They feel Isolated

Empowering local people and communities can play an important part of crime reduction. To achieve effective solutions we suggest using the Community Inclusion model to encourage shared ownership of community problems, both geographical and communities of interest. For more information about the Community Inclusion model click here.

Suggested interventions:

• One of the most effective ways of reducing fear of crime is to raise community confidence and improve social capital (for a definition, refer to the glossary). Empowering and involving local communities as well as strengthening the ties between friends and neighbours are fundamental in tackling the fear of crime. The British Crime Survey shows that for those areas which have lower social capital there are higher levels of concern.
• Newcomers to an area can feel isolated. Encourage them to take part in community activities and get to know their neighbours. Another idea is to set up a New Neighbours Scheme, where newcomers are greeted by a resident and informed about the area and services which are available.
• Understand for yourself what people are saying and how they feel about living in the area. CDRP Audits will contain useful information about crime and the fear of crime. Local Authorities will have also completed household surveys which usually contain questions about crime and community safety. You can find these on the Crime Reduction website.
• Encourage the local community to get involved. They know which issues affect them the most within their area, listen to them and invite them to come up with ideas to solve the problem. Identify the leaders in each group and community who are the catalysts for making change happen. By getting them on board, you can discuss an outcome which accommodates all needs within the area, and these leaders can also help to get the community involved and empower them.
• Broaden and deepen partnerships to include members from the widest common interest groups such as charitable organisations, religious groups, local transport operators, local media, tenants associations, sporting and social groups. Look at section 5 in this toolkit for ideas on how to do this.
• Rural communities which are spread over great geographical difference have their own, and sometimes very different issues of community cohesion to face. For a more detailed discussion, ideas and advice on how to tackle crime in rural communities visit the Rural Crime Toolkit on the Crime Reduction website.
• Encourage areas to set up a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme, or in rural areas a variation on this theme such as “Farm Watch” or “River Watch”. The Neighbourhood Watch website contains advice for setting up a new scheme, including leaflets, stickers and the different roles within the scheme. Visit http://www.neighbourhoodwatch.net for more information.
• Are there any regeneration programmes or projects in your area? The Department for Communities and Local Government is responsible for Neighbourhood Renewal and regeneration programmes and the website contains useful information about funding and initiatives to rebuild and regenerate communities. Find out more at http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1127158.