Isle of Wight Council and its partners are carrying out a series of initiatives to help reduce crime and restore pride in local communities between 13th - 20th October.

‘Not in My Neighbourhood’ is a government initiative designed to encourage local residents to work together with their council and police force to make their communities safer and reduce the fear of crime.

Residents who know where graffiti is and want to see it erased are being encouraged to ring the council’s Safer Community Safety Service on (01983) 550980 to report it.  Alternatively, they can email community.safety@iow.gov.uk or log onto www.iwight.com/graffiti. These locations will subsequently be visited by teams using specialist graffiti removal equipment who will clean the area highlighted.

Council officers will also be joining their colleagues from the police and carrying out patrols in the Island’s busiest towns during busy weekend evenings to help deter anti-social behaviour.

Dedicated anti-dog fouling patrols will also be carried out across the Island during the week, while Medina Housing and South Wight Housing officers will be working with the council and police to clear up communal areas.

Also as part of the week, the council will be trailling a new machine capable for removing carelessly discarded chewing gumn from the pavement. The machine will be trialled initially in Newport and, if successful, will be used across the Island to clear gum from the pavements wherever gum is a problem, particularly in busy town centres and esplanades.

Isle of Wight Council cabinet member for Safer Communities Diana Tuson said

“‘Not in My Neighbourhood’ is a very successful scheme that involves the whole community with positive outcomes. It encourages the public to work with the authorities to help instil pride in their local areas.