Birmingham has been chosen as one of three areas in England for a new scheme to fight crime in the community.
Birmingham has been chosen as one of three areas in England for a new scheme to fight crime in the community.
Norwich Union, the UK’s largest general insurer, has teamed up with Crime Concern to launch the Norwich Union Neighbourhood Apprenticeship Scheme on the Northfield Estate in Birmingham, which will focus on training and coaching local people to work with fellow residents to fight crime.
Apprentices will be appointed in three areas - the Northfield estate in Birmingham, the Blacon Estate in Chester, and Hackney, East London.
They will work under the supervision and guidance of experienced Crime Concern managers already working in partnerships relating to crime reduction and social inclusion in deprived neighbourhoods across the country.
The West Northfield project area, in the south west of Birmingham, is made up of three distinct communities, with a total population of 10,000. Major issues affecting the area include domestic burglary, drugs, and anti-social behaviour.
A recent ‘Fear of Crime’ survey was carried out on the area over a two-month period, amongst people who live in the West Northfield project area. The findings showed:
- Residents report a lack of community spirit and focus
- Nearly half (47 per cent) of residents say domestic burglary is their number one fear
- 176 domestic burglaries had occurred during the past nine months – twice the national average, and 30 per cent higher than the average for Birmingham
- The actual level of crime was much greater than the reported crime
- 70 per cent of residents report a lack of facilities for young people leading to anti-social behaviour
- 62 per cent report ‘young people hanging around in groups on the estates’ as a problem - increasing residents’ fear of crime
Previous research this year by Norwich Union also shows that while there has been a drop in community spirit across the UK, the figures are worse in areas of social housing.
The apprenticeship position in the West Northfield area will be advertised in December, with the successful applicant starting in the New Year.
Jill Willis, market development manager for Norwich Union Insurance, said: “As the UK's largest household insurance company we want to understand what’s really underneath the crime figures, particularly in areas of social housing where the levels of crime are twice the national average.
"By funding these apprenticeship schemes such as the one on the Northfield estate, we hope to achieve a better understanding of what works best at a grass roots level, in the hope that we can build on and develop other schemes like this in the future."
Chris Dyer, Crime Concern, Programme Manager for the Safer Neighbourhood Projects across Birmingham, added: ‘’A majority of residents we spoke to on the Northfield Estate identified a lack of community spirit, with around half identifying domestic burglary as their main area of concern - both of which are worrying statistics.
“Much of the crime in England and Wales takes place in the most socially excluded and neglected areas of the country. Figures show that 40 per cent of all crime takes place in ten per cent of neighbourhoods.
“We believe that action by robust and committed partnerships is needed to empower and work directly with communities, to help in the fight to reduce crime, and the Norwich Union Neighbourhood Apprenticeship Scheme will allow us to target the areas most in need.”
Media contact:
Jane Wheeler/Matt Buchanan at QBO on 020 7379 0304/0780 350 1804 or Jenny Chapman at Norwich Union on 08703 66 68 64 / 07775 822 642
Notes to editors:
- Norwich Union commissioned Connect Research to interview 366 council tenants in London and the South East, West Midlands and Scotland in June 2002. Sample included English speaking tenants and non-English speaking Asian tenants.
- Norwich Union also commissioned ICM Research Limited to interview 1,000 households across the country about crime and home security in June 2002.
- Norwich Union is the UK’s largest insurer. In general insurance it is more than 1.5 times the size of its nearest competitor, and has a 19 per cent share of the market.
- It has a focus on insurance for individuals and small businesses. It insures:
- one in five households
- one in five motor vehicles
- more than 700,000 businesses
- Norwich Union products are available through a variety of distribution channels including brokers, corporate partners such as banks and building societies and Norwich Union Direct.
- Norwich Union’s news releases are available on the Aviva plc website at www.aviva.com
- A selection of images is available from the Norwich Union Newscast site at www.newscast.co.uk
- An ISDN facility is available for studio quality interviews. Call the press office on 08703 66 68 68
- Crime Concern is a national crime reduction organisation which works with national and local agencies to create safer communities. It manages national programmes and over 60 local projects, as well as evaluated work on neighbourhood safety and tackling problems of burglary, domestic violence, vehicle crime, hate crime, passenger safety and business crime.
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