Who can be asked to Co-operate

Section 5(3) of the Crime & Disorder Act lists a number of other organisations, who may be invited to co-operate on behalf of an agency outlined in Section 5(2)(c), in formulating and implementing the local crime & disorder strategy. It is a legal requirement that at least one of these organisations must be invited to assist, however, partnerships may often seek to involve several organisations, for a range of crime reduction objectives.

• A Social Landlord
• Drug Action Team or Drug and Alcohol Action Team
• Training and Enterprise Council
• Crown Prosecution Service
• A Court Manager of a Crown Court
• A Magistrates Court's Committee
• Neighbourhood Watch Scheme representative
• A member of a Victims Support Scheme affiliated to the National Association of Victim Support Schemes
• British Transport Police
• Chief Officer of a Fire Brigade
• Service Police (Royal Navy Regulating Branch, Royal Marine Police, the Royal Military Police, the Royal Air Force Police or the Royal Air Force Provost Marshal).
• A body which provides public transport or school transport
• A body which promotes the interests of, or provides services to, persons of that description within that area-

Women
The young, including children
The elderly
The physically and mentally disabled
Those of different racial groups within the meaning of the Race Relations Act
Gay and lesbian groups
Residents
Including bodies not falling within the above categories above, one of whose purposes is to reduce Crime and Disorder in that area.

• A body established for religious purposes within that area.
• A company or partnership which has a business place within that area;
• A body established to promote retail business within that area
• A trade union
• A registered medical practitioner
• A body, which is representative of registered medical practitioners within that area.

A co-operating body can be invited by a Police Force, Local Authority or other agency listed under Section 5(2)(c) of the Crime & Disorder to act on their behalf in fulfilling a specific objective outlined in the Crime & Disorder Strategy.

A written agreement should exist and provided there is no other legal restriction preventing this, the organisations outlined here would be permitted to share information under Section 115, to fulfil any legitimate crime reduction purpose or objective outlined in their Crime & Disorder Strategy.

There is no legal obligation imposed upon those bodies to exchange information, but they should be mindful of the implications of section 17 of the Crime and Disorder Act. The fact that information sharing will be undertaken under a formal agreement, should be recorded in the Crime & Disorder Strategy document itself.

Each agency directly involved should sign an information sharing protocol with their partners to ensure that exchanges fully comply with legal obligations covering personal (sensitive) information and certain types of de-personalised information.

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