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Name: Brian Quinn

Position: Geographic Inspector for Morecambe, Lancashire Constabulary

Brian Quinn is the recently appointed local Inspector for Lancashire Constabulary and has responsibility for policing resources covering Morecambe, Heysham and Carnforth. Brian has long-standing connections to the Morecambe area having worked in Northern Division for the majority of his twenty years service. He has held posts both in uniform and CID.

Inspector Brian Quinn said: “I am honoured to be appointed as Geographic Inspector for the Morecambe area. Like the majority of my staff, I have long standing family and personal connections to the area and I take a personal pride in the policing of Morecambe and the surrounding areas.”

He also said: “I am acutely aware of the concerns of the public which regularly are raised via the PACT (Police and Community Together) panels and other public consultation exercises that we regularly conduct. I hope that the recent �Clean Sweep� and Operation Nimrod (drug raids) that took place in the West End are clear signals of our intent to improve the area for those that live work and play in the West End.”

Inspector Quinn recognises the importance of partnership working and said: “I am convinced that the work of the Winning Back Morecambe’s West End team will go a long way to delivering what the local residents want. I can assure them that I will do everything in my power to assist in that process.”

Resident’s Say: “Poulton Is A Better Place To Live”

The results from a recent MORI Household Survey shows that Poulton Neighbourhood Management is getting it right when it comes to improving local residents quality of life.

The survey was conducted earlier this year by NOP and MORI on behalf of the National Evaluation Team who monitor the changes taking place in neighbourhoods with Neighbourhood Management Pathfinder programmes. The same questions were asked in 2003, a year into the life of the �Pathfinder� and are compared to the results obtained from this years evaluation. A final survey will be conducted again in 2009 at the end of the ‘Pathfinder’ programme.

Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 400 local residents. The most encouraging results show that 82% of Poulton residents are satisfied with the area as a place to live, which has increased since the last poll in 2003. Another encouraging finding is that 86% of households define their ‘quality of life’ as good, and represents a significant increase.

Local residents were asked for their opinions on the problems in the area and how they are dealt with. The results showed that the majority of residents consider the problem of graffiti and vandalism has reduced, that less residents feel that drug dealing is a problem and the number of residents who thought that burglary was a problem in Poulton has halved since 2003 to just 24%. Reasons for these positive figures can be attributed to a number of initiatives from Poulton Neighbourhood Management, the Street Wardens, Lancaster City Council, the Police and the Fire and Rescue Service.

Reducing unemployment by improving educational and training opportunities is one of Poulton Neighbourhood Management’s key themes and since the last poll in 2003 there has been a significant decrease in the proportion of local residents who are unemployed or claiming Job Seekers Allowance. At the start of the Pathfinder, unemployment was 7%, this figures is now just 3%.

Out of the 400 local residents who were interviewed, 77% said that they were aware of Poulton Neighbourhood Management, an increasing figure which can partly be attributed to the Poulton Community Times newsletter which is delivered to all households on a quarterly basis.

Residents were also questioned on how things could be improved in the area. Amongst those suggested, 20% said that there needs to be more facilities for teenagers, 19% thought that the general appearance of the area could be improved and 19% said that improvements could be made to reduce the amount of litter and rubbish.

The survey has also highlighted an increasing number of residents who would like to see increased provision of parking.

MORI will undertake the same survey in 2009 at the end of the Pathfinder�s life which will help to provide an independent result of how Poulton Neighbourhood Management has performed over the 7 years.