South Cambridgeshire Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership Partnership Rolling Plan 2008-2011 Page 1 of 19 Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 3 What is the South Cambridgeshire Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership? ...................................... 5 The aim of the South Cambridgeshire CDRP ........................................................................................... 5 About this strategy .................................................................................................................................... 6 How this strategy links to other strategies ................................................................................................. 6 How the CDRP works together ................................................................................................................. 7 Recent examples of successful partnership working: ................................................................................ 7 Keeping you up to date ............................................................................................................................. 8 Priority 1: Anti-social behaviour and criminal damage ............................................................................... 9 Priority 2: Burglary of homes .................................................................................................................. 10 Priority 3: Vehicle crime .......................................................................................................................... 11 Priority 4: Domestic violence .................................................................................................................. 12 Priority 5: Reduce re-offending ............................................................................................................... 13 Appendices ............................................................................................................................................ 14 Appendix A: Resources .......................................................................................................................... 14 Appendix B: What each partner contributes to the CDRP ....................................................................... 15 Appendix C: Neighbourhood panels ....................................................................................................... 16 Appendix D: Glossary ............................................................................................................................. 17 Appendix E: Crime statistics ................................................................................................................... 19 Page 2 of 19 Introduction Community safety affects everybody who lives, works and visits the district. Statistics show that South Cambridgeshire district is one of the safest places in the country. Whilst this is good news, by close analysis of the wide range of statistics available, some types of crime in the district can be seen to be rising and we want to address this. The Police cannot tackle crime alone. To tackle crime, there needs to effective partnership working between local agencies, authorities, parish councils and communities. The South Cambridgeshire Crime and Reduction Partnership exists to do this, and is committed to reducing crime in the district by working in the most effective, efficient and innovative ways. Reducing crime is not easy and cannot be done quickly. Whilst some types of crime can be addressed by swift enforcement, others require a change of culture or behaviour or for an initiative to be set up before the effects are seen. By working together in the district we want to minimise the opportunities for crime, take enforcement action, and ensure appropriate programmes and support to divert people away from a potential criminal lifestyle. But we have to accept that there are circumstances that we cannot control. There will always be those who commit crime. As with the delivery of many public services, it is unlikely that we will have the all money and all the skilled people that we would like to carry out all the work we would like to do. Therefore the CDRP has to plan its activities carefully, and use its resources wisely, and take a balanced approach to both immediate and long-term solutions to keeping crime low in the district. This new strategy clearly lays out our priorities for the next three years, and has been based on statistics, data, evidence and community feedback. I have no doubt that meeting our aims and objectives will be a challenge. It is a challenge the CDRP is confident it can achieve by working together and by working with local communities. Cllr John Reynolds Chair of South Cambridgeshire Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership Page 3 of 19 Information about the District South Cambridgeshire consists of approximately 900 square kilometres of countryside that surround the city of Cambridge. It is predominantly a rural area that contains no towns, but has a number of smaller settlements and 102 parishes, none currently with a population of more than 8,000. The District is surrounded by a ring of market towns just beyond its borders, which are generally 10–15 miles from Cambridge. South Cambridgeshire district sits in the fastest growing county in England - Cambridgeshire - located at the crossroads of the M11 / A14 roads, with direct rail access to London and to Stansted Airport. In 2003 South Cambridgeshire had a population of over 130,000. 14,000 additional homes are scheduled to be built in the district between 2008 and 2016. Population forecasts predict the district to grow by 25% by 2021 from a population of 138,200 people in 2006. The area is one of the UK’s leading regions of economic growth. As well as being a thriving agricultural area it is a base for world class businesses, concentrated on the industries of the 21st Century - information technology, telecommunications, biotechnology and e-commerce. Its strength and reputation also comes from research and development links between industries, the universities and two of the world’s leading hospitals - Addenbrookes and Papworth. Cambridge is a major service centre for a wide area and, of course, a renowned tourist attraction. The city has an international reputation, with leading universities. Between April 2006 and March 2007 there were 6,768 recorded crimes in the District; 329 crimes (4.6%) less than in our baseline year of April 2003 to March 2004, when there were 7,097 crimes recorded. However, when comparing recorded crime for April 2006 to March 2007, with April 05 to March 06, there has been an increase of just over 13%, or 812 crimes. Of particular note, Criminal damage (including arson), accounts for nearly a quarter of all crime (1,698 incidents, 24%), with Theft from a Motor Vehicle showing a considerable rise (60 extra incidents, an increase of 8.1%) since the year ending March 2004. This means that, whilst looking from a national perspective, crime is low in the district, there have been some increases which the CDRP will need to continue to focus on. Page 4 of 19 What is the South Cambridgeshire Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership? The South Cambridgeshire Crime and Disorder Partnership was formed in 1998, in response to the introduction of the Government’s Crime and Disorder Act (1998). The Act made it a requirement for local agencies to work together in Crime and Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour. The South Cambridgeshire CDRP is made up of the following partners: Cambridgeshire Constabulary South Cambridgeshire NHS Primary Care Trust Cambridgeshire County Council National Probation Service Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Fire & Rescue Service South Cambridgeshire District Council Cambridgeshire Police Authority Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Fire Authority Working in partnership is recognised as an effective way of reducing and preventing crime. Some of the partners can contribute enforcement action; others can provide support and positive interventions, whilst others may promote key messages and advice. Taking a partnership approach can address current issues as well as look to prevent problems in the future. In addition to the work of the partner agencies, we recognise the vital part played by communities and other partners including parish councils, neighbourhood policing panels, Neighbourhood Watch and the voluntary sector. The aim of the South Cambridgeshire CDRP To improve community safety through the reduction of crime and disorder in South Cambridgeshire District Council area. Page 5 of 19 About this strategy To help inform this strategy and ensure we identified the priority issues and themes, we carried out a Strategic Crime Assessment at the end of 2007. You can obtain a full copy of this from the CDRP Partnership Support Officer at the District Council offices (see Appendix B). Having identified our draft priorities, we invited comments on them through an online public consultation. The consultation demonstrated support for the priorities, and as a result the Partnership has agreed the following priorities: Anti social behaviour and criminal damage Vehicle crime Burglary of houses Domestic violence Reducing re-offending You can find out more details about how we plan to address these priorities on pages 7 to 11. In addition to the five