READING Borough Council is seeking residents’ views on how safe they feel around town as part of the latest Community Safety Survey.
Councillors say the results will help determine the issues and locations to focus on over the coming year.
The previous round of the survey spawned a number of initiatives aimed at tackling anti-social behaviour.
These included increased funding of the Townsafe Radio scheme and Reading Business Against Crime (RBAC) to support retailers with training and intelligence, as well as a targeted Police operation to disrupt theft in the town centre.
It also includes the introduction of a new Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) has given TVP additional powers to deal with aggressive begging.
The Tap for Reading scheme provides the public with an alternative means of giving to homeless people online and through tap points across the town centre, which helps reduce aggressive begging.
The Reading Safe Space has continued to play a key role in supporting the safety of women in the Town Centre, with Reading’s First Stop and Street Pastors using it to support vulnerable night time visitors to town.
The CSP is continuing to encourage bars, clubs and businesses to promote the ‘Ask for Angela’ scheme, which offers a safe exit from risky situations in venues, along with Welfare and Vulnerability Engagement (WAVE) training for venue staff.
The CSP has also secured funding from the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) to provide self-defence training to community representatives throughout 2026, who will then go on to share their skills by training others with the aim of empowering women.
It also influenced the Public Spaces Protection Order, which came into force in March, gave the Council and Police additional powers to deal with five key elements of antisocial behaviour across the whole of Reading Borough.
As well as aggressive begging and the anti-social use of e-bikes and e-scooters, the order also deals with street drinking, dog fouling and dog control – all issues residents told the Council it wanted action taken on.
Finn McGoldrick, Lead Councillor for Community Safety, said: “It is really encouraging to see the successful partnership initiatives which have been put in place as a direct consequence of feedback from residents in last year’s Community Safety Survey.
“Council and Police colleagues are working together to find new and positive solutions to the issues people have flagged with us and they are working hard to make Reading an even better place for residents and visitors to enjoy safely.
“Both the Public Spaces Protection Order and Environmental Enforcement Partnership are brand new initiatives which have come about thanks to the input of residents, and we now want to build on that success and focus again on the issues and places residents want to see improved.
“I would strongly encourage residents to complete this year’s survey.”
The survey is available via: reading.gov.uk/cspsurvey26
