Mayor introduces new measures to tighten up safety across Doncaster this summer

‘It’s Summer in the City and we want everyone to enjoy Doncaster safely’ - that’s the message from City of Doncaster Council, South Yorkshire Police, local businesses and other partner agencies as Doncaster embarks on a summer long period of events and activities for residents and visitors to enjoy.

Running until the beginning of October, the city centre will be filled with a variety of events including festivals, activities, clubs, gigs and more.

This is on top of the usual variety of events that take place within the city centre on a regular basis, from quiz nights to markets to summer shopping schemes.

Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones said: “We want the city centre to be a place for everyone to enjoy and to feel safe when they visit so we have put more resources into a range of actions to make sure this happens.

“To help everyone stay safe, we have robust actions plans in place with our partners and the police to tackle issues including rough sleeping, anti-social behaviour and retail crime.

"In Doncaster, we have a compassionate approach to this and our intervention focusses on helping those people with complex needs who need extra support to rehabilitate and improve their lives.

“We are also engaging with and supporting local businesses with schemes like our shop front improvement scheme, and we are working on the redevelopment of some areas of the city centre to improve what we have on offer in Doncaster.

"This investment will help complement our fabulous markets, leisure and cultural venues as well as the mix of retail and independent businesses we have on offer in Doncaster.

“I encourage everyone to come and see what Doncaster has to offer and pay our city centre a visit this summer because not only will you have a great time, but your visit will help businesses in the area to thrive and help keep our city a vibrant place to be.”

Alongside the launch of its Summer in the City programme, City of Doncaster Council, South Yorkshire Police and other agencies have been working in and around Doncaster city centre to ensure it is a safe and welcoming place to visit, whatever the weather this summer.

Working jointly with local businesses, a series of dedicated action days have been carried out and will continue across the summer season.

Action is focussed on improving the city centre by clamping down on crime, in particular retail crime, knife crime, anti-social behaviour, drugs, illegal trading and environmental crime such as littering.

Residents and businesses are also being encouraged to report crime through a new ‘Report it. Sort it’ campaign so action can be taken.

A city centre Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) is currently in place which enables more visible resources within the city centre including police officers and city centre support staff conducting regular patrols, engaging with the community and providing support and help to those who are homeless or rough sleeping and to deter anti-social behaviour.

The council has recently consulted with the public and businesses on renewing the PSPO for another three years which, if agreed will extend until 2026.

Doncaster city centre has also recently benefitted from new, state of the art CCTV cameras which provide a good network of coverage around the city centre, and staff monitor the network working in partnership with the police to keep the streets safe.

The upgraded cameras in the city centre have proved invaluable in detecting crime and helping to identify those involved. Recently CCTV was instrumental in the recovery of three stolen pedal cycles and the arrest of two suspects.

Since its opening last year, a new youth zone at the Frenchgate Centre is supporting young people.

The Epic Hub is a safe space for young people to try new skills and take part in creative and sporting activities with their friends. The Hub offers learning about the risks that young people can be exposed to and how to avoid the dangerous distractions of anti-social behaviour and crime.

Young people are encouraged to visit the hub and see what is on offer and they can also receive wellbeing support.

Visitors to the city centre are advised to enjoy the summer sensibly – by drinking responsibly and being respectful to other visitors in the area.

Health partners including RDaSH have placed additional resources into the night-time economy to support people to have a good time safely, including the Save Haven health bus which offers a safe place to go. The Police have also provided Taxi Marshalls to support people to get home safely.

Community teams have been continuing to support the homeless, including those with complex needs, who need support to find accommodation and drug and alcohol support.

To support this, people are asked not to give money on the streets but instead give to Real Help Doncaster, a local fund that helps homeless and vulnerable people off the street and into a healthier and safer lifestyle.

The council’s street cleansing teams are in the city centre every day cleaning the streets, removing rubbish and emptying litter bins. A new campaign has been launched this summer to thank those who take pride in their local area and encourage everyone to keep the city of Doncaster clean. Businesses and residents are encouraged to report dumped rubbish and environmental crime online.

The council’s Trading Standards teams are working to keep shoppers safe by cracking down on unsafe or counterfeit goods. The teams have been focusing on businesses selling illegal vapes in the city centre and have seized over 8,500 vape products from businesses across Doncaster in the past year which can pose a serious risk to health.

Pop up information stands in the Frenchgate Centre have been helping to support those people in need during the cost-of-living crisis and partners have been working with community groups to keep local food banks stocked.

South Yorkshire Police Chief Superintendent Ian Proffitt, District Commander for Doncaster, said: “Making sure Doncaster city centre is a safe place to be is our priority. We want people to enjoy coming into the city centre this summer without fear of crime or anti-social behaviour, which is why we have been working with the council and other partners on a series of measures to keep everybody safe.

“Following an increase in the number of visitors to city centre venues last summer we doubled our policing presence on weekend nights, and this high visibility presence continues this year. In addition, as part of our day-to-day activity, the Doncaster Central NPT (Neighbourhood Policing Team) and proactive teams carry out regular enforcement activity in key hotspot areas.

“Please help us ensure everyone can have a safe and enjoyable time by reporting crime or anti-social activity as soon as possible to give us the best chance to respond. You can report crime by calling 101 or using our online portal. You can also report information anonymously to Crimestoppers, either online or over the phone.”