Community safety

Community safety is a priority for us and, to keep West Suffolk safe, we work with many other organisations such as:

  • healthcare professionals
  • housing providers
  • the fire service
  • the police
  • town pastors
  • youth services.

We work together through the Western Suffolk Community Safety Partnership (WSCSP). You can find out more about our objectives in our Partnership plan 2022-23

The partnership works on two levels. On a strategic level, this is about understanding and tackling areas such as domestic abuse and sexual exploitation. We also work directly with local communities who want to be a part of making their local area safer by identifying and addressing issues such as antisocial behaviour.

The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) has set aside a community safety fund that enables local communities to work on projects that address concerns that meet the PCC objectives in the police and crime plan. The funding is managed by the Suffolk Community Foundation and is available to community groups and voluntary sector organisations.

The Safer Neighbourhood Teams led by Suffolk Police also work with communities to tackle policing issues at the heart of your area. For more information about the work the Safer neighbourhood teams do, visit: Suffolk Constabulary and select your area.

Suffolk Constabulary provides comprehensive crime prevention advice on home security, personal safety, road safety, watch schemes, business safety, boast safety, online safety, counter terrorism, child safety and personal security.

Suffolk Constabulary A to Z of crime prevention - First Principle

Hate crime and hate incidents

A hate crime is any crime committed against an individual or a group because of who they are or what they believe in. A hate incident is when an individual or a group is targeted because of their characteristics but the incident does not break the law - for example, spreading rumours.

We and our partners seek to ensure that communities have confidence to report hate crime to Suffolk Police or via another route if they prefer. Suffolk Police are committed to investigating all reports they receive.

You can report hate crime direct via the Suffolk Police website: Report it - hate crime or incident

More information about hate crime can be found on the Suffolk Police Website: Hate crime

If a victim or witness does not wish to report a hate crime (or any other type of crime) to the police, in Suffolk and in Norfolk they can still access support via Norfolk and Suffolk Victim Support. In addition to the normal support available, Victim Support offers Live Chat, a 24 hours a day, seven days a week, online support service. It is available to all victims of any crime in England and Wales. The service is provided by people specially trained to help those affected by any crime and it makes no difference if the crime has been reported to the police. Visit Victim Support's website: Live Chat

The following leaflets, produced by Suffolk Police, provide more information, including alternative means of reporting and support: