Carnoustie and District Crime Prevention Panel

The Panel was inaugurated in 1987 and was initially involved in promoting Neighbourhood Watch Schemes in Carnoustie and Monikie, cycle coding and safety exhibitions. In 1995, two founder members, the late Bob Robertson M.B.E. and the late Jim McMillan, lobbied the Scottish Office and Tayside Police and were successful in setting up a form of camera surveillance in Carnoustie well ahead of its time. This led eventually, in 1997, to the introduction of the "state of the art" CCTV system throughout the Angus burghs.

Currently the Panel has 18 members, including Inspector Kenneth Hart, Community Liaison Officer - Constable Mark Callison, all 3 local Councillors and various professional and business members, most of whom are retired. Lindsay Martin is Chairman, Sandy Beckett is Vice-Chairman, Constable Callison is Secretary, David Selfridge is Minute Secretary and the Press Secretary is Kay Landsburgh.

In the past few years various topics have been raised and followed up - Pub Watch, under-age drinking, travelling people, dog-fouling, litter, cycling on pavements, "boy racers", vandalism, anti-social behaviour. Crime watch and anti-fraud leaflets have been distributed throughout the district, and door chains and security lights for vulnerable people were fitted. The Panel also purchased a covert camera for use locally and helped towards the purchase of a Police mountain bike.

With a view to bridging the gap between the young and the elderly in the area, we staged an Intergenerational Conference in the Carnoustie Golf Hotel in September 2006, thanks to generous funding from Angus Council and others, and this proved a great success. We have had a further two conferences in the same venue, in 2008 and 2010, and are planning to do it again in 2012, funding permitting. The format for these is to provide three or four workshops on current issues – drug and alcohol abuse, social responsibility and internet dangers being last year's topics. The workshops are run by the experts in those fields, encouraging interaction between the age groups and some lively discussion. Baldy Bane Theatre Company, based in Glasgow, has been the highlight of the last two conferences. Their play "CyberSpyder", describing the grooming on an internet chatroom of a vulnerable teenager, provided a powerful message to young and old.

The Panel recently hosted a meeting of local organisations and residents after the wanton destruction of 22 of Carnoustie's Christmas lights by teenagers. This followed on from some serious anti-social behaviour by the same age group in several areas of the town. Discussions are ongoing on how to promote social responsibility and respect for their home town to the small section of our townsfolk – young and not-so-young.

Kay Landsburgh
Press Secretary
Carnoustie & District Crime Prevention Panel