Audits & Strategies Toolkit
Audits 'Introduction' section
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Audits - 'Introduction' section
Here are some suggestions for information to include under the heading 'Introduction' in your audit report:
Use the Introduction section to:
give the background and details of any previous work done in the area
give a brief description of the geographical area covered by the audit
introduce any issues that have arisen in relation to the report
explain the structure of the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership
You should also consider:
Background and details of previous work
You should include:
Background information on the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 as amended by the Police Reform Act 2002
Reference to the cyclical nature of the audit process
Reference to the structure of your partnership and members of the Responsible Authorities Group or Steering Group
Key findings from the previous crime audit, which can be presented as 'bullet points'. This may be helpful when you make comparisons later in the audit
Key findings from previous drug misuse needs assessments, existing drug misuse strategy documents, Problem Drug User model and key performance indicator information
Reference to needs analyses carried out by Partnerships in relation to the local drug strategy such as CJIP, crack plans or young people's needs assessments
Local drug strategies to deliver the 4 aims of the national drug strategy will be well developed, based on assessed need using a variety of methodologies
Purpose and objectives of the audit
You should include:
A description of the obligations under Section 5 of the Crime and Disorder Act as amended by Sections 97 and 98 of the Police Reform Act 2002
Any locally defined objectives for the audit and strategy process
Geographical area
You should include:
A broad overview of the characteristics of the area as a whole
Brief social, demographic and economic information at Partnership level, ward level, BCU area, Census output areas or a locally defined area
You could also include:
A map of the area
Whether the area is urban or rural
Major towns
Population
A breakdown of the area by gender, age and ethnicity
Indices of deprivation information
Unemployment levels and main employers in the area
Truancy levels
Number of wards
Information on Police, such as the number of BCUs
Number of Primary Care Trusts (PCTs)
Type of drugs services available, both statutory and voluntary
Much of this information is available at National Statistics Online and the NOMIS labour market statistics website
Find out more about this and other contextual data in the 'Findings' section
Issues that have arisen in relation to the report
You should include:
Ethical issues, eg the need to anonymise data so that individuals or specific addresses cannot be identified
Issues about the consultation exercise
Barriers encountered when carrying out the work eg data sharing issues or co-terminosity of boundaries
Highlight these points in your 'Introduction' and expand on them in the 'Methodology' section.
Structure of the partnership
You should include:
Information on how the partnership is currently organised to deliver its objectives, such as whether the CDRP is integrated with the Drugs Action Team (DAT) or the extent to which they have adopted joint working arrangements
A diagram of the partnership structure
Overview of the structure of the report
You should include:
A brief explanation of how the audit report is set out
An explanation of any specific headings or layouts that you have used
The needs of the audience for the report
You should also consider:
a well presented report will help communication
what you are trying to achieve by reporting to different audiences because it will help you to structure and disseminate your audit and strategy effectively
whether any parts of the report should not be included in the published version, for example, to avoid individuals being identified
Think about the most appropriate way to present your report to different audiences, for example:
Publish summary reports for the public
Produce full reports for partner agencies and the Government Office
Deliver presentations at public meetings or for elected members
Make reports available on websites
Publish reports in languages other than English, where this is relevant to the local population
Publish reports in large print and make them available to blind or partially sighted people or those with learning disabilities
Make reports available in a variety of places especially locations where hard to reach groups visit or contact
When you use pictures, include a wide range of people but do not stereotype
Use plain English. Don't use technical language and jargon in the published report so that it is easily understood by everyone
Acknowledgements
You should also consider:
Including acknowledgements in a separate section before the introduction. Acknowlegements enable you to refer to additional partners who contributed to the production of the audit
Contents list
You should also consider:
Including a contents list to outline the main points or chapters. This is particularly helpful in large documents.
Executive summary
You should also consider:
Including an executive summary. This is a short summary of the report that outlines:
objectives of the audit
methods used
findings
conclusions
Contact details
You should also consider:
Providing contact details. All published documents should include appropriate contact details so that people can get further information. You should at least include contact details for the Community Safety Co-ordinator or equivalent but you can also include contact details for all key agencies in the partnership if appropriate
Areas for improvement
You should also consider:
Including information about areas for improvement following the last round of audits and strategies. You can find useful sources of information in reviews published by:
Existing or ongoing work, or prior strategic documents that have indicated where improvements could be made such as:
Drug misuse needs assessments or drug misuse strategy documents
Ongoing monitoring
The Treatment Demand Model
Last update: Wednesday, September 06, 2006