Criminal Damage
Home Office Funded Initiatives
The Home Office has funded a total of £500, 000 for criminal damage initiatives in ten areas. The purpose of the scheme is to provide support to areas in developing innovative ideas to tackle criminal damage. The ten areas are Lancashire, Mansfield, Middlesbrough, Plymouth, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Sheffield, Solihull, Southampton, Southwark and Stevenage.
The initiatives ran in 2005/06 and included a wide range of activity. Common to many schemes are: local communications campaigns to reassure the public and increase perceived risk of being caught among potential offenders; focusing on identified hotspots to solve problems; and commitment to spread good practice widely. Summaries of findings for each area will be published on this website shortly. Some of the main approaches and activities are summarised below:
Alcohol and criminal damage: working with licensees to tackle the misuse of alcohol; engaging with licensees through Pub Watch; appointing a town centre manager for the night time economy; enforcement and visible presence at night time economy venue exit routes.
Designing out criminal damage: identify vulnerable premises and provide advice to owners; increase lighting in town centre and vehicle damage hot spots; add speakers to CCTV; target hardening and environmental improvement work; multi-agency visits to repeat or problematic addresses.
Surveillance: extend and enhance CCTV in town-centre and vehicle damage hotspots; use lamp-post mounted re-deployable CCTV; use covert mobile CCTV and plain clothes officers in hot spots and times.
Young people: youth vehicle scheme; truancy patrols and youth outreach workers; Youth Service and YOT visits; involving young offenders in a clean-up scheme; map and enhance youth service provision in hot spots.
Investigation: revist properties and neighbours; encourage community intelligence including watch schemes; campaign and reward schemes to identify offenders; fund a publicise additional Scene of Crime examinations.
Restorative justice: promote restorative justice, including as part of Anti Social Behaviour Contracts and sentencing; rapid removal by offenders on reparation.
Last update: Wednesday, September 12, 2007