The Community Safety Partnership review - Part 2
Community Safety Partnerships
Community Safety Partnerships were introduced by Section 6 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and bring together local partners to formulate and deliver strategies to tackle crime and disorder in their communities. Responsible authorities that make up a Community Safety Partnership are the Police, Fire and Rescue Authority, Local Authorities, Health Partners, and Probation Services.
There are over 300 Community Safety Partnerships in England and Wales, operating as either district, county, unitary, or borough partnerships. Community Safety Partnerships provide hyper-localised strategies tailored to the needs of their communities. They work on the principle that no single agency can address all drivers of crime and antisocial behaviour, and that effective partnership working is vital to ensuring safer communities.
The Community Safety Partnership review
Part two of the Police and Crime Commissioner Review, recommended that the Home Office undertake a full review of Community Safety Partnerships across England and Wales.
Public polling commissioned by the Home Office in July 2022 to better understand the views of the public regarding community safety highlighted crime and anti-social behaviour as issues of concern.
The Community Safety Partnership review seeks to clarify the role of Community Safety Partnerships, and improve their transparency, accountability, and effectiveness, making it easier for them to serve the needs of their communities in tackling crime, disorder, and antisocial behaviour.
Phase 1 of the Community Safety Partnership review was launched in March 2023 alongside the Antisocial Behaviour Action Plan. Phase 1 comprised of a targeted consultation, exploring the relationship between Community Safety Partnerships and Police and Crime Commissioners, with the aim of improving the way they work together, and strengthening the accountability of Community Safety Partnerships. The consultation closed in May 2023 and has now been analysed, with a government response to be published in due course, following which phase 2 of the Community Safety Partnership review will be launched.
Initial engagement to explore tools that could be delivered rapidly to support Community Safety Partnerships identified a dedicated webpage with relevant guidance as a key resource. Further guidance and resources will be added to this webpage as the Community Safety Partnership review progresses.
Delivering community safety: a guide to effective partnership working (2007)
This guidance supports partnerships in delivering the national standards and sets out the hallmarks of effective partnerships.
The below guidance provides best practice examples for partnerships meeting the national standards in 2007.
Police recorded crime – Office for National Statistics
Offences recorded by the police are published at Community Safety Partnership level by the Office for National Statistics as part of their Crime in England and Wales Statistical bulletins and by the Home Office in their open data tables.
Crime severity score (CSS) – Office for National Statistics
Crime severity score (CSS) data for police force areas and Community Safety Partnerships, which equates in most instances to local authorities. Includes a data tool to enable production of summary charts on trends and comparisons between areas.
Public digital crime and performance pack (DCPP)
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has worked with the National Police Chiefs’ Council, Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, College of Policing, National Crime Agency, and Home Office to collectively develop the digital crime and performance pack.
The digital crime and performance pack brings together published data about police performance to improve transparency and accountability. The pack shows the performance of all 43 police forces in England and Wales against the priority measures outlined in the government’s beating crime plan, in easy-to-use tables and graphical formats.
The initial launch (June 2023) covers homicide, serious violence, and neighbourhood crime. It will be updated with the latest published data every quarter. The interactive tool allows people to look at crime data in their area at any time. Further information and the digital crime and performance pack itself can be found on HMICSFRS’s website.
Read more here
Copyright: Home Office
Published: October 3rd, 2023