Safer Neighbourhood Boards (SNBs) were introduced to improve the quality and consistency of engagement between the police and communities across London.
SNBs were launched as a direct replacement for Community and Police Engagement Groups (CPEGs) by the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) in 2013. Today the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee assesses the progress of SNBs in the report, ‘Safer Neighbourhood Boards - Two Years On’.
The report found:
- There is a lack of consistency in how SNBs engage with the public, with some Boards only holding one public meeting per year.
- For those SNBs that do meet regularly, some have no website or other means of communicating directly with the community they are supposed to be engaging with.
- Core funding for SNBs is inadequate.
Joanne McCartney AM, Chair of the Police and Crime Committee said:
“Safer Neighbourhood Boards, which were a key Mayoral policing initiative, are one of the few ways that members of the public can engage with their local police about reducing crime in their community, so their importance should not be underestimated.
Whilst we’re encouraged by the progress some SNBs have made, there are areas of concern. The number of public meetings is too low and there is a lack of representation on Boards of the communities being served. Almost every SNB we surveyed voiced concerns about a lack of funding.
We commend the volunteers who have established SNBs across the capital and their efforts deserve to be recognised. However, we will monitor SNBs with interest and continue to review their progress when necessary.”
The report makes a number of recommendations to the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC), including:
- Holding one public meeting a year is not enough. MOPAC should support SNBs to hold the majority of their meetings in public.
- MOPAC should promote the work of SNBs through its website and social media channels. MOPAC should also publish details of the types of projects SNBs fund and their outcomes.
- MOPAC should carry out a public review of the core funding it provides to SNBs to ensure it is supporting them to carry out their key functions - holding public meetings, publicity and administrative tasks.
- MOPAC should help SNBs to carry out a “diversity audit” and develop an action plan to widen the representation of their membership.
Notes to editors
- Read the report: ‘Safer Neighbourhood Boards - Two Years On’.
- Prior to their introduction, the Committee reviewed MOPAC’s proposals for Safer Neighbourhood Boards in the report: ‘Safer Neighbourhood Boards’
- Joanne McCartney AM, Chair of the Police and Crime Committee, is available for interview – see contact details below.
- As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.
For media enquiries, please contact Mary Dolan on 020 7983 4603. For out of hours media enquiries, call 020 7983 4000 and ask for the London Assembly duty press officer. Non-media enquiries should be directed to the Public Liaison Unit on 020 7983 4100.