How a mainstream service provider like the police can help to improve the quality of life and close the gaps between the most deprived neighbourhoods and the rest of the country, by looking at existing policies and services, patterns of resource allocation and the ways that services and facilities are accessed.

Reviews research which has looked at how the police are implementing changes in order to benefit deprived neighbourhoods. Focuses on West Midlands Police Force, looking in particular at:

A national initiative, the Crime Fighting Fund was used to supplement the existing police structure with additional police officers located in areas of particularly high crime. 534 additional officers were allocated to 74 Crime Fighting Teams based in neighbourhoods suffering long-term high-crime rates. A problem-solving approach has been taken in that instead of only responding to incidents of crime, officers are working towards addressing the underlying causes of crime in partnership with their communities and other agencies.

Police Teams, because they have more time to get to know their particular area are now acting as guardians for the community. This may be in a facilitator/advocacy role, or it can be better working with partner agencies such as the health service.

The communities in the West Midlands which have been targeted for the initiative, and also the people who have been helped to give up criminal activities.

Extra officers have been taken on to work in deprived neighbourhoods, and effort has been targeted on these areas. In some cases the sighting of police stations has been changed in order to give better visibility of the police presence to the community.

Audit Commission
Katie Smith, tel. +44 20 7166 2786

01/01/1996

01/01/2002

case

Urban Policy > Security & crime prevention > Tackling crime

Enforcement & civil intervention