SUPT SARAH JACKSON WRITES: Much of our work, especially with the Community Safety Partnership on the Isle of Wight, focuses on providing support to, and finding the right outcome for, victims of crime.

Safeguarding is a word that’s commonly used but people may not quite understand what this actually entails. The Island has two multi-agency safeguarding boards, one for children and one for adults.

Police have a key role to play, which is why our strong links with other agencies are essential to ensure any safeguarding is person-centred and outcome-focused.

The collaborative work of all agencies is focused on a family-centred approach so safeguarding is not seen in isolation, but also in terms of adults ensuring individuals concerned are involved in their own safeguarding through a ‘Making Safeguarding Personal’ approach.

“At a recent Local Safeguarding Children’s Board conference the theme was online safety. There were a number of presentations from students from Ryde Academy, who were a credit to their school and they spoke about their experience online and Alter Ego Theatre Company presented a play focused on online safety, including the need to balance time in the real world with that of the virtual one.

“In general, the best way to ensure your children are safe online is to talk about it together, discuss your concerns and ask them to show you what they do online, for reassurance.

You might both find it helpful to visit www.thinkuknow.co.uk, which explains the dangers of sharing personal details online and the risks involved in meeting up with someone you’ve met online.

“More information on the work of the boards can be found at www.iowscb.org.uk for the children’s boards and www.iow.gov.uk for the adults board.

“Finally this month I’d like to reiterate my thanks to all those that were presented with awards at our annual event at Newport Congregational Church on October 15.

Twenty-seven people were recognised for their actions which have helped some of the most vulnerable people in our community. I was delighted two members of the IW Ambulance Service and one member of the IW Fire Service were among the award winners”.