Recognising Derbyshire ASB Heroes: Dawn Gee

“The phrase community spirit is used quite a lot, but I really do believe that Dawn embodies every part of that.”

As part of Anti-social Behaviour Awareness Week, we asked our officers and staff for suggestions of the people who are making a positive difference in their communities in tackling ASB.

The above quote is from PCSO Supervisor Sam Coleman, who nominated Dawn Gee from Carlisle Against Crime.

Dawn has been running the group for over two decades, setting it up in 1999 after seeing the effects of anti-social behaviour in her community, “It escalated, and we were having walls kicked over, greenhouses smashed, and cars turned over. It became such a problem that people were frightened to report it and looking to move out of the area.”

By working to bring together the community, police, council and other partners, Dawn and the Carlisle Against Crime were able to take control of the problem, “It could be simple solutions, like locking the park gates at night, which made a difference and stopped the crimes and stopped them from becoming even more serious.”

Carlisle Against Crime continues to adapt to different challenges, from running pilates groups for pensioners and social sessions to bring people together to reduce loneliness, to co-ordinating food deliveries for the vulnerable in the Coronavirus pandemic.

Dawn continued: “Twenty-four years later, we’re still here. Those issues resulted in something positive. Now, there’s demand for properties on Carlisle Avenue because people know about the community spirit here.”

PCSO Supervisor Sam Coleman added, “I think Dawn is the perfect person, and community group, to shine the spotlight on during ASB Awareness Week as her work is so inspiring- if only we had a Dawn in every ward!”

You can find out more about the ASB heroes from around the county on the Safer Derbyshire website: Anti-Social Behaviour Heroes (saferderbyshire.gov.uk).