Safer Wealden Partnership Terms of Reference
The Vision of the Safer Wealden Partnership
Improving people’s lives in Wealden’s Communities by working in partnership to reduce the levels of crime and anti-social behaviour and managing the fear of crime.
The Safer Wealden Partnership was formed under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. It has long been recognised that the Police alone cannot be responsible for tackling all crime and disorder – it requires a community response. The Safer Wealden Partnership brings together a number of agencies, all working together to tackle crime, anti-social behaviour and manage the fear of crime.
Many people believe that crime is rising, even though national statistics have been falling for a number of years. However the statistics which back up this claim are based on relatively large areas and they do not take into account pockets of crime which may occur in relatively smaller geographical areas. In addition people do not always judge the levels of crime and how safe they feel on the levels of burglary, for example. Their perception may well be based upon levels of anti-social behaviour in their neighbourhood or by the level of graffiti or cleanliness of the streets. These examples highlight the need for a multi agency approach to the whole issue of reducing crime, anti-social behaviour and managing the fear of crime.
In 2006 the Home Office published its review of the partnership provisions of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. The review was carried out by the Home Office, the Local Government Association, the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Association of Police Authorities.
The review was brought about for a number of reasons. The Home Office claim that the partnership landscape has changed significantly since Crime Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) / Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) were created in 1998, this is coupled with the introduction of Local Area Agreements and the changing role of local government both of which present new challenges for CDRPs/CSPs. The review also claims that changes to the Criminal Justice System and the delivery of the police reform agenda will also impact on how CDRPs/CSPs do business.
The proposals in the review have been broken down under five main headings:
- Structures
- Delivery
- Governance and Accountability
- Mainstreaming
- National Standards.
