Evidence has shown that community engagement and action create a sense of belonging and place for residents. There is immense power when a group of people with similar interests come together to work towards the same goal. The Safer Communities Toolkit has been produced to provide communities with the knowledge and skills to tackle the concerns they feel are important in their local area.
The resources below provide information about a range of community safety issues as well as links to evidence about our local communities and organisations that can help. This includes advice on conducting surveys and community engagement, links to grant funding and evidence to support a grant application.
Safer Cornwall’s primary objective is helping communities to be and feel safe. A wide range of services and support is available throughout Cornwall to respond to concerns about crime, anti-social behaviour and other issues that impact on community safety – our quick reference guide will help you find what you need.
Do you want to know more about the local area? There is a wealth of information available to help you – about the people, the local environment, jobs and housing, levels of crime and health and wellbeing.
If you are planning a community event or initiative here are some ideas on how to undertake a range of community engagement activities.
There are many avenues of funding helping communities improve an area by reducing crime and supporting community safety initiatives.
We know from our Have your Say Survey, that many road related concerns for our Cornish communities fall into the broad categories of speeding, parking or large vehicles.
Unlike many other elements of this toolkit, these problems are often very visible to the community and can be chronic in nature.
The common response for many communities will be to demand enforcement and a policing presence to deal with a specific location or concern. However, we have found that the short-term presence of a police officer does not have any long-term impact to the targeted behaviour, nor does the implementation of double yellow lines as this simply moves the parking problem to elsewhere in the community and could create a speeding problem where the parking has been removed.
Often, the answer to these chronic issues lies within the community itself and community engagement becomes the key to more holistic, long term solutions.
Driving under the influence of drink and drugs
Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) is a broad term for many types of behaviour that cause are or likely to cause a person alarm, harassment or distress.
The list of behaviours that fit into this area is huge, but can be more easily classified into 3 areas:
• PERSONAL (targeted at a person, business or group),
• NUISANCE (could be targeted but are usually more generalised behaviour that effects the community)
• ENVIRONMENTAL (this type of behaviour effects the community and individuals e.g. Graffiti)
Cornwall Councils’ ASB Team works alongside many different agencies to lead or assist with cases where ASB is either the main issue or a contributing factor. It is important for you to make sure that you get the correct lead agency when reporting issues to us as this will help the Council and partner agencies such as Devon and Cornwall Police, Social Landlords, etc deal with your reports as effectively as possible.
In many cases we receive reports where a criminal act has been committed. If this is the case for you, the first agency that you should report to is Devon and Cornwall Police using these methods:
Emergencies
Where a crime is in process or there is an immediate threat of harm Call 999
Non Emergency
Call 101
Online form www.devon-cornwall.police.uk and click “Contact” then “Report”
Below is a list of some of the more common complaints we receive and how you can help us to help you.
Rowdy or inconsiderate behaviour in a public place
Crime Prevention includes strategies and measures that aim to reduce the risk of crimes occurring and prevent potential harmful effects on individuals and society. This includes reducing the fear of crime by intervening to influence their multiple causes.
There are four types of crime prevention, these are: law enforcement, developmental, community and situational prevention.
Law enforcement is a form of crime prevention and is associated with the criminal justice system – police, courts and prisons – and is the most commonly understood form of crime prevention.
Developmental is a form of early intervention; developmental crime prevention seeks to address the early causes of criminality. Reducing community and individual risk factors and increasing protective factors, helps to prevent crime later in life. Examples of this may be skills training within schools.
Community crime prevention focuses on strengthening neighbourhoods to prevent crime. Local communities that have strong bonds and where people know each other are generally less prone to experience crime. Enhancing ‘social capital’ or the relationships between people can be beneficial in protecting people from crime. Examples of this may be Neighbourhood Watch Schemes.
Situational crime prevention can be as simple as installing locks and alarms, increasing surveillance through lighting and making buildings harder to enter, damage or hide near.
This section aims to provide advice and guidance on crime prevention and helpful links in order for you to make your community safer.
Community wellbeing happens when social, economic, environmental, cultural, and political conditions are met and communities are able to fulfil their potential.
There are three factors that play a key role in community wellbeing: connectedness, liveability, and equity.
Connection is fostered by community’s social networks that:
A liveable community is supported by the infrastructure, including:
An equitable community is supported by values of diversity, social justice and individual empowerment, where:
Encouraging involvement and investment in your local environment, from all ages and walks of life, can help residents to feel connected and invested creating a sense of place. Not only does this create a cleaner and healthier environment, it can foster cross-generational interaction and sharing of valuable knowledge. This can range from litter picks to zero carbon schemes, to tree planting and community gardens.
Do you have ideas for a community group to tackle projects in your community or want to start a green initiative?
The following links provide support for different topics that you can use within your community.
Ending domestic abuse and sexual violence (DASV) and violence against women and girls (VAWG) are priorities for Safer Cornwall. Beyond the immediate physical and emotional harm caused, DASV and VAWG have far-reaching and long-lasting impacts on adults and children.
