Prisoners make flower baskets to help reduce crime

Prisoners have made more than 80 hanging flower baskets

Prisoners have been making flower displays for a Lincolnshire town.

Inmates at North Sea Camp jail have built 88 hanging baskets and floor-standing planters, which will be installed in Boston.

The project is a collaboration between the prison, Boston Borough Council and Lincolnshire Police.

Ch Insp Richard Nethercott said the work was designed to improve community safety.

“Environmental factors are linked to decision making when committing crime," he said.

"If an area is run down, it signals neglect, increasing the likelihood of offending.

"Enhancing these spaces will make them feel safer and discourage criminal activity.”

The work is funded by the Lincolnshire Serious Violence Fund as part of its Operation Plotting Environmental Changes and Offender Rehabilitation project, which "seeks to address the root causes of violence and promote a culture of non-violence".

Other initiatives include street cleaning, community rangers and increasing the number of CCTV cameras.

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