What’s being done to prevent crime?

There is constant work being done to make London a safer place to live, study and work. Some of the preventative measures concentrate on deterring and punishing criminals, while other strategies tackle the reasons why people turn to crime in the first place.

The Crime Reduction and Disorder Partnership was established in 1998 as a new approach to tackling crime. The partnership is between police, local authorities, probation service, health authorities, the voluntary sector, and local residents and business.

Local crime reduction teams start by assessing what the main problems are in the region and then design practical strategies for dealing with these priority areas. If you want to know more about what is happening near you, contact your local authority’s community safety section or your local police. You can also find out more from the crime reduction team in your Government Office for the Region.

Deterring crime: One of the most effective ways to prevent people from committing crimes is to have a visible police presence on the streets. There are now more police in London than in any other time in the history of the Metropolitan Police Service. In 2003/4 an extra 600 police officers were deployed to boost visible policing in most boroughs.

London also had the first Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs)– there are now over 15,00 of them in London, some of which you’ve probably seen patrolling the streets. This new policy has already had an impact, especially on opportunistic , spontaneous crime. Over the last two years burglary has fallen by nearly 10 per cent while race hate crimes have decreased by over 16 per cent.

Looking at the causes of crime: All the evidence suggests that simply increasing punishment is not enough to deter people from crime. Action needs to be taken to give young people a positive goal and motivation to pursue other options rather than becoming criminals. An example of a current initiative is the Youth Inclusion and Support panels, set up to identify children at risk from engaging in anti-social behaviour and crime. The idea is to try to keep children with behaviour problems in the school system and encourage them in to taking part in more constructive activities.
Targeting specific crime: Some of the most effective strategies for preventing crime are very focused. Recent examples of this type of campaign are Operation Crack Down, the offensive on drug abuse and dealing organised by the Metropolitan Police and Enough is Enough a Home Office funded campaign tackling the problem of domestic violence in London.

More useful links on crime reduction:

Crime Concern is a national charity dedicated to reducing crime and creating safer communities.
The Crime Reduction website provides advice and information for people working to reduce crime in their local area.
The Home Office website has information on what the Government is doing.
The Greater London Authority publishes reports on what’s being done in London.
www.met.police.uk has updates on changes in London policing, advice for local communities and updates on campaigns targeting specific crimes.

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