Home Office Good Practice Seminars
Partnership Working Seminar
Workshop 2
CDRP: Structure to Deliver
Bryan Heard and Jeff Davidson, Safer Swansea
Key points from the presentation
Safer Swansea uses a three-tier approach to tackling crime:
Partnership Group - A consultation body of approximately 120 members who represent a diverse set of groups. Quarterly meetings provide a forum to air their needs and concerns. This is supported by information collected from surveys from a poll group of 1500.
Steering Group - A board of high level decision makers able to drive initiatives.
Task Groups - Groups led by different agencies, whose aim is to tackle specific crime areas, identified as follows:
auto crime
tacking alcohol and substance related street crime (TASCC)
residential implementation
racial incidents
city centre crime
The emphasis was on the advantages of having a 'brand image' that people could identify with, and that also provides a 'shared goal' for partnership members. In Swansea this takes the form of a 'Safer Swansea' logo which is used on letterheads and displayed on police cars, fire tenders, local authority vehicles and ambulances; it is instantly recognisable by the public and reinforces the partnership message.
Key points from the discussion
Potential barriers to successful partnership working through partnership structure included:
Resistance to partnership working.
Differing agendas and agreement of partnership priorities.
Meeting differing audit requirements.
Whether shared branding also means shared responsibilities.
Replacement of, or addition to, existing agency logos with a partnership logo.
Possible conflict between different 'tiers'.
Experience within the group was that often only a few people were committed to partnership working and proactive.
Key points arising from the session
Branding is key, it provides a common goal and shared responsibility. Partners are working for 'Safer Swansea', not the local authority, police, fire service, etc
The involvement of high level decision makers is essential in order to drive initiatives.
Training and induction to partnership workers is necessary and provides them with an appreciation of their role, encourages involvement and informs on the requirements of Section 17.
Download the PowerPoint presentation (241 Kb)
Last update: 16/02/04