Safe Ayr
What is it?
Safe Ayr is an initiative which aims to make Ayr town centre an even safer and more attractive place to go out at night – particularly at the weekend. It involves a wide range of activities, including:
• Taxi marshals on Friday and Saturday nights
• A restriction order to reduce traffic in the ‘hotspot’ area of disorder
• An environmental clean up to improve the feel of the area and help monitor future incidents
• A mobile police office to provide a high visibility presence
• Provision of portaloos next to the mobile police office
• Publicity to raise awareness and improve perceptions
Who are the partners?
Safe Ayr was organised by the South Ayrshire Community Safety Partnership. It was implemented by a sub group – Ayr Town Centre Joint Action Group. This group was led by Strathclyde Police, and also included:
• Community Safety Team, South Ayrshire Council
• South Ayrshire Business Forum
• Licencees and shopkeepers
• Taxi and private hire operators
• Ayrshire and Arran NHS
• Community Policing
What has it achieved?
Safe Ayr has been in operation since June 2006. So far, the joint approach to improving safety has been very successful. It has had a wide range of impacts, including:
• The town centre area clears more quickly after closing time
• The road environment is safer, cleaner and more orderly
• Taxi drivers feel safer and more are prepared to work over the weekends
• More crimes are identified, reported and detected
• Crimes of violence have decreased
• People are more willing to approach police to discuss problems
• Arrests for urinating in the street declined sharply
• Problems with fraud and non-payment of taxi fares have reduced
What lessons have been learned?
• Take your time! Make sure you spend time exploring the problems and issues in your area. This will mean the initiatives you develop are appropriate and more likely to have an impact. In South Ayrshire, Phase One of this initiative was dedicated to problem solving. This involved sharing experiences between partners, looking at available data, analysing CCTV and speaking to a wide range of stakeholders. More…
• Work together. Pooling the skills and experiences of different stakeholders helps you to identify problems and discuss creative solutions. Gathering a wide range of opinions, both from partners and other stakeholders, helps to make sure the solutions you come up with are appropriate to your area.
• Think of the detail. Often, the smallest and simplest things can make the biggest difference. In South Ayrshire, simply emptying the bins before the pubs and clubs closed resulted in big improvements in safety and cleanliness. Simply being flexible about the way services are delivered can have a big impact.
Where can I find out more?
Lead Support Officer
Ayr Town Centre Joint Action Group
Tel. 01292 616626
(Monday to Wednesday only)
More information about Safe Ayr, and the other community safety activities in South Ayrshire, is available online at www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/safety
