Shoplifting, theft, cycling issues and crime prevention are the main focus for next week's intensive drive to tackle neighbourhood issues in the City Centre area.

Sarah Hall

Shoplifting, theft, cycling issues and crime prevention are the main focus for next week's intensive drive to tackle neighbourhood issues in the City Centre area.

Respect Action Week will take place next week which will see a host of local organisations and businesses pull together to make the city “a safer environment to work, live and visit”.

Respect Action Weeks involve different partnership agencies working together and working closely with local communities to identify and resolve local problems.

The City Centre Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) will play a key role in the week-long event working with other agencies and businesses, including Norfolk County Council's Trading Standards Department, Environmental Health and Norfolk Fire and Rescue.

Activities which have been planned to take place throughout the week include increased patrols in the city centre, actively targeting purse thefts and youth engagement work.

The City Centre SNT is holding a surgery on Monday, November 8 6.30 to 9.30pm at St Georges Street near to the play area.

Superintendent Nick Dean said: “The city centre is the shop window of Norwich and as such it is vitally important we work with other agencies to ensure people feel safe and that crime and anti-social behaviour are reduced.

“Respect Action Weeks demonstrate the cooperation between a host of agencies and importantly the community, to put in place a concentrated effort on a wide range of services. The work which stems out of these weeks enables the activity to be sustained longer term.

“A great deal of excellent work is conducted day in day out by teams and this brings the community into these activities to ensure they are fully a part of Respect Action Weeks.

“We have seen how successful these have been across Norfolk and in deed in other parts of the country and I am confident this week will be no less successful”.

The City Centre Respect Action Week is the third to take place in the Norwich district.