Pan London Crime and Disorder Prevention

Over the past few years most crime reduction initiatives have originated However, recently there has been an rediscovered awareness that although many issues are particular to one or another local area there are London wide or sub regional issues which cross borough boundaries and benefit from a broader coalition of services and resources. in boroughs rather than co-ordinated London wide activities.

 

The roles of the elected Mayor of London and the Greater London Authority include tackling crime and disorder in London. This has been noticeably undertaken through transport safety and supporting the development of the London Domestic Violence Strategy and its statutory commitment to Section 17of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and its duties.In October 2008 the Mayor of London will be able to Chair the Metropolitan Police Authority (see link below) - which is the senior management body of London's police. Mayor Johnson (elected May 2008) has stated he intends to take on this role. The Johnson manifesto Making London Safer identified crime and disorder reduction and increased policing activity as its top priorities with four out of his eight key issues being crime and disorder oriented.

There are a number of regional and sub regional issues that need to be focused upon if crime is to be effectively reduced. Amongst these are the cross borough boundary issues - the commision of crime in sub regional hotspots or the movement of criminals from a home borough to another to commit an offence. A useful piece of research on this subject is Cross-border Crime in Richmond.

Concern about crime in London (see Annual London Survey 2007is the number 2 priority – second only to the concern about affordable housing. What the surveyalso identified was that although concern about crime was decreasing concern about policing – need for increased numbers and visibility – was going up the priority list (from 6th place in 2005 to 4th place in 2007).Less well understood has been the fall (and rise) in crime in the London boroughs.

All of these municipalities entered into an agreement with central government to reduce crime by approximately 20% between 2004 and 2008. Most of them succeeded and some, like the London Boroughs of Hackney and Lambeth, far exceeded those targets but why they did (better resources, better targeted crime and disorder reduction targets, better skilled staff, comprehensive 'buy in' to the partnership work of crime and disorder reduction reduction etc.) remains unclear as there has been no significant evaluation of their work.

Crime Prevention & Community Safety in London

Crime & Disorder Prevention

 

A consistent approach to crime and disorder prevention and community safety is an ideal - a clear understanding of what the problems are, the best ways of tackling them, adequate resources to do the job and effective programme delivery.

This is not to say that one size fits all; as each area has its specific needs but these can be catered for within a framework of systematic programme development based on good practice .

Details of crime prevention work in London can be found on the web pages of the individual London Boroughs. Each of these boroughs is undertaking a range of activities to reduce crime and disorder in their municipality.

Partnership Working         

Borough Based Crime Reduction Partnerships

Partnership work to reduce crime and disorder occurs at both a local and regional level. The earliest work in this field was led by individual boroughs - normally through the local police and local authority 'Partnership Policing' programmes. These undertook this work voluntarily prior to the legislation contained in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. Subsequently, sub regional and regional partnerships have developed.

 

For the past decade, dedicated community safety teams  - often containing a combination of local government and policing staff- have been operational throughout London. These teams have been backed by borough based Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs). They vary greatly in their work programmes and resources dedicated to undertaking the work of crime and disorder reduction.

CDRPs achievements are also differential. Where, for instance, resources have been dedicated to anti social behaviour reduction - such as there has been in the London Borough of Camden - there has been a significantly greater number of anti social behaviour orders issued than in other, less focused, boroughs. Similarly significant investment by partnerships in policing (Hammersmith and Fulham) or in Neighbourhood Wardens (Southwark) or Parks Police (Newham and Wandsworth) have seen similar increases in work related outputs.

London Wide Crime Reduction Partnerships

London wide crime reduction partnerships are still in their infancy. The two main crime and disorder partnership co-ordination groups in the metropolis are the London Community Safety Partnership and the London Criminal Justice Board. The former is a loose affiliation of key agencies which commission working groups to undertake the development of work in such areas as anti social behaviour and youth crime reduction. The later is a more executive body which is linked to the national Criminal Justice Service.

The London Criminal Justice Board provides detailed information on performance against targets at http://lcjb.cjsonline.gov.uk/London/3124.html.

London Community Safety NGO Partnerships

There are four distinct types of community safety NGO's in London:

1.  Regional Specialists (such as the Community Safety Advisory Service)

2.  Local or sub regional specialist groups (such as the Finsbury Park Partnership /FinFuture)

3.  Local voluntary organisations co-ordinated or supported  by regional or national NGOs (such as borough based Victim Support Services or Community and Police Engagement Groups)

4.  National Specialist based in London (such as Nacro)

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  Links to London Policing

Metropolitan Police

The home page of the Metropolitan Police, London responsib le for the delivery of policing services in 32 of the 33 London municipalities. 

Metropolitan Police Authority (London)

The Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) exists to make sure that London’s police are accountable for the services they provide to people in the capital.

City of London Police

The police force specifically undertaking policing work in the 'square mile' of the city of London.

British Transport Police

A national police service responsible for policing the London Underground, Docklands Light Railway and railway stations and lines in the London area.

  Links to London Crime and Justice Agencies

London Probation

Web page of the London Probation 'a law enforcement agency' providing a range of services to offenders, designed to tackle their offending behaviour.

London Crown Prosecution Service

Home page of the public prosecutors covering the London region.

Victim Support - England and Wales

Home page of VSS covering the London region.

  Links to Other Relevant Organisations

London Councils (Community Safety) 

The London Councils community safety team leads for the organisation on strategy and policy developments, building links with key partner agencies and supporting boroughs in developing new initiatives and improving services. The team also work closely with elected members of London Councils' Crime and Public Protection member grouping.

Government Office for London

Home page of the Community Safety mini site of the Government Office for London

  NGO Crime and Community Safety Partnership Links

Greater London Domestic Violence Project

A strategic partnership working for best practice in domestic violence work across London and providing information for people affected, service providers, and employers.

Community Safety Advisory Service

Home page of CSAS which works to reduce crime through voluntary sector capacity building. 

London Drug and Alcohol Network

LDAN provides independent and expert advice to member agencies, commissioners and other stakeholders supports member agencies in providing cost-effective high quality services, that are user-focused and engages policy and decision makers, seeking to influence and investment in services.

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