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“Why PACT?” by Andy Fisher

Our new contributor Andy Fisher writes about why he attends PACT meetings…

We’d like to welcome our new contributor Andy Fisher who will be writing for WV11.co.uk! Here is Andy’s first post, all about why he attends PACT meetings…

Firstly, I would like to say hi to all the  readers of the WV11 website. I am delighted to be working with WV11 on the site. This is the first of my many posts and will focus on why I go to PACT meetings as a local resident.

I first went to a PACT meeting in the summer of 2011 as I had been saying to the Local Neighbourhood Partnership (LNP) that I would attend for a long time and never actually did because of other commitments. However, I had a little time spare on the evening and decided I would go along to the Wednesfield South meeting at the Jennie Lee Centre to see what it was all about and raise some issues I had.

The reason the I attended at first was that I had some issues to raise and didn’t know who to raise them with and as someone who has been a community driven person for quite some time, I wanted to see first hand what happens at a PACT meeting.

“Make A Difference”

It is very true what they say – it is YOUR way to get involved and raise issues which are important to YOU and the community you belong to. In my opinion a lot of people will moan and moan about something but will not do anything to make a difference, but by going to PACT you can influence what the police prioritise for the next 2 months.

After attending PACT meetings I have begun to meet new people who share the same interests of changing the community and have also met people from relevant Council partners who I can contact in the future if I have any issues.

One of the priorities set in the Summer PACT meeting was anti-social behaviour on motor vehicles, whether that be motorbikes, mopeds, or boy racers in cars. I am pleased to say that during the following 2 months the issues in the Perry Hall and Castlebridge Gardens area of Wednesfield reduced dramatically. This goes to show if you speak up about an issue something will happen.

Attending PACT meetings means you can meet your Local Policing Unit’s team of PCSO’s and their Sergeant (which could be helpful in the future) and see just how friendly and approachable they are.

And so…because I found the PACT meeting informative and interesting along with seeing the results first hand, I decided to go to the next PACT meeting in October/November 2011 and I will be going to this week’s meeting as well. The next step for me is to go along to the Wednesfield North PACT as that covers the area I now live in but I will continue to attend the Wednesfield South PACT so that I can help represent people from that area who cannot attend themselves.

Maybe I will see some of you in the future at one of the PACT meetings so that you can see what they are all about and get involved yourselves?

Andy Fisher

Check the events page for details of upcoming PACT meetings.

Photo: West Midlands Police

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