New initiative to tackle Wellingborough's gang and anti-social behaviour problem

A new multi-agency backed crime-busting initiative has been launched in Wellingborough to tackle problems with gang violence and anti-social behaviour in the town.

Operation Revive will partner Wellingborough Council, Greatwell Homes, Social Care, Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner’s Youth Team, Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service, health and mental health services to address the issue of rising crime.

Residents have been asked to voice their opinions, concerns and ideas with a dedicated email address to allow people in the community tell the police where they should be concentrating their efforts.

Over the past couple of years, a number of violent incidents have taken place across the town linked to gangs, county lines and drugs with some key members arrested and brought to justice.

Nathan Murray, Neighbourhood Policing Inspector, said: “We cannot arrest ourselves out of this problem. We need to find other, more preventative ways, of solving the issues at hand.

“That’s why we’ve launched Operation Revive and set up a dedicated email address so that we can have a direct link to the community and listen to what their concerns and ideas are.

"We are also working closely with our partners to set up community groups, as well as work with as many people as possible, to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to be part of what we’re trying to do.”

Operation Revive will focus primarily on working with the community in order to tackle the town’s issues. It will look at supporting children and adults who may be exploited and used by criminals and find them more long-term options which will move them away from crime.

Inspector Murray said: “What this project really wants to achieve is to find better and more long-term choices for the people in Wellingborough susceptible to exploitation by crime gangs, to guide them away from a life of crime.

“We want to do this by fostering closer working relationships with schools and introducing new youth provisions which could involve opportunities for more people to get involved in sports or the arts.”

The project will also look to improve the look and feel of areas with better design to make committing crime in Wellingborough more difficult.

Using funding from the Office of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, the Crime Prevention Team and the Local Neighbourhood Team working with Wellingborough Council aim to tackle motorcycle nuisance in local parks.

As well as crime prevention by the police targeting offenders, Operation Revive hopes to address 'root social causes for offending' by protecting vulnerable people by providing security advice.

Inspector Murray added: “We believe by targeting offenders, protecting victims and making areas less desirable to crime, this in turn will promote the area as a more attractive place to live.

“What we really want to achieve through this project is for you, the community, to feel empowered to tell us what you think the issues are in your local area. We will also be organising community engagement events through various channels, so please keep an eye out for these events moving forward.

“Please contact us on OpRevive@northants.police.uk and let us know what your concerns are and whether you have any ideas on what more could be done to tackle the issues in your local area.”

Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold said: “This is yet another great project that aims to make Wellingborough a safer place to be, and I am pleased to be involved.

“Over the past few months, my team has been working in communities in the centre of Wellingborough as part of the Safer Streets project and Op Revive is one of the ways that we ensure that we don’t just displace crime and anti-social behaviour, but that we tackle it across the wider area.”

Earlier this week a gate was installed across an alleyway plagued by anti-social behaviour and drug dealing on a Wellingborough estate.

Cllr Martin Griffiths, leader of the council and member of the Police, Fire and Crime Panel, said: ‘’Operation Revive is a positive step for all agencies to work in conjunction with the local community to improve the local area and tackle issues and behaviours that impact the lives of so many of our residents.

“It is an ideal opportunity for residents to have their say and put ideas forward, and we encourage people to do so.

“The council has recently invested in projects that will not only improve areas but also ‘design out’ crime hotspots, and will continue to work closely with all partners throughout this operation.”

Anyone with any ideas, concerns should email OpRevive@northants.police.uk