the MVCSP is underpinned by a broader Surrey-wide approach to reducing crime and disorder under the Surrey Community Safety Agreement. The MVCSP localises this wider approach and targets issues more prevalent in Mole Valley. MVDC’s Joint Enforcement Team (JET) does excellent work helping to prevent, and responding to reports of, anti-social behaviour and environmental crime, such as fly-tips. You can report instances of anti-social behaviour via our website, in addition to being signposted to the Police to when reporting other serious crimes.”