The Community Saftey Podcast | An Interview With Jim Nixon
The Community Safety Podcast was launched on the 22nd of January 2021 and has since managed to garner over 30,000 downloads in the short space of time since its creation.
Jim Nixon, the founder and host of the podcast, interviews a wide variety of guests who work on community safety issues in an effort to educate listeners on important topics from domestic abuse, knife crime, and methods of policing – in doing so Jim hopes that he will be able to implement some positive changes within Britain’s social landscape.
As a former Police Officer, who worked within the force for over 20 years, Jim has a plethora of experience in dealing with community issues and is able to get to the heart of the most pressing issues which the public is facing within communal life.
In 2016, he would decide to leave policing to become a Community Safety Manager with a housing association, which aimed to tackle anti-social behaviour (ASB). Two years later, Jim would become the Anti-Social Behaviour Operational Lead Manager at Stoke-on-Trent City Council and would help to transform the service and reduce ASB by up to 50% in certain areas.
Each month, Jim will invite a new guest, from John Hayward Cripps (CEO of Neighbourhood Watch) and Carl Chin (author, social historian, professor), to Caroline Good (Detective Superintendent in the Counter-Terrorism Command), so that listeners can learn about their experiences and perspective on the current social climate, where problems exist, and what the public can do help their local communities.
Our Interview With Jim Nixon
In a similar fashion to my encounter with Mike Harman, I discovered Jim through his very active presence on LinkedIn. While scrolling through my newsfeed I came across video with the title – ‘Can a Community Safety Professional make a difference to people’s lives?’
Jim would proceed to talk about his experience of helping a young single mother escape the clutches of her abusive partner.
“I just looked at her, and I think she could tell from the look of my face, and I said:
‘You know what, that’s the worst idea i’ve ever heard. If you go today, what are you going to experience for the rest of your life? You could potentially, knowing what he has already done to you, end up dead.'”
Jim Nixon, Mouthing Off Interview
While Jim would highlight in our interview that this was not a ‘magical’ act – that anyone could do it – his bravery to confront the uncomfortable is without doubt highly commendable. In an age when people are often scared to speak their minds or go out of their way to help others (without any benefit to themselves), it was refreshing to see someone who was so passionate about providing assitance to their community.
Jim would go on to discuss a wide array of different subjects from his time within the police and the dificulties that the force now faces, to how and why he decided to start his own podcast about community-based issues.
However, the main point that Jim wished to get across both within our talk together and in his podcast is that people can make a difference at a local level. Whether this is through volunteering your time at the local soup-kitchen, joining neighbourhood watch, or simply staying in touch with the people next-door – becoming an active member of your community matters and can make all the difference.
In a period where we have had less contact with our family, freinds, collegues, and neighbours than ever before, it has become even more important that we begin to re-build our connections and come together in effort to support each other and the most vulnerable within our society.
To find out more about Jim Nixon and the Community Saftey Podcast you can watch our interview or head to their website.
