Women’s Crime Prevention

by Rob Smith

On April 27th inside Verdon Recreation Centre, the focus was on a recent spree of cowardly crimes in Burngreave – a number of attacks by a gang of young misfits upon Muslim and Yemeni women.

Diane Hameed of the Yemeni Community Association, one of the organisers of the event, explained the concern was the number of attacks against women from the Yemen. “As a community organisation we approached the police to put an end to this. Older women have found themselves unsure of what to do about this situation. So the idea of this event is to make women aware of what they can do after being attacked and robbed, and put a stop to it.”

The meeting was attended by over a hundred Yemeni women as well as community organisations and police officers. It was opened by Superintendent John Brennan, who spoke about how seriously the police were taking these crimes and how important it was for them to be reported when they happen. Abdul Shaif assured the women present that telling the police is the only way forward in putting an end to these attacks.

Nicki Warburton of the new Anti-social Behaviour Team spoke about the service they have established.

WPCs Leigh-Ann Brown and Paulette Cook explained they were hosting this event having been made aware Yemeni women had become victims of these robberies, and had not reported them to the police for cultural reasons.

“This became a focus for us as the New Deal Police Team,” said WPC Brown. “We are working with the Yemeni Association, Anti-social Behaviour Team and others to focus attention on a multi-agency approach, towards open communication and access to crime prevention services.”

Anyone with problems of this nature shouldn’t hesitate to call the NDC Police Team on 296 4381. The women were also advised to have any benefits paid by cheque or directly into the bank if possible, so they wouldn’t have large amounts of cash on their person. If you would like advice on how to get benefits paid into your bank, contact the Benefits information line on 273 6777.