Issues of Implementation
Projects often fail at the implementation stage. This section of the toolkit looks
at some common pitfalls in implementation and suggests ways to pre-empt and overcome
these. Further help and tools will be available in the Partnership Working toolkit,
due later in Spring 2001.
(Insert Pitfalls Table here)
Following through on repeat victimisation
The challenge is to streamline and mesh the operational practices of partnerships
so that opportunities to prevent repeat victimisation are not missed.
Successful work on repeat victimisation depends on:
Accurate, fast information;
A planned and managed response; and,
Appropriate and robust partnerships.
Accurate & Fast Information
This involves:
Timely and accurate information about crimes and incidents, to decide on the
level of response for a victim; and,
The need for good communication flows between people and organisations so that
the right action is taken at the right time.
To deliver this effectively, it is helpful to consider taking action on the following
points:
Develop easy ways to record and transfer information. Where possible, incorporate
information requirements into existing forms;
Help people to record the right information, for example through providing
training, user-friendly forms, software that does not ‘accept’ poor information, or
by limiting the number of people responsible for recording;
Identify exactly what people or other organisations need to know to do their
job.
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An early lesson in the Huddersfield project for both the local authority housing
staff and the police, was the need to understand the needs and priorities of each
others working practices.
Example
It was not enough for the police to tell the housing office that a window needed
repairing. To avoid making two visits to the property, the housing office needed
exact information about the damage so they could take the right equipment and materials
the first time.
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A planned and managed response
Developing a planned and managed response involves mapping out exactly who
needs to do what, and when. Clear responsibilities need to be agreed,
together with any degrees of discretion.
Key questions include:
Who needs to have overall responsibility?
Do you need a dedicated coordinator for repeat victimisation?
Who are the core people who will initiate action?
What sort of administrative backup is required?
What technical resources are available and how is use of these monitored?
How will you ensure that the work actually happens?
How will you ensure the response remains appropriate?
Appropriate and robust partnerships
Partnerships need to work at both a strategic and operational level. Not all partners
involved at the strategic level will need to be actively involved on a day to day
basis. On a day to day basis it helps if:
The right people to take action are involved;
Partner agencies understand each other’s operational practices;
There are very clear lines of communication between the key players.
Understanding the system
In Huddersfield, the appointment of a part-time link person between the police’s
repeat victimisation team and the local authority housing office helped to ensure
a speedy response. From his experience, he knew what the police were unlikely to
know, that is, that housing offices prioritise their repairs as immediate, emergency
(within 24 hours), or non-emergency (within a week). An immediate response
cost more than an emergency, so fewer responses were coded in this way. He also knew,
however, that if the housing office received a request for emergency repairs before
11am the response time would in fact be as rapid as an immediate response.
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