Council steps up activities to keep City Centre safe this winter

This Winter of Action will see both the council and police stepping up many routine activities that are already being carried out as part of their ongoing Safer City initiative. Among other things, the public can expect to see increased patrols in hotspot areas, coordinated action to tackle crime and disorder, reassuring presence at upcoming Christmas events, and a suite of resources being made available to help people better protect themselves during their nights out in the city centre.

Led nationally by the UK Home Office, the Safer Streets Winter of Action brings together police, local authorities, businesses, and community organisations from across the country, all of whom will be joining forces to make their respective town and city centres safer and more welcoming this festive season.

The campaign builds upon the success of the Safer Streets Summer blitz — which City of Doncaster Council also participated in earlier this year — while taking into account the more specific challenges posed by winter, including darker nights, bustling shopping streets and more vibrant nightlife. The Winter of Action aims to address each of these by focusing on visible policing, crime prevention, and community engagement.

Throughout December and January, South Yorkshire Police and the four South Yorkshire local authorities and community partners will be working to improve safety in the night-time economy, as well as to tackle retail crime, street crime, and anti-social behaviour. This will include linking with other partners like CCTV operators and licensed premises to ensure everyone can have a safe and enjoyable nightlife over the Christmas and New Year period.

There will be increased visibility of police officers and local authority city centre/town centre wardens, increased messaging around personal safety, and the promotion of schemes to help people celebrate safely, including taxi marshalling and “Ask for Angela”.

Each district will be coordinating its own programme of activity linked to its priority areas. Partners will coordinate measures to address a range of issues and will work with other organisations, including Trading Standards and outreach workers to provide youth provision, support and signposting to young people to reduce anti-social behaviour. Environmental enforcement will see council officers issuing Fixed Penalty Notices for littering and fly tipping; plus traffic and parking enforcement by council wardens.

In addition, there will also be a strong focus on the night-time economy, with measures to prevent alcohol-related disorder, and to protect women and girls from harm. These efforts will include joint patrols in priority areas, reassurance visits to businesses, and environmental improvements such as better lighting and CCTV in hotspot locations.

The Safer Streets Summer Initiative demonstrated the impact of coordinated activity, delivering thousands of hours of patrols, joint operations with British Transport Police, and community outreach projects. Building on this success, the Winter of Action will continue to strengthen trust between communities, the police and partners by aiming to make public spaces safer and more welcoming.

Speaking about Doncaster’s involvement in the initiative, Mayor Ros Jones, said: “Safety is a top priority for us all year round and so we are pleased to support the Home Office’s Winter of Action. This will see us stepping up all of the usual activities that are already part of our ongoing Safer City initiative in Doncaster, to make sure that everybody can enjoy the festive period here in our city. Among other things, we will be increasing our routine patrols, providing a reassuring presence at upcoming Christmas events and working alongside South Yorkshire Police to proactively tackling crime and antisocial behaviour.”

Kilvinder Vigurs, South Yorkshire Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, added: “The festive season should be a time for celebration, not concern. Through the Safer Streets Winter of Action, we are responding to your concerns to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour head-on. By working closely with South Yorkshire Police, local authorities, and community partners, we are seeking to restore confidence in public spaces and ensuring that everyone feels safe and welcome. Together, we will make our town centres vibrant, reduce crime, and bring back visible, community-led policing.

“Trust in community policing has eroded over recent years, with the number of people seeing uniformed officers in their local area halving in the last decade. Through targeted national and local action, the Winter of Action aims to reverse this trend and make a lasting difference to communities.”

Superintendent Shaz Wood from South Yorkshire Police said: “While Christmas is a time of joy with lots of merriment and festivities, it is a time where we do see an increase in certain crime types, and that is why it's so important we have Operation Blitzen running as our proactive policing response and our commitment to keeping you safe.

"Officers and staff work hard right throughout the year tackling some of the crimes we typically see an increase in over the winter and festive months, but Operation Blitzen is our chance to ensure we are utilising all the resources at our disposal to protect our communities from harm. We will use a mixture of tactics as part of the operation, with a lot of work taking place behind the scenes and away from the public view, but you can expect to see an increased policing presence in areas with high footfall. Officers from your local neighbourhood policing teams will be out and about in communities and I would urge you to please speak to them about any queries you have as there are to help you and would appreciate hearing more about what's concerning you."

For more information about the work being done all year round to make Doncaster a safer city, visit the Your Life Doncaster website. Meanwhile, for information on the resources available to help you keep safe on nights out this winter, visit the relevant page on the City of Doncaster Council