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Communicating Crime Reduction |
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Spreading the word - using paid publicity |
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Do research first Before starting out on a publicity strategy you should spend some time analysing your local crime audit and your local crime and disorder strategy. You should look carefully at how publicity activity can make a contribution to helping the Partnership deliver its objectives. You might wish to look at which groups in the community are particularly vulnerable to different types of crime and consider whether providing these groups with relevant information will help make the community safer. You can then research these target groups and consider what types of publicity are likely to be most effective at reaching them. You should also consider the initiatives and action outlined in the local crime reduction strategy to consider how publicity could contribute to their effectiveness or bring greater recognition for the Partnership. You might also consider how publicity might encourage people in the community to play a greater role in helping to identify crime problems in the local area and how they might work more closely with the Partnership to identify solutions. Are you convinced that the community you represent knows about your work and how they can play a part in reducing crime? How might publicity help develop those links? Gathering information and perhaps even commissioning research may help sharpen the focus of campaigns. The Home Office publishes a great deal of information about crime and public attitudes. The British Crime Survey is a rich source of information – showing incidentally that very few people are aware of their local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships or the work they do. Finding common audience characteristics will help determine the publicity approach and guide the most appropriate media and tactics to use. Do your target audiences live in the same geographical area, are they linked by age, ethnic group, gender or social class. All these factors will help you decide on the best way to reach out to the community. Doing the research before you decide on your publicity strategy will help you be much more precise about the nature of your campaigns and your campaign objectives. You will also be better able to set realistic evaluation criteria – enabling you to measure success and answer the question “How do we know that it has worked”?
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