Burning safety issues

Yesterday I joined representatives from the police, fire service, NHS and the Suffolk Drug and Alcohol Action Team, along with community safety officers and CSP Members from St Edmundsbury BC and Mid Suffolk District Council, to talk about the future direction of the West Suffolk Community Safety Partnership.

Strategic priorities for the coming year were outlined, and the status of the Partnership in the future was discussed.   The election of the Police Commissioner in November next year was a hot topic because once elected he will control our budget  and we need to convince him that the work we do to make the community a safer place is worthwhile and worth paying for.

The event, which was generally considered a success, got off to a potentially incendiary start however, when, following the Chairman’s usual comments about fire drills etc. one of the representatives from the fire service made the observation that it might be a good thing to remove some gently steaming papers from a spot close to the lens of the projector!

The headline ‘Local Safety Partnership torches community centre’ might have rather undermined the body’s credibility with our new funder.