The Crime & Disorder Act 1998 requires Community Safety Partnerships (or Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships as they are described in the Act), to conduct an audit of crime and disorder every three years and to inform and refresh strategies to address the crime and disorder issues which have been identified. The latest Community Safety Strategy (2005-2008) is the third to be published by the Birmingham Community Safety Partnership. Like its two predecessors which covered the periods 1999-2005, it is prepared to meet the requirements of the Crime & Disorder Act 1998.
Click the link below for further information on Birmingham's Crime & Disorder Audit and Strategy 2005-08:
• Birmingham's Crime & Disorder Audit and Strategy 2005-2008
Within the Crime & Disorder Act 1998, Section 17 requires local authorities, police authorities and other agencies to consider crime and disorder reduction and community safety in the exercise of all their duties and activities.
Potentially this is a powerful tool, requiring authorities to look at the crime reduction potential of all their policies, budgetary and other decisions and service provision. The recent introduction of a more performance driven regime for Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships, supported by reporting structures introduced in the Police Reform Act 2002, is likely to further highlight the variation in responses to Section 17.
Section 17 states:
‘Without prejudice to any other obligation imposed upon it, it shall be the duty of each authority… to exercise its functions with due regard to the likely effect of the exercise of these functions on, and the need to do all that it reasonably can to prevent crime and disorder in its area’
Community Safety touches the work of most departments and service areas. Through Section 17, officers and elected members have an opportunity to consider how each service area can contribute to reducing crime and disorder, addressing the social, community and physical ‘drivers’ of crime and so enhancing quality of life for local communities.
Taking this approach will also help achieve ‘Best Value’ in the delivery of local services. Recognising these links, many local authorities are using their best value review process to help drive continuous improvement.
The minimalist approach involves having mechanisms in place to ensure that crime and disorder implications are considered whenever policy and service developments are approved. This might be achieved, for example, by inserting a section on community safety in all reports going to the executive or cabinet for decision.
The mid-level approach involves building a commitment to reducing crime and disorder into the routine activities of individual departments and service areas.
The corporate approach involves treating crime and disorder reduction as a ‘whole organisation’ activity and supporting this at corporate level, for example, by building a commitment to creating safer communities into corporate plans, objectives, information gathering and review process. The corporate approach has most potential for delivering safer communities, demonstrating best value, responding to community concerns and joining-up service delivery.