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Community Safety and Crime Reduction in London

Who Is Responsible for Community Safety?

Central Government

Central Government and, in particular the Home Office, play a role in setting overall policy and making legislation for community safety, as well as putting resources into many of the agencies that work within CDRPS.

The Home Office's objectives are to:

• help people feel safer in their homes and local communities
• support visible, responsive and accountable policing
• protect the public from terrorist attack
• cut crime, especially violent, drug and alcohol-related crime
• strengthen our borders, fast track asylum decisions, ensure and enforce compliance with our immigration laws, and boost Britain's economy
• safeguard people's identity and the privileges of citizenship
• work with our partners to build an efficient, effective and proportionate criminal justice system

The Home Office has recently been reformed handing over some of its previous responsibilities to the newly created Ministry of Justice.

The Ministry of Justice has taken on responsibility for criminal law and sentencing, for reducing reoffending, including prisons and probation, plus all the current responsibilities of the Department for Constitutional Affairs.

In 2005 a community safety strategy, known as the National Community Safety Plan 2006-2009 was produced. It had three aims:

1. to give a clear view of Central Government community safety priorities;
2. act as tool for driving delivery of a shared community safety agenda, and as a starting point from which to develop new ways of working across central government; and
3. underline central government's expectations of key delivery agencies

The plan recognised that community safety cannot be successfully delivered by the police alone and pointed to the necessity of building broad based partnerships.

It aimed to put strong and active communities at the heart of the plan, recognising the vital contribution that voluntary and community groups make to community safety.

Government Office for London

Central Government manages its affairs through its 9 regional government offices. The role of Government Offices is to actively support and improve the way government works in the regions, so that the needs of local communities are met more effectively.

Government Office for London (GOL) represents central government across the capital, delivering policies and programmes for eleven central government departments and making London's case in Whitehall.

GOL 5 key priority areas for 2006/07 reflect the 5 areas of the LAA process:

• Making London more healthy
• Making London safer
• Making London more sustainable (including greener & cleaner)
• Investing in London's children
• Developing London's economy

GOL manages its work in the Local Authorities through Public Service Agreements (PSAs). These set out its aims, objectives and key outcome-based targets and form an integral part of its spending plans. The PSAs that relate to Community Safety are:

• PSA1 - to reduce overall crime by 15%
• PSA2 - to reassure the public, reducing the fear of crime and anti-social behaviour, and building confidence on the criminal justice system without compromising fairness
• PSA3 - to bring 1.25 million offences to justice in 2007/08
• PSA4 - to reduce the harm caused by illegal drugs including substantially increasing the number of drug misusing offenders entering treatment through the Criminal Justice System
• PSA6 - to increase voluntary and community engagement, especially amongst those at risk of social exclusion.

Community Safety at the Local Level

The 1998 Crime and Disorder Act requires all statutory partners to consider crime and disorder reduction while exercising their duties. The Act made it the joint responsibility of the local authority and the police to plan and carry out a crime and disorder audit and publishing a strategy for tackling crime and disorder.

This Act brought Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships into existence. (See CSAS Fact sheet on CDRPS). However at the heart of this legislation is the notion that crime and disorder can only be tackled through partnership and that therefore communities themselves have a part to play.

London Community Safety Partnership

The London Community Safety Partnership (LCSP) was set up in 2006 to help to co-ordinate the development of community safety strategy, policy and practice in London.

It is made up of agencies including the Metropolitan Police Service and British Transport Police, pan-London agencies including London Councils, the Greater London Authority, the Metropolitan Police Authority and the Government Office for London, it has local authority representation and involves regional partners such as the Fire Brigade, NHS London and Transport for London, criminal justice bodies such as London Probation, National Offender Management Service, Youth Justice Board and the Home Office.

For 2006/7 it has selected three issues upon which to focus on a regular basis. The selected themes are:

• Anti-social behaviour
• Robbery
• Youth crime and victimisation

The Partnership generally meets every two months but it also seeks the support and involvement of a range of boards, forums and networks throughout London.

The Role of the Voluntary Sector

The Voluntary Sector has been involved in community safety issues for many years (though not all voluntary sector organisations would define their activities in this way). Voluntary groups are often involved in the activities listed below which would all be seen as impacting on community safety.

• Improving the environment
• Looking after vulnerable groups e.g. children and the elderly
• Working with offenders
• Working to reduce hate crime, racism and prejudice
• Working to reduce school exclusion
• Working with young people to divert them away from crime

More from CSAS

Download Community Safety and Crime Reduction - A London Overview 

Links

• Home Office
  Central government department with particular responsibility for community safety
  www.homeoffice.gov.uk
  
• Ministry of Justice
  A new formed department that has responsibility for criminal law and sentencing, and for reducing reoffending including prisons and probation
  www.justice.gov.uk
  
• Government Office for London
  One of nine regional offices in England and Wales. Represents central government in London.
  www.gos.gov.uk/gol/
  
• National Community Safety Plan 2006-2009
  Further information including FAQ's about the plan and links to download it and the 2006 update
  www.crimereduction.gov.uk/
  
• London Community Safety Partnership
  Information and updates on the work of the Partnership from GOL
  www.gos.gov.uk/gol/

Downloads

• An Introduction to Community Safety
  This Introduction to Community Safety from the National Community Safety Network aims to provide those new to community safety with an induction to this field of work. It is a resource that can be used either as a quick reference guide to selected topics, or as a manual of key information relating to community safety. It also contains information on where to find more guidance.
  www.community-safety.net/