I recently attended the launch of the walking manifesto for Scotland: Walking back Better has been produced through a partnership of Living Streets Scotland, Ramblers Scotland, and Paths for all.

The manifesto wants everyone in Scotland to be able to benefit from everyday walking, whether that is walking to the shops or to school or walking for enjoyment and exercise. Walk Back Better sets out their vision for Scotland to move forward to a healthier, cleaner, safer, and happier walking nation.

https://www.pathsforall.org.uk/news/news-post/scottish-walking-charities-urge-government-to-invest-in-walking

It is hoped that the Political Parties will be influenced by this manifesto as we move towards the Holyrood elections and that other stakeholders and agencies will support the key facets of the manifesto and play their part in its realisation especially at local neighbourhood level.

Here are the key aspirations and ambitions of the manifesto:

• Investment in a £50m infrastructure fund to develop local walking routes, long distance routes, green neighbourhood networks and support under pressure mountain locations.
• Improved walking and wheeling conditions, including reducing pavement clutter, providing toilets, seating, signage, safety improvements, improved crossings and basic path and pavement maintenance.
• Improved access to local amenities, ensuring the planning system prioritises and delivers development within walking distance of local facilities as part of the 20-minute neighbourhood agenda.
• Increased investment for delivery of walking behaviour change programmes that particularly target the most vulnerable and help to reduce inequalities.
• Measures to improve safety, including a national speed limit of 20mph in all cities, towns and villages and enforcement of pavement parking legislation.
• Investment in walking to school and reducing traffic and pollution outside school gates.

There are familiar themes in this document, and they are consistent with several aspects of the Camelon and Tamfourhill Community Safety Strategy. Thus, we have a vested interest in seeing many of the highlighted policies and declarations being adopted by government both local and national.

Walking has been a lifeline for people throughout the COVID crises and it is widely acknowledged that walking is the best buy in public health. Walking as a health activity should be accessible to all and off course you do not need any equipment for this outdoor activity so it can play a positive role in addressing health inequalities. The canal towpath, our local parks, and open green spaces in Camelon and Tamfourhill could all benefit through improved and safer access, proper facilities like toilets, seating, and improved lighting. Further Improved design, notice boards, signage and appropriate access for wheelchairs are also a significant aspect to this activity. I was also impressed with the findings of recent research which is being cited to support the manifesto proposals. This work found that when there are people out walking on the streets then there is less anti-social behaviour and a reduction in reported crime. As people are about more then the community and its networks are more visible, quite simply if the community is on the streets then others are far less likely to engage in unhelpful and negative behaviours and people generally then feel much safer. When we are out and about walking then we are encouraged to better network with our neighbours and friends and we do this communally and visibly and, this creates a better sense of connectedness and facilitates improved community cohesion.

 The launch input from Living Streets Scotland emphasised that local communities can and should develop their own responses and projects which are aligned to the manifestos policy priorities. They spoke and promoted community safety projects that had developed around schools. There are far too many cars in Scotland, and they must be reduced, look at any school in the morning and they are overwhelmed with cars, parked cars, moving cars and obstructive cars. The national aspiration of a universal 20mph speed limit and the implementation of pavement parking legislation are all pertinent to our local community safety priorities. The work I am supporting with the Parents Council at Easter Carmuirs Primary School is a good example. The intention there is to get the various statutory agencies on board with developing a school streets scheme and to explore the possibility of securing SUSTRANS Pocket places funding to promote active travel and improve vehicular safety around the school and the surrounding streets. Community speed watch and temporary lockdown measures have been successfully deployed around several schools in the Edinburgh City Council area and I am hoping that Easter Carmuirs could be a first for the Falkirk Local Authority area.

Achieving political commitment to many of these manifesto ambitions will contribute to making our local neighbourhoods safer, happier and a more attractive place to live. 

I have always enjoyed canals, often walking along their towpaths, the occasional experience of being on a barge and over the years taking part in some coarse angling. These have never been very productive sessions, but urban canals present their own characteristic challenges for the angler. Camelon and Tamfourhill are synonymous with the Canals, you cannot really think of one without the other, and these great engineering feats played a critical role with the establishment of the Port Downie or Camelon iron works in 1845 and it is unlikely that these famous works would have been built here if the canal had not been here first.   In terms of community safety and the development of our local plans, it seems that the canal and Lock 16 can once again play a critical role in making the local community a thriving and dynamic place to live and work.  I am aware of the positive contributions that Canal College and the soon to be relaunched go forth and Clyde have played in the life and regeneration of the local area through their focus on the canal. The conservation work and outdoor learning programmes supported by TCV and their nearby nature trail have provided another dynamic strand to the community’s involvement with the Canal. We have also had the Millennium Link Project which facilitated the creation of the Falkirk wheel and this has added another aspect to the area and contributed to the emergence of a new tourist attraction. There is therefore the potential to see the Canal further reenergise the local area, bringing skills, opportunities, and a fresh impetus to the community. There are plans for the redevelopment of Lock 16 and with the relaunch of Go Forth and Clyde (formally reunion) and the significant investment from Scottish canals and further inputs from Falkirk Council through the Growth Deal, this then very much seems like the right time to be supporting the local community to come forward and engage with these new opportunities.

I am fully aware that there have been long standing issues with anti-social behaviour and difficulties with substance misuse and other high-risk activities around the canal and the towpath. Consequently, many local people do not feel safe to go and make use of the canals outdoor benefits and are therefore missing out on the positives that this great outdoor resource can provide. The community safety survey and more recent postal survey, asking local tenants if they are interested and would like to see this area being better used, have indicated that they think this is a good idea, they would support the development of new community projects and would welcome the opportunity to make use of the canal and its environs, that is, if it can be made more accessible and safer. The community safety strategy will therefore be prioritising involvement in the further development of the lock 16 area, the tow path along to the Falkirk Wheel and potentially some artistic creations and landscaping projects around the Juniors car park. It will be important to make sure that all such developments meet the local communities’ aspirations, and that local people are at the centre of developing and implementing these projects. All developments need to be coordinated and joined up in a planned way and I will be ensuring that this happens with the voice and needs of the community at the centre of this process. I will off course keep everybody updated of all developments and as a first part to this I will be looking to involve some local people with developing the plans for the before mentioned projects.

In partnership with Scottish Canals and other local agencies we plan to pilot, as part of the #tidyceangreen campaign, two full day canal clear up sessions. The intention is that these two days of activities will take place over the Easter School holidays (COVID Excepted) There will be an estimated 24 places available over the 2 days and participants will get a chance to help on the work boat, clear litter using paddle boards, take part in conservation and clear up activities on the tow path. Everybody will be made very welcome provided they have booked onto the activities, they will be suitable for young people, families, older people, and anybody with disabilities will be supported to take part.  This will be a day on the canal with a difference, but the core of the pilot activities is to help with making the canal a safer, cleaner, and greener place whilst taking part in some fun and interesting activities.

The bigger and longer-term picture will be about the assured safety of people so that they can use and enjoy this great local resource. The vision could include, water sports, proper seating, organised walks, angling classes, volunteering opportunities and training courses, new information boards, local history murals and pop-up parks, training and employment initiatives and conservation and outdoor learning programmes, or simply somewhere to go for a nice walk and then a comfortable relaxed seat beside the old canal. These are admittedly only aspiration or a wish list but there is the potential to make them happen, so we need volunteers to come forward and we require the community to take ownership of their own vision. In the first instance please look out for advertising and information about the 2 days canal clear ups scheduled for April, and hopefully it can be the start of something much bigger.     

Here is some music and a nostalgic look back at the history of the canal as it flows through Camelon onto Falkirk.  

I have been going back over the details of the community safety survey carried out between May and August last year and to consider how an interim strategy might address some of the clearer identified priorities. Often as you seek further clarity, gather additional information, and listen to new perspectives you reach a point where a clear route map and direction of travel comes into sight. However all too often for me this is usually followed by a period where the mist comes back down, and I am again fumbling in the dark and looking for a map or detailed plan to assist me navigate back out of the myriad of competing views, opinions, and policy positions. This has been particularly challenging when looking at our local issues and concerns about substance misuse and the manifest social and personal problems that are associated with addiction and dependency. This matter is of significant concern to the local community and there is anger and frustration that neither as a community or through the intervention of agencies have we been able to make significant progress or headway with this enormous social and individual problem. I want to just reflect upon the National context here prior to returning to our own local community safety strategy. The recent high-profile coverage of Drugs deaths in the Scottish news, media, public health sector, criminal justice system and political arenas has been intense, creating much heat but not often much light. Let us ponder the following:

• The most recent records from 2019 recorded 1264 drugs deaths in Scotland.

Drug-related deaths in Scotland are at their worst level on record and at a higher reported rate than any EU country, according to new figures.

The latest National Records of Scotland (NRS) statistics indicate there were 1,264 drug-related deaths north of the border in 2019 – a 6 per cent rise on 2018. It marks the highest number since records began in 1996.

David Liddell, head of the Scottish Drugs Forum charity, said the deaths were a “national tragedy and disgrace” – calling for more treatment programmes and the decriminalisation of drug possession.

“The statistics announced today are a grievous reminder of the human cost of the ongoing public health crisis we face in Scotland,” said Mr Liddell.

This then is the context we operate within Camelon and Tamfourhill , our communities have proud traditions, the Mariners and the industrialisation and construction of the  Canals , the radical Scotland  tradition born from this area and the workers  uprisings of 1820, but like much of central Scotland  we have been living in the mist of a post-industrial society and  a terrible consequence of that has been the devastation of sections of our communities and families through  drug misuse and the nightmare of  opiate addiction. It is quite obvious if we look at the age group of our resident drug dependent population, they are mainly in their 50s, in fact ages with me, and grew up in a quite different Scotland of the 1980’s.  So, what has the local community safety survey and consultation highlighted in relation to this matter:

 This category was recorded as being the second biggest local priority, when we look at the individual labels the following is noted: 75% of respondents were greatly concerned or fairly concerned about drug dealing and similarly 70% expressed the same views about the consumption and presumably also the buying and selling of Class A drugs (Community safety survey 2020)

There is considerable anger about people consuming drugs, and the buying and selling of drugs, drug paraphernalia being left about, the presence of drug addicts making it unsafe for children to use and play in the parks, they have an intimidating presence especially around the chemists and users gathering in public places to consume and deal drugs. There was acknowledgement that there was support services trying to make a difference, but the problem was often that drug addicts did not want help. There was empathy and understanding but the consensus was one of this matter being a problem and an extremely negative and harmful presence upon community and family life. These views and opinions were typical and consistent and were repeatedly stated comments from local people who completed the surveys.

From this highly emotive and damaging set of circumstances a community safety response is required that is supported by the wider community, can be implemented with the support of the relevant agencies and service providers and which has also to be empathetic to the needs and circumstances of the drug users themselves. Recovery and support to recovery must be central planks to this approach, the path to recovery is challenging but it is essential that the pathway is there and that we have the support and expertise available to help people onto that road when they are ready to begin that journey. This is a controversial area, but in my view, we are correctly moving towards dealing with the matter as a public health concern and away from it being a criminal matter. This now leads us into the ongoing policy debates that are currently raging, and this has a particularly local dimension with local man and independent drugs worker Peter Krydant planning to stand as an independent candidate in the Falkirk East Constituency in the Scottish parliamentary elections this May.  Peter Krydant launched a mobile overdose prevention facility this year, giving drug users in Glasgow a safe space to inject. How would his approach fit with a local community safety strategy? Remember it is probably not currently legal.

With help from trained volunteers, Peter Krydant after launching his facility has been credited with saving lives thanks to the supply of clean needles and overdose-preventing naloxone. It sounds very pragmatic, but would it contribute to addressing the concerns expressed by local people and would it contribute to making our community a safer place to live? Another strand to the local strategy has to be about early intervention with our young people and to provide reliable, creditable, and relevant inputs around alcohol, drugs and risk taking, the local community safety strategy must be on the ball with all of these issues. The involvement of youth work approaches and the need to better equip our young people with the skills, confidence, and knowledge to reject harmful behaviours through the irresponsible consumption of drugs has to be a top priority of the strategy. Another complexity might be the move towards the decriminalisation of drugs or the regulation of their use, this is another massive contextual and policy area that will have considerable impact upon how we tackle these issues locally.

I cannot provide any easy answers here, but I would acknowledge that we have dedicated professionals operating in this field and they are already successfully working in the Camelon and Tamfourhill areas, and personally I would like to thank them for their dedication and professionalism, they work in an area that is extremely challenging and highly unpredictable. I have provided a contact list at the end of this article, along with some references to current policy positions around both the decriminalisation and the regulation of drugs and the intention here is to facilitate knowledge which enables people to consider the issues for themselves.      

In conclusion here is the first question of the month for 2021, and I will keep this open until the end of February, so it is really a 6-week question, but it will be interesting to see the results and I will publish them on our social media and website. I hope that the mist starts to clear for us all and we can then find some clarity as to how we best move forward as a community and do this effectively and with compassion and empathy.

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6QG888J

Key Contacts:

Home – Transform Drug Policy Foundation (transformdrugs.org)

Transform Forth Valley (transformfv.org.uk)

Forth Valley Recovery Community (FVRC) | ASC

.ASC | Working across Forth Valley

NHS Forth Valley – Substance Misuse Service

Falkirk – Recovery Service – Forth Valley (changegrowlive.org)

SDF – Scottish Drugs Forum – A national resource of expertise on drug issues

Falkirk Walled Garden (cyrenians.scot)

I am sure that most people will agree that it is a relief to see the sun eventually set upon 2020. It has been a terrible year and I do not want to dwell to long on the tragedy and social disruption that has impacted upon us all in so many different ways. It is a real body blow therefore to start the new year with a further upsurge in the new mutant COVID virus and it appears we are moving in reverse and potentially retuning to the total lockdown of March 2020. There are reasons though that gives us a real sense of hope this time, vaccines are getting rolled out, the schools are better prepared for delivering effective distance learning and our community networks of resilience and support are better organised and coordinated. We know what is required and we know what we need to do to get us through to the spring when the sun will rise once more. The social and physical environment will come back to life and our community will once again thrive.  In many respects this is a challenge of time and patience and I believe the knowledge, skills and experiences of the last 12 months will enable us to secure a better future and build a stronger self-reliant community. This is not to overlook the role and responsibility of government both local and national in facilitating and resourcing our new aspirations and we will need to work collaboratively to address the social and economic problems of poverty, inequality, and the climate emergency. I nevertheless hope and believe that we can build a better community once we pull ourselves up and out from the destruction of COVID. An opportunity has presented itself for us to go about community in a different way, with different priorities and a fresher realisation of what is important to us and what is not. We must ensure that our Health Service is fully resourced and supported, a new Care service that is run for the community and acknowledges the real worth of the care workers that are employed within that sector, all our social services and education provisions become top of the class and we all work together to create a sustainable green economy which serves the commonweal for the benefit of us all. Lockdown provided a glimpse into a different world so let’s see if we can kick the door open and move through into the beginning of a new approach with a new set of agreed societal priorities.

I want to briefly highlight some of the new projects that I will be developing and supporting through 2021 and which will have a focus upon keeping our community safe, supportive, and progressive.

• Community Art projects and pop-up parks, there are a number of locations where these projects can be developed, improving our landscapes, and reducing anti-social behaviour. Encouraging local ownership and the involvement of the local schools, tenants, and community groups.
• A canal clear up and improvement of the tow path and safe usage of the different resources and opportunities that the canal can provide. Water sports, angling, walking groups and an improved safer tow path for everybody to use and enjoy.
• #Tidycleangreen with regular litter picks, conservation work and community fun days  
• Support the further improvement of Easter Carmuirs Park with the introduction of a new safer MUGA, better play equipment with lighting and shelters, organised sports and recreational activities run in the park
• The Mariners month, a celebration of our local community involving all the local groups and agencies, I am hoping that we will have a new community broadcasting project up and running and being launched for the month of activities and celebrations.
• Examining the practicalities of a new recovery café and volunteering project for those in recovery from the terrible impacts of addictions and to provide a safe and supportive social space for them with their families and friends.
• I hope to be able to work with Easter Carmuirs Parent Council and introduce a Pocket places and a school streets pilot project, a first for the Falkirk council area.
• Support the formation of new community groups with my colleague Dan including the community growing projects. There is the potential to support new areas of work around community safety initiatives in the Bantaskine area.
• Through listening to and working with our local young people develop new youth provisions and learning opportunities within their own communities and peer groups.

This is not just a wish list of activities, much of the groundwork for these projects has begun and they will all form significant strands of the local community safety strategy. At this time, I cannot give specific details but every one of the above projects has been discussed and partners have indicated a willingness to make them happen. As always, the community must be at the centre of these ideas and their success is reliant upon their relevance and appropriateness to the aspirations of local people their families and the wider neighbourhood.

I am sure most of us will be glad to see an end to 2020, its been a very difficult year and unfortunately for some a tragic year. The coming festive period offers an opportunity for quiet reflection and consider the importance of our collective strength and in our ability to show empathy and support to others in the face of ongoing adversity. In my few visits to Tamfourhill Community Hub I have experienced this ethos in action and I would like to acknowledge the tremendous and necessary work being carried out by the Tamfourhill Tenants and Residents Organisation. There needs to be a societal shift in our priorities and I personally feel we need to highlight and tackle inequality and poverty collaboratively, working closely with our statutory agencies and to do this in close partnership with our local communities.

But its out with the Old and in with the New and I am optimistic that we will as a community move forward positively in 2021. The level of resilience , adaptability and creativity that has been shown over the last 9 months has been remarkable and this level of community cohesion will be a focus for greater things to come in the near future. I look forward to confirming the local community safety strategy in the new year and to start delivering activities and projects which enable the community to be a safer and happier place to live and work.

A thank you to my colleague Dan Rous for his ongoing encouragement and insight and I have very much appreciated the support of Lynne and Shona as they have guided me through a path that has been at times awkward due to the Pandemic whilst I have also been trying to get to know the communities I am employed to engage with. I have been fortunate to have worked closely with a raft of different agencies and organisations, and I look forward to building on this solid foundation as we move forward in 2021.

Have a very merry Christmas and a Guid New Year and please remember to stay safe and keep the community a safe place to live and be about.

It has been a challenging experience taking up a new job just as we all entered into COVID lockdown. The vast majority of my time since May has involved me working from my home across the river Forth in Alloa. This has often left me feeling detached from the community that I am very keen to get to know and it has been similarly frustrating that I have not been able to meet and engage with the groups and organisations that will shape and progress the local community safety strategy.   Zoom is no substitute for meeting people in the real world and I have also missed just being about Camelon and Tamfourhill and experiencing the daily life of these communities.  The last week then has been a tremendous experience for myself as I have been able to directly support community activities and familiarise myself with the streets and byways of the local area. I would therefore like to take this opportunity to share all the positive experiences I have had in the last week and the amazing people I have met who are all committed to making a real difference to the local area and contributing   to making Camelon and Tamfourhill a happier and safer place to live and work.

Last Wednesday afternoon I met the P6 & P7 pupils from Carmuirs Primary School who have been learning about the negative consequences to the environment and to the community of dropping litter and dumping rubbish. This activity was not about clearing up other people’s mess, this was a learning experience which had a focus upon carrying out litter surveys and promoting techniques which will encourage behaviour change. This Project will continue over the next few months and the pupils will be monitoring the impacts of being part of a community and environmental clear up and behaviour change Project. The pupils spent the morning watching a presentation about litter and its damage to our environment and they were also involved with discussions about the reasons that litter is often dropped and what we as a community can do to improve that situation. An important aspect of this Project is to encourage behaviour change and to discourage people from dropping their litter in the first place. In order to achieve this new anti-litter signs, posters and stickers will be appearing in the streets around Carmuirs Primary School, so I am extremely happy to announce that the winner of the Keep Scotland Beautiful poster competition was Jaimee, so thanks to everyone who took the time to vote in the recent social medial poll.  After the different teams had completed their litter surveys, we finished the afternoon off by all having a hot drink prepared with the Kelly Kettles whilst we also had a chat around the fire about the importance of conservation. I would like to thank Ella from Waste Services at Falkirk Council, Carolyn from TCV Scotland and Ms Boyd and Mr Bell from Carmuirs Primary School, it was great for me to be out in the community meeting these young people and their positivity and enthusiasm were outstanding, here are some of their written comments  when they took part in an evaluation of the days programme:   “ I  learnt how to start a fire safely and I enjoyed the hot chocolate drink , and I also enjoyed writing the survey”, “I liked how everybody worked together, I also enjoyed the hot chocolate but I didn’t like how much rubbish that we found “I liked doing the survey and I loved helping our community” “Meeting new people and the hot chocolate”, these are just a few of the comments but overall the survey was definitely enjoyed  especially when  everyone got a cup of hot chocolate .

The next day I was out again but this time with some local adult volunteers and we carried out another survey along a measured transect on Brown Street. I will publish the results of all of these #tidycleangreen litter surveys in the new year as they reveal certain patterns, and they will be useful for developing our campaigning work that will follow on from these initial surveys and data gathering sessions. I would therefore like to thank Babs and Chris for giving up their Thursday morning to show me about the local area and carrying out the litter survey around Brown Street and its environs. I know they carry out regular litter picks, but I very much appreciate their contribution to our ongoing local campaign.   

Over the weekend I was privileged to be involved with supporting the Camelon Winter Festival and the Big Screen Project in particular. Over Saturday and Sunday, I must have covered 15- 20 miles on foot supporting the Camelon Arts Project with their amazing touring film and Christmas entertainment. This was a marvel to behold and although the entire film was amazing, I personally really appreciated and enjoyed the Freedom of Mind Choir and Brian MacGregor and Geraldine Heaney’s: “A Fanfare of Giants” an emotive piece of art. This was a totally amazing production of creativity and what an incredible input from the volunteers on both days. The rains came big style on Sunday, yet the volunteers and the Camelon arts staff just kept going with good humour and total commitment. I enjoyed this tour of the area and I met some very interesting people and I would like to highlight the volunteers: Craig the cyclist, Ian, Stuart, Kevin, Kenneth and Lorraine and supported by Maria from the Cyrenians, Mark, Mina and Kevin from Camelon Arts, and our own Dan the supper efficient tea boy at CJFC, what a team “you will never walk alone”, and off course also a big thanks to Charlie who provided warmth and shelter in our time of need. Finally, the other strand of the Winter Festival was the visit of Santa in his horse drawn carriage and accompanied by his hard-working elves. I only passed the carriage on a couple of occasions but the children on the street that I saw were totally amazed, excited and overjoyed when the carriage toured around their street.  The Winter Festival Committee produced an amazing weekend despite the challenges of COVID, the amount of work that must have gone into this is massive and I would like to acknowledge and thank: Anne, Babs, Chris, Mary and Liz and my apologies to anyone I have missed because this was such a fabulous team effort that produced such an amazing festive experience for the community.

  

• 

• 

• 

Announcement Number (1): Please cast your vote for your favourite Poster in this competition, where the pupils form Primary 6 and 7 have been designing posters for the #tidycleangreen campaign, as well as learning about the community and environmental problems created by dropping litter and causing fly-tipping.  I will announce the winner next week and you will be able to see that design locally as it will be getting manufactured into signage and other anti-littering publicity materials.

To cast your vote follow this link: https://fb.watch/2e71dTiY3N/

Announcement Number (2): The results of the question of the month for November was:

So, there you have it, change is in the air and the potential to develop a local school streets scheme would be a positive move and also one which would attract local support.

What are School Streets is a reasonable question to ask?

A School Street is a road outside a school with a temporary restriction on motorised traffic at school drop-off and pick-up times. The restriction applies to school traffic and through traffic. The result is a safer, healthier, and pleasant environment for everyone.

School Street schemes offer a proactive solution for school communities to tackle air pollution, poor health, and road danger reduction. A School Street scheme will encourage a healthier lifestyle and active travel to school for families and lead to a better environment for everyone. I have had some discussions with Easter Carmuirs Parent Council Traffic Group about how this could operate, and I have also had the issue highlighted with me form other local schools. My intention is to support this idea and see if it is a feasible and workable solution to our local traffic problems around the schools.  

Announcement Number (3) Christmas is approaching with great haste and although it will be different this year there is still some festive cheer coming to the streets of Camelon and Tamfourhill next weekend the 12^th and 13^th December. The Camelon Winter Festival is still happening despite the current COVID-19 health problems. I would like to acknowledge the extremely hard work, resilience, and creativity of both our Winter Festival Committee and Camelon Arts who in such challenging times have still been able to bring these joyous activities to the community.   Firstly, we have Santa who will be touring the streets of Camelon in a horse drawn carriage with his elves on foot. They will be delivering pre-booked presents to local families, over the two days. This happening is designed to be viewed from indoors and presents will be placed in front gardens and on doorsteps by the elves who will be wearing their very own yield tide masks and gloves. Secondly a travelling video screen will be touring the streets of Camelon and Tamfourhill, featuring the big voice of local singer Dionne Hickey, festive messages, and three inspiring videos made with local creative residents, part of an ongoing Camelon Arts project: Camelon’s Got Talent. The screen will drive slowly round each area and be accompanied by stewards to make sure that everybody is kept safe and well.

I would like to remind everyone that strict physical distancing will be required and that all COVID regulations must be followed and that any unlawful gathering of crowds outdoors will necessitate the involvement of the Police, so please stay safe and enjoy the wonder of the Camelon Winter Festival.  

Social media, just how social is it? and how is it changing our lives and that of the communities? It is quite difficult to get a balanced view about the pros and cons, the benefits and the drawbacks, the uses, and abuses. It is an issue that is particularly relevant to community safety and I am hoping that I will be able to identify some of the main issues that affect young people through the recently launched youth survey. There is however so much misinformation out there and anybody can become confused and stressed by opinions and attitudes which we find difficult to evaluate or identify fact from fiction. The clear positives are the communications and the connectedness that the likes of Facebook and twitter can provide for us, social media for example is an important strand to the current work of the Our Place Camelon and Tamfourhill project. The different platforms are extremely effective at getting messages out to the community, highlighting local developments, and involving people directly with current issues. The downside to all this is the potential for bullying and intimidation, spreading nastiness and falsity and undermining positive community activities. Social media is democratic, that is everybody and anybody can contribute to the narrative, however this can open us all up to danger and risk. Have a look at his short film: https://youtu.be/c9KUAJqlsdk

You couldn’t imagine that a modern teenagers life could  get any more complicated , but in many respects their lives have become ever more reliant upon  instant gratification with the constant pressures for peer acceptance and once you add in social media, this must become an ongoing stressful experience. Unfortunately for some young people their anxiety levels must go through the roof, their Image, friends and being popular, all accentuated and raised to previously unknown levels through the intense immediacy of social media platforms.  Now I don’t wont to sound over dramatic or cause concern where it is not appropriate , social media is more often than not a good thing , hey rock n Roll had its critics back in the day and I still have my collection of hard core punk vinyl , however young people have always required support and guidance and social media can place an additional burden  on them , their family and the wider community.  The local community safety strategy will be required to have empathy and understanding of these issues, in young people’s terms and as they experience these issues in their language. Local community safety will need to encourage relevant inputs and activities which can reassure parents and family about the welfare of their children when using social media whilst  also  equipping our young people with the confidence and self esteem to make the right decisions in often difficult and contradictory circumstances. I hope that through the youth survey and various focus groups to listen to young people explaining their experiences and concerns about using social media, how might they develop appropriate support, resources and information that would be useful to them and their peers and potentially also their families. I have had recent discussions with Neighbourhood Watch about how they might  make their services and provisions more relevant to young people and how we could better equip young people to deal with the risks that they may face online. This could be a strand of the local community safety strategy where we develop a young people’s scheme which is about them looking out for each other, whether that is online or generally out and about in the community. The key is to empower young people to have responsibility for finding their own solutions to tackle the relevant issues, that way any safety strategy is more likely to be effective. I have indicated in the past the possibility of setting up a Young Community Safety Volunteers Project which would develop and deliver peer education inputs and social media would be one of the key themes that I would like to explore with such a Group.  

Here are some online safety links:

https://young.scot/get-informed/national/four-tips-for-being-safe-on-social-media

https://tutorful.co.uk/guides/how-to-keep-kids-safe-online/social-media-safety

https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-centre/young-people

Top tips for 11-19s

Protect your online reputation: use the services provided to manage your digital footprints and ‘think before you post.’ Content posted online can last forever and could be shared publicly by anyone.

Know where to find help: understand how to report to service providers and use blocking and deleting tools. If something happens that upsets you online, it’s never too late to tell someone.

Do not give in to pressure: if you lose your inhibitions you’ve lost control; once you’ve pressed send you can’t take it back.

Respect the law: use reliable services and know how to legally access the music, film and TV you want.

Acknowledge your sources: use trustworthy content and remember to give credit when using others’ work/ideas.

Please encourage all 10-18 year olds to complete the local community safety youth survey, it’s the first step in a wider consultation and listening exercise, it will put young people and their safety at the centre of the local community  strategy. There is a prize of 4 free cinema tickets for the lucky person who has submitted a completed survey.

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/JFHLXT8

I am highlighting in this weeks blog the creative work of the Primary 7 pupils from Carmuirs Primary School. They are taking part in a local litter pick and survey and their art work and anti litter statements will be getting used as permanent signage on the streets and buildings around their school. I therefore wanted to use this opportunity to showcase their work and acknowledge and thank them for making a huge contribution to keeping Camelon and Tamfourhill #tidycleangreen

The messages are straight forward and to the point : In Town Don’t Throw Down, Help the Environment and Keep the Earth well and safe. We should all be listening to these statements as they show the amount of concern our young people have for their community and looking after the natural world around them. They are setting an example and it is one that we all should make an effort to follow.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Please keep an eye out for these designs appearing throughout the community and lets all make an effort to keep the community #tidycleangreen

How we can reassure people about their very real fear of crime?

One of the biggest challenges I face as the Community Safety Engager will be reassuring people that for most of the time they are safe and to reduce their anxiety  about crime and who is considered to be responsible for causing crime within the local community. The community safety survey found that 64% of respondents felt that the fear of crime and the need for reassurance was a noticeable and fairly significant problem in the local areas.

Last week the Scottish Community Safety Network, launched a significant piece of research. ‘The Scottish Picture of Antisocial Behaviour (ASB)’ report, produced by Robyn Bailey, Social Researcher for the Scottish Government, who was commissioned to research into ASB in terms of how common it is, which types are most common, who is engaging in it and what is driving it. I know many people cannot be bothered with facts and figures; but it is in my view worth pondering over some of Robyn Baileys findings, as they are revealing and, in some respects, consistent with many local peoples experiences. However, when we look at the national picture this is suggesting that problems with ASB are actually falling.  

The research found that Levels of ASB have decreased over the past 10 years and the public have noticed this decline in their areas,   nevertheless, those living in the most deprived areas, in socially rented housing and in large urban areas, as well as younger people, are more likely to perceive ASB issues in their area. My recent Focus Groups have echoed these concerns and have expressed a high level of concern about the connection between poverty, lack of opportunities and the very local levels of ASB. It would therefore not be unreasonable to conclude that if we do not address poverty and inequality then the same local neighbourhoods will continue to suffer from disproportionately higher levels of ASB.

The next observation is that although youth crime rates in Scotland are falling, the percentage of people who view young people hanging around on the streets as ‘problematic’ has continued to grow (Neary et al 2013) This seems to be due to stereotyping of young people congregating in public, which leaves them in a difficult position: just being young and hanging about can make these youngsters seem to be unfairly criminalised and often treated like modern day folk devils.

As always, the challenge is in responding to these circumstances in ways that are effective, and which bring about change for the better. The research finds that in reality ASB is more often caused by people in their thirties and not teenagers, and the most common ASB is unwanted and intrusive noise. The best course of action that is suggested will require the community and agencies to try and correct these false historic perceptions. The recommendation is that we need to adopt community-led approaches to tackling ASB. My role therefore as community safety engager should be key and central to facilitating, engaging, and supporting the community to develop responses and opportunities which will have the best chance of success. Firstly, we need to understand the causes of ASB and then we will have a far better chance of successfully reducing that negative behaviour. The solutions might be practical, for example excessive noise might be remedied through improving wall insulation and having more effective sound proofing in the housing stock. Another pertinent example might be about developing new local facilities or social services that are appropriate to peoples needs and interests. In areas of low income and with high incidence of poverty and deprivation then access to local sports and leisure facilities may need to improve and the barrier of cost be removed.  Unresolved mental health issues and ongoing substance dependency need to be tacked at their route causes as opposed to tackling their symptoms and the social and criminal consequences of these addictions and negative behaviours.

Finally, we need to address the perceptions of ASB and who engages in it and acknowledge that this is often influenced by stereotypes and reinforced through the media and the creation of moral panics. The responses to the local community safety priorities will require us to get behind the stereotyped labels, better understand the causes of people’s behaviours and attitudes and then as a community work together to facilitate successful sustainable solutions. One of the strap lines of Neighbourhood Watch Scotland is “We all need to look out for each other” and in that statement lies the core of an effective community safety strategy.

Visit the research findings of The Picture of Anti-Social Behaviour in Scotland herehttps://www.safercommunitiesscotland.org/new-research-the-scottish-picture-of-anti-social-behaviour/