Talking to the Public Case Studies

Below are examples of local initiatives. We are not suggesting that they will necessarily work in your location because each area will have different local levers which cause fear of crime.

Case Study 1

As part of their Suffolk First For You campaign, the Suffolk Constabulary has made a commitment to improve communications with the residents of Suffolk. They are inviting residents to join a new police messaging service called Police Direct. Messages can be received by text, e-mail or voice message to landline or mobile. The system allows the force to send information about crime and policing issues within Suffolk. They are also doing localised crime alerts and crime reduction advice. The service is completely free.

Here is an example of how well the system works:

In February 2006 Police Direct sent out details of a prolific church burglar who had previous convictions in Suffolk. A message was sent with the description of the male, the car he was driving and it registration number. A member of the public was at a local church eating lunch when he received a text message from the police about the prolific burglar. The member of the public spotted a vehicle matching the description, saw a male get out and go into the church. The police were contacted and the church burglar was arrested. This was all completed in just over an hour. The suspect admitted burglary at churches in Suffolk, Norfolk, Shropshire and Nottingham.

Case Study 2

In Spelthorne, Surrey Police lead on an initiative called “Partnership Action Day”. This is a reassurance exercise in a neighbourhood of the borough involving CDRP partners. It is intelligence led, so focuses on the particular problem at the time. Residents and businesses are able to see how agencies work to tackle local issues, raise concerns and enforce action such as speed checks. Checks are also carried out on licensed premised in the areas and officers give crime reduction advice and safety tips and any practical help required. These Days take place on a quarterly basis.

Case Study 3

Safer Lancashire is a well established partnership website with an average of 110,000 hits a month. It gives the public in Lancashire access to information regarding community safety activity across the county.

For the last 5 years Lancashire has centrally collated statistics from the emergency services, local authorities and probation service to support all partners concerned with community safety in the county. This information has been held on a restricted access area of the Safer Lancashire website for use by members of MADE (Multi-Agency Data Exchange). With the advent of the Freedom of Information Act it was decided to make some of this data available to a wider audience. From 3 April 2006 “Lancashire MADE Public” will give ward based facts to all of Lancashire’s residents and to businesses operating in the county.

The aim behind Lancashire MADE Public is to give a holistic picture of community safety statistics from the view point of all the partners involved in delivering the community safety agenda. This will help make the delivery of community safety more transparent, address the reassurance agenda and reinforce the partnership working philosophy across the county.

By going to the website www.saferlancashire.co.uk/statistics residents will be able to see a ward profile on:

• the facts on calls to the emergency services, violent crime, anti-social behaviour, deliberate fire setting, vehicle crime, violent crime, numbers killed or seriously injured on the roads and domestic burglary.
• contextual information such as education achievements, youth justice, demographics, levels of deprivation, economy and police performance.

 Case Study 4

A pilot in Rugby called the Rugby Policing Manifesto Scrutiny Panel gives residents the opportunity to become involved in crime reduction in their area. The pilot is being run by the Association of Police Authorities. It provides a rigorous mechanism whereby the CDRP is held to account by the community for the work to reduce crime and provide reassurance.

The Panel will meet 6 times a year holding them in public. The venue for each meeting will move around the borough to enable accessibility to the whole of Rugby borough and information about each meeting will be available on www.rugby.gov.uk.

The Panel will scrutinise the work of Rugby CDRP to ensure it is focused on the areas of most importance to the public. It will monitor the CDRP performance, investigate key areas of work and make recommendations for improvement when necessary. Members of the CDRP and its constituent bodies will regularly attend meetings to answer questions, be accountable for their actions and better understand community concerns. The membership of the Panel for the pilot period will be:

• Independent Chair
• 3 Borough Councillors
• 3 County Councillors
• 1 Parish Councillor
• 1 Business representative
• 6 Lay Members of the public.

The pilot will be assessed in July 2006, 12 months after starting and the fundamental measure of success will be that the public respond positively that Rugby CDRP is focused on their priorities and is delivering real improvement.

Case Study 5

Across the country, One Stop Shops are being set up either in an actual shop or an exhibition stand in a prodominate place where people walking past will see what it is about. These One Stop Shops will be a place where the public can get crime prevention advice, such as how to secure their property or how to start a neighbourhood watch scheme, and they should also be able to get advice about how to get involved within their community to help reduce crime and disorder. Some Shops also offer advice about council services or other agencies’s services which could be of use. Others use it as a place where people can report crime, discuss local issues and request non-emergency police services. This Shop should help the public to understand what is being done to reduce crime and disorder in their area and well as it bringing the community together.