Chiswick has been given its very own neighbourhood community safety coordinator as part of a new scheme to bring together the police, council services and residents to fight crime at the local level.

Marco Capitao is one of five new coordinators who will work across the borough with local people to tackle crimes that affect them.

Although he is ostensibly a council officers, Marco will be based at Chiswick Police Station so he can work closely with the police to take action against perpetrators of crime.

Cllr Peter Thompson, leader of the council, said, “The local police already do a great job tackling crime, but we’re both determined to work together even more to make a real difference to how safe people feel on the borough’s streets.”

Marco will be helping both the police and council respond to crime, anti-social behaviour, and drug and alcohol problems at the local level.

To do this, he will work with the local community to identify problems in their area. Then, by bringing together the police and any related council services, he can help make sure that residents know what is being done about them.

Cllr Paul Fisher, lead member for community safety at the council, said, “Crime is relatively low in the borough, but people still don’t feel as safe as they should. These new roles will help make sure our services are doing what they can to help tackle this, and promote the work already being done.”

If people have any concerns about crime in Chiswick, they should contact Marco Capitao on 07951 344961 or email marco.capitao@hounslow.gov.uk

January 5, 2010