In a bid to make communities feel safer and more protected, West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion and Councillor Adam Kent have funded the largest implementation of SmartWater in West Mercia.
From this week, almost 4,000 homes in the Worcestershire village of Wythall will start receiving SmartWater kits to protect their homes from being targeted by criminals. Through the support of the Commissioner, and the promise from Councillor Adam Kent to make Wythall ‘SmartWater protected’, a team of PCSOs, police cadets, and other volunteers, will start making their way round the village as part of a phased rollout.
The team will be knocking on doors to give residents the SmartWater kits, explain how it works and register them there and then. Anyone who isn’t in can contact their local Safer Neighbourhood Team to get their kit.
In other areas across West Mercia, SmartWater has already proved to be a success with Cleobury Mortimer, in Shropshire, seeing no burglaries in 2016 compared to six during the same period the previous year.
Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion said: “SmartWater is proven to prevent burglaries, and it is already acting as an extremely effective deterrent across West Mercia. By protecting another 3,700 homes, we are working to make that many more people feel safe and secure.
“By preventing the crime from happening in the first place we are protecting people from becoming victims of crime as well as saving a significant amount of money.”
Councillor Adam Kent said: “After talking to residents, and listening to their concerns, I promised that I would ensure Wythall became a ‘We Don’t Buy Crime’ village and homes would be treated with SmartWater. This rollout will go a long way in reassuring people that their homes are much more protected. This has also been a great opportunity for the council to work closely with the Police and Crime Commissioner and police. I hope that more councillors will look to do the same in their respective areas.”
Issued on: Tuesday 17 October
