PACT = Partnerships and Communities Together

PACT meetings are intended to give you an opportunity to highlight the community issues that are having an impact on your quality of life and to assist in deciding which issues are dealt with as priorities. It is not a surgery to discuss individual issues or concerns. Your neighbourhood policing team holds PACT surgeries separately. The meetings also give you the opportunity to get to know your local officer.

So why do we need PACT meetings?

Well despite the good news that overall crime is falling it has been recognised that our fear of crime and how safe we feel isn’t falling in the same way. Through the meetings you will see that perceptions of crime often don’t reflect the true position. You will also be reassured by witnessing the police and their partners dealing with the issues that matter most to you.

Every area in South Wales Police now has a named point of contact. That person may be a Community Support Officer or Police Officer who will be part of a larger team tasked with dealing with your community priorities after listening to you.

The goal is that a member of the community takes this position as PACT meetings are your meetings. Up to three priorities will be decided upon during the meeting for the police, partners and community to progress. At the following PACT meeting the opportunity will be taken to inform you of developments made in relation to the identified priorities. Hopefully you will see that communities working in partnership with the police and other agencies do make a difference.

This process needs your voice to ensure we concentrate on the issues relevant to your area. If you don’t say, we can’t listen.

Above information taken from www.ourbobby.com

Youth PACTshave been set in most areas in the Vale of Glamorgan as we recognise that young people are under represented at community PACT meetings. Young people often face the same issues in their communities just as much as older generations and Youth PACT meetings will enable young people to have a say about any issues, opinions and ideas about their community. It can also help to create positive relationships between the young people and key members of the community, such as the local police, local council officers and youth services.

The first Cowbridge School Youth PACT meeting will be on Tuesday 20 thJanuary 2009. Two representatives from each school year group will be invited to attend. Young people who are interested will need to see their year tutor to get their name on the list in order to be invited to the meeting. Free refreshments will be made available for all who attend.

For more info, e-mail:
lshaw@cowbridgecomprehensiveschool.co.uk
or call Lizz Shaw on 01446 772311 / 07592 510429