Reviewing the work of parish and town councils in reducing crime

In 2006 the Commission for Rural Communities undertook an evaluation into approaches to tackling rural crime. This reviewed the extent of recent reforms to reduce rural crime and fear of crime had been successful. Part of this evaluation included surveys of parish and town councils. This paper reports on the findings. It includes good practice case examples and recommendations.

Title: Reviewing the work of parish and town councils in reducing crime
Author: Commission for Rural Communities
Number of pages: 29
Date published: December 2006
Availability: Download full report PDF 640Kb

The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 gave new powers and duties to town and parish councils. Section 5 of the Act required county/district councils to cooperate with town and parish councils, in formulating and implementing strategies for the reduction of crime and disorder. Every town and parish council has a duty to exercise its functions 'with due regard to the likely effect of the exercise of those functions on, and the need to do all that it reasonably can to prevent, crime and disorder in its area'. This has a potentially wide-ranging impact. It gives parishes a responsibility for action on crime and disorder.

In November 2000, the Rural White Paper emphasised partnership working, based on local crime and disorder reduction partnerships (CRDPs). The White Paper made it clear that "there is no 'acceptable' level of crime, wherever it exists". In 2002 the Countryside Agency produced 'Section 17 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998: a practical guide for parish and town councils'. This was distributed to parish and town councils. More recently the Government has developed proposals for neighbourhood policing. The Government is committed to the introduction of neighbourhood policing in half the country by the end of 2007 and the remainder during 2008. This should enable policing to be organised to suit the needs of each community, thus matching rural and urban requirements in different ways. If full advantage can be taken of the experience already gained, this should enable greater effectiveness of the new system within rural communities from the outset.

In addition to the summary below of the survey and practical recommendations, the full report includes case studies of good practice and observations based on conversations with contributors.

The survey

The report includes details of a survey, completed by 635 parish and town councillors. The questions and the responses are summarised below:

Is your Council involved in the local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership?

21% of Parish Councils were involved
Over 50% of Town Councils said that they were involved.
13% of respondents did not know whether they were involved!

In your opinion, how effectively was your Council consulted before crime and disorder reduction strategies were decided?

Only around 20% of Parish and Town Councils felt effectively consulted by local authorities and the police.

Has the local authority formally delegated to your Council any responsibilities in connection with crime and disorder?

Approximately 90% do not have any delegated responsibility for crime and disorder.

In general how closely does your local police force liaise with your Council about the policing arrangements for your Council's area?

62% of Town Councils responded that liaison with the local police was very or fairly close
Parish Councils were split fairly evenly between those who felt that liaison by their local police force was not very or not at all close (49%) and those who liaised very or fairly closely (50%).

In your opinion, in your Council's area, to what extent has the fear of crime increased or decreased in the last three years?

Both Parish and Town Councils felt that there had been a slight increase.

In your Council's area, if you are aware of any evidence, to what extent has actual crime and disorder increased or decreased in the last 3 years?

Town Councils on average said that there had been no real change
Parish Councils suggested that there had been a minor increase in crime and disorder.

As far as you can recall, roughly how many times has your Council discussed issues of local crime and disorder in the last three years?

In almost 80% of Town Councils, crime and disorder had been discussed more than 10 times over the last three years (with nearly 40% of respondents stating that the issue had been discussed more than 25 times).
Some 50% of Parish Councils had discussed crime and disorder more than 10 times over the same period.

Has your Council completed a Parish Plan or a Market Town Healthcheck? If so, how important is crime and disorder in the Plan?

31% of responding Parish Councils and 39% of responding Town Councils had completed such plans and healthchecks.
Of these, Town Councils on average rated crime and disorder as aslightly more important issue (2.29) than did Parish Councils (2.54), (where ratings went from ‘1-very important'to ‘5 -not at all important).

Does your Council discuss the impact on crime and disorder before taking specific decisions?

A significant majority of Parish and Town Councils do discuss this impact. However, 18% of Town Councils and 37% of Parish Councils rarely or never discuss crime and disorder

Has your Council spent any of its percept or other resources on crime prevention during the last three years?

Some 73% of Town Councils and 44% of Parish Councils spend on crime prevention.
Categories of spend include:

CCTV (17%)
Neighbourhood Watch (16%)
Youth facilities (11%)
Design improvements (11%)
Information campaigns (8%)
Lighting (5%)
Police & Community Support Officers (PCSOs) (3%)

In your opinion, how useful have the provisions affecting Town & Parish Councils contained in the Crime & Disorder Act 1998 been to your Council?

37% of survey participants (205 of 551) did not know whether the provisions of the Act had been useful. (This might reflect high levels in turnover of Parish Clerks).
Of those with views, Parish Councils in particular did not find the provisions useful, with an average rating of 1.93 (with 1= ‘not useful at all'and 5 = ‘extremely useful').
Only 5% of those Parish Council respondents who provided a rating (14 out of 290) suggested that they had found the provisions to be useful.
Town Councils have found them slightly more useful, with an average rating of 2.52.
Many respondents were unaware of the Act. Most did not think that it would be useful to their areas, especially in the parishes and smaller towns where crime rates and fear of crime were not seen as being problematic.
Most of the Parish (rather than the Town) council respondents said that crime was not a particular concern in their areas, and that they had had no reason to apply the powers under the act.

Have there been any major new initiatives in policing or crime prevention in your locality in the last three years?

Some 47% of respondents answered ‘Yes'and 43% answered ‘No'(and 10% didn't know).
Types of new initiatives included:The most common new initiatives were the introduction of PCSOs and wardens and measures to increase police presence, such as the introduction of new Beat Officers. These initiatives accounted for more than 50% of all new measures in Towns and Parishes.

Practical recommendations

The report includes the following recommendation for town and parish councils.

Review the extent to which councils are meeting their statutory responsibilities under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998
Look again (or for the first time), at the 2002 guidance report,‘Section 17 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998: a practical guide for parish and town council s '
Learn from good practice examples within the sector
Local Authorities and the police and CDRPs should review what more they could be doing to consult and co-operate effectively with the parish sector.
The national (Defra led) Parish and Town Council Development Group and the various County Training Partnerships around the country should review the need for briefing and training to the parish sector on these issues.
This guidance also included the following suggestions specifically to parish councils:

To audit crime and disorder in their locality. By law, the local CDRPs will have carried out a crime audit and should be able to provide data on the area covered by individual parish and town councils.
To consult with their local community about their approach.
To identify local crime and disorder problems. And then decide on priorities and practical and realistic ways of addressing these.
To identify what resources are needed, including funding, skills, labour and so on; identify how these resources will be found; and set a timetable for implementing the chosen options.

Getting a copy

Download Reviewing the work of parish and town councils in reducing crime PDF 640Kb

Last update: Tuesday, December 12, 2006

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