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News
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Violent Offender Orders - new controls to protect public from violence
Offenders at risk of re-offending can now be given new Violent Offender Orders (VOOs) to help prevent them from re-offending.
The Orders make it possible to ban serious offenders who have reached the end of their prison sentence or licence from places and events, and from contacting specified people for between two and five years. As with sex offenders, they must tell police if they move home, change their name, or go abroad. Breaking any of these rules is punishable by five years in prison.
Get more information now
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Seeking Compact champions
Compact Voice, the organisation representing the voluntary and community sector in matters relating to the Compact, is looking for examples of good practice where a Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) has championed the Compact locally. This is part of ongoing work between the Home Office and Compact Voice to strengthen the relationship between the two sectors.
If you have any examples of a CDRP working well with their local Compact please email daniel.fluskey@ncvo-vol.org.uk
Get more on Compact Voice
Did you know that the consultation paper has been published on a refreshed Compact? Get further information here.
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Launch of Positive Futures Girls Get Moving Week.
The Home Office funded programme Positive Futures will be launching a National Girls Get Moving Week from 31 August - 6 September.
The week aims to help projects raise awareness in their local area of the great work they are doing to engage girls into sport and physical activity, increase participation levels of young girls on the programme and help support the Government's drive to tackle a rise in girl-related violence.
The Positive Futures programme is managed by young people's charity Catch22 and has 118 projects working with young people aged 9-19 in some of the most deprived areas of the country.
To find out about a Positive Futures project near you please call Linda Roberts at the national office on 0207 336 4844 or e-mail linda2.roberts@catch-22.org.uk.
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Development of regional and national problem solving groups
The Home Office is currently considering setting up formal regional problem solving groups which could be the source of expertise and information for both local and national stakeholders.
Problem solving is an approach adopted by many forces to address crime and community safety issues at a local level, and anecdotal evidence suggests that within some regions local stakeholders have created problem solving groups.
It is envisaged that regional problem solving groups be represented on a national problem solving group which would work closely with the Home Office as part of sharing effective practice and providing support on problem solving across the country.
We are keen to learn more about the membership of the group, what it aims to achieve and the approach adopted to accomplish those aims. If you are a member of or know about a local problem solving group that is already established we would like to hear from you.
Please contact Darren Kristiansen in the Effective Practice Communications team on 0207 035 3228 or email darren.kristiansen@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk.
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Tackling Drugs, Changing Lives Awards
There's still time to send in your nominations for this year's Tackling Drugs Changing Lives Awards.
This year there are six award categories. In addition to Drug Team of the Year and Drug Worker of the Year there are four new themed categories looking for people who work with young people, within the criminal justice system, community engagement and the work involved in National Tackling Drugs Week.
There will be five finalists in each of the categories and from these, two overall National Tackling Drugs Changing Lives winners will each receive £10,000 for their organisation to spend on developing their work. More information along with nomination forms can be found on line
The closing date for nominations is Monday 31st August 2009.
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Communities to benefit from seized criminal assets - new Community Cashback scheme
Community Cashback is a new scheme in England and Wales which gives local people a say in how £4million of recovered criminal assets (for example confiscated cash or property) should be spent in their communities.
Each Police force area will have the chance to bid into £95,000 to develop community based projects. The basic criteria for assessing the projects is:
- The projects should be related to nuisance, anti-social or criminal behaviour or its impact on the community
- Projects could focus on one or several neighbourhoods
- Projects should be community focused and make a noticeable difference on the community
- Projects must demonstrate value for money, be able to be delivered quickly and their impact should be clearly evaluated
- Outcomes must be visible to the community
Get further information
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Launch of the retail crime action plan
The Home Office has launched a new grants programme of £5m to help small businesses protect themselves against crime.
The funding is part of the new Retail Crime Action Plan (RCAP), which has been drawn up in partnership with the retail industry to help small businesses prevent crime.
The money will provide grants of up to £3000 per individual business in 50 key areas, and can be used to buy security devices such as alarms, UV markers, and security grills. Groups of businesses in a certain area, such as a parade of shops, can also team up to bid for bigger grants of up to £50K. These can be used to improve a neighbourhood with landscaping or additional lighting.
Get information on the grants and how to apply
The Home Office will also be launching a competition in September for designers to find new ways to stop criminals from targeting retailers by 'designing out' crime opportunities.
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Update on Drinking Banning Orders (DBOs)
Drinking Banning Orders (DBOs) will come into force on 31 August 2009 and will be available on application for Local Authorities (LAs) and Police Forces from this date.
Guidance for LAs and the Police is currently being drafted and will be available on the Crime Reduction website before the orders come in to force.
Recipients of a DBO can attend an approved course to have their ban reduced by up to half. Nine providers have been approved by the Home Secretary for specific areas throughout England and Wales.
Get further information now
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Tackling Knives Action Programme (TKAP) phase II plans unveiled
Details of the next phase of the Tackling Knives Action programme (TKAP) have been unveiled by Home Secretary Alan Johnson. The phase II strategy includes:
- local action - police forces in each of the 16 police force areas to deliver a targeted programme of action to tackle serious youth violence
- better intelligence - 100 hospitals to be sharing anonymous data on their knife-related admissions with police by the end of this year, with £220,000 for 13 hospital trusts to drive this work
- awareness raising - a £2m multi-media marketing campaign to raise awareness among young people of the consequences of carrying a knife and to harness the power of peer influence
- intervention - roll-out of the eight-part knife possession prevention programme, which includes education on the dangers of carrying knives, the law, and the impact of knife crime on victims and communities across all TKAP areas
- tackling gangs - £100,000 for a specialist team to work with local areas to tackle gang-related problems
- prevention - work to prevent homelessness among the young people, and their families, who are affected by gang activity
Get further information now
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Launch of 'Cutting Crime: Two Years On: A summary for local partnerships' leaflet.
A new document to support the crime strategy 'Cutting Crime: Two Years On' has been launched by the Home Office.
The leaflet includes a list of sample 'challenges' for partnerships in delivering aspects of the crime strategy.
Get more information now
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College of Emergency Medicine finalises guidance on data sharing for violence prevention
The College of Emergency Medicine is set to publish its guidelines for information sharing to reduce community violence. The guidance aims to assist Emergency Physicians sharing data with CDRPs and Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) and has been prepared to help implement Best Practice.
The guidance will be published on the College of Emergency Medicine website shortly.
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National Treatment Agency publishes report on the role of drug treatment in tackling crime
The NTA has publised a report on on the role of drug treatment in tackling crime entitled 'Breaking the Link'. It examines how the drug treatment system is expanding and working closely with criminal justice agencies to ensure that problem drug users in prisons have the same quality of treatment as those in the community. The report also covers the efforts being made to ensure that all those who come into treatment through criminal justice routes get the opportunity to recover and reintegrate back into society.
Read the report now
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UK Border Agency (UKBA) provides guidance on holiday 'bargains'
The UKBA has provided guidance to Community Safety managers on what can and cannot be brought into the UK from holiday purchases.
UKBA are warning travellers to be careful when purchasing gifts and souvenirs on their holidays, as sometimes people do not realise they are buying fakes or items made from endangered species.
- cheap games consoles sold at a fraction of UK prices - though they may look like the real thing - could overheat and melt
- purses and wallets could be made from a rare species of snake
- bargain-priced perfumes may cause a nasty rash
Get more information on what can and cannot be brought into the UK
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Update on Offender-based Interventions conference
Stakeholders can now download material from the recent joint conference for the Drug Interventions Programme (DIP) and the Prolific and other Priority Offender Programme (PPO) that focused on reducing crime through offender-based interventions.
Download the material now
The two-day national conference was held in Birmingham in June and provided an opportunity for stakeholders involved in the delivery of both programmes to hear about current and future key strategic challenges, to share good practice and to network. Speakers on the opening day included Alan Campbell MP, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Crime Reduction. The second day consisted of a series of workshop sessions providing effective practice in areas such as approaches to managing offenders, tackling alcohol misuse and addressing housing needs for offenders.
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Highlights
Dates for your Diary
