Help us make Bury safe for women and girls

Bury’s Community Safety Partnership Plan sets out priorities to make the borough safer and has been developed with local communities.

The work of the Community Safety Partnership during the last three years has helped to maintain Bury’s position as one of the safest places to live in Greater Manchester. The safety of women and girls is key to this work.

In the United Kingdom, a woman is killed by a man every three days, a figure that has remained unchanged for a decade – with most victims killed by a current or former partner.

We are aware of what takes place nationally and do not want to see such a situation develop in the borough.

Therefore, the community safety partners have, with local communities, put together the Women and Girls’ Safety Action Plan.

The plan sets out how partners will work together to change behaviours, to make sure places are safe for women and girls, and to engage with the public.

And the partnership wants your views about the priorities and themes laid out in the plan.

The plan and questionnaire are available on the One Community website here: www.onecommunitybury.co.uk/women-and-girls-safety-plan

Consultation runs until 25 November.

The Community Safety Partnership is made up of representatives from:

• Greater Manchester Police
• Bury Council
• Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service
• Probation Service
• Community Rehabilitation Company,
• Youth Offending Service
• Bury Clinical Commissioning Group
• Public Health
• Bury Voluntary and Community Faith Alliance

Councillor Richard Gold, cabinet member for finance and communities, said: “We are proud that Bury is one of the safest places to live in Greater Manchester.

“But we are not complacent, and therefore, the plan sets out what we can all do change attitudes; make our public places safer, particularly at night; how we can support victims and how we can reduce re-offending.”

Sharon McCambridge, chief executive of Six Town Housing, added: “‘The safety of women and girls is a top priority. As the Team Bury lead for this, I would urge as many of you as possible to participate in this consultation so that we hear the diverse voices of all women and girls across Bury to shape the plan and make this a safer place for all of us.’

And Chief Inspector Samantha Goldie, of GMPs Bury District Neighbourhood Team, said: “In July of this year, GMP launched Operation Lioness, a night- time operation which saw patrols deployed to local town centres in Greater Manchester on the weekend, including Bury, looking out for predatory behaviour and ultimately working to keep women safe.

“The operation was a success, with a number of arrests made for offences such as stalking and harassment and assault, as well as working closely with licensed premises and our partner agencies to educate and inform on the topic of gender-based violence and how businesses can help.

“Although Op Lioness has now come to an end, we will be carrying on this work as part of our day-to-day business as a police force. Today we are having a day of action in Bury to educate the public, specifically women who may be at risk of violence, on the fantastic support services available to them and we will be hosting a number of stalls in the Mill Gate centre, so anyone can come and have a chat with us.”

ENDS

Press release issued: 7 October 2022.