Stockton Borough Council Community Protection Officers, who provide reassurance and advice to the public on crime and anti-social behaviour, and Civil Enforcement Officers, who enable the council to impact on environmental issues, such as fly tipping, vehicle offences, graffiti and noise nuisance, were the latest cohorts to attend the Level 3 Award in Introduction to Crime Prevention training.
Whilst the qualification was originally created to support staff in policing this has been successfully adapted by KABSEC Training to support other roles in security and community safety. This has been achieved by consultation with the council, aligning it to the individual and specific role profiles and targeting the officers and communities needs whilst preserving the integrity of the qualification.
Twelve attended in total and their work experience ranged from a few months to many years in their respective occupations. This qualification will give them the tools to understand how crime occurs, identify vulnerable victims and carry out a professional crime risk survey for residents and local businesses.
The training was arranged by Jamie Stephenson, Community Protection Operations Manager from Stockton Borough Council, who believes this is a positive investment in their staff. He intends to make this qualification a permanent part of the training requirement for all new recruits in these fields of work