Crime & communities
Tackling fear of crime & disorder in the community
Who is Involved in Crime Reduction in Your Area?
When the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 became law it established partnerships between the police, Local Authorities, Probation Service, Health Authorities, the voluntary sector and local residents and businesses.
These partnerships, commonly known as Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRP) are working to reduce crime and disorder in their area by the following process:
Auditing the levels of crime and disorder problems in their area. This includes consulting widely with the population of that area to make sure that their perception matches that of local people, especially minority groups, such as members of ethnic minorities or gay men and lesbians.
Devising a strategy containing measures to tackle those priority areas. This is to include targets and target owners for each of the priority areas.
The strategy lasts for three years, but must be kept under review by the partnership. Stemming from the strategy are various projects and schemes, some of which will be very local and some of which will be borough wide.
In addition to local initiatives, there are also a number of national initiatives. These help to tackle local crime problems such as those on street crime, drugs and vehicle crime. Under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, crime reduction is the responsibility of the whole partnership and within each organisation there may be specialist staff or departments which have a specific responsibility for crime reduction.
To find out where your local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership is located and for a copy of their strategy, visit www.crimereduction.gov.uk/regions/regions_map.htm
Questions
Are you aware of your local CDRP?
Have you seen a copy of their strategy?
Do you know who your local crime reduction officer or community safety officer is?
Are you involved in any crime reduction projects?
If you are tenants of a local authority or housing association, do you know if your landlord has a policy to tackle anti-social behaviour? If so what is it?
Last update: Thursday, October 19, 2006