Safe Newcastle
History of Safe Newcastle
The former Newcastle Community Safety Partnership (NCSP)
The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (CDA) placed a duty on specific organisations, known as Responsible Authorities, to work together in partnership with other agencies and organisations, including the private, voluntary and community sector, to develop a strategy for the reduction of crime and disorder in their area.
Under the 1998 Act, the Responsible Authorities were the Police and the Local Authority. These had joint responsibility to develop and implement a Crime and Disorder Reduction Strategy every three years based upon a local audit and consultation with local communities.
Nationally these partnerships are called Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships. The Home Office views Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) as the primary mechanism to deliver reductions in crime, anti-social behaviour and fear of crime.
In response to the Crime and Disorder Act, a CDRP was established in Newcastle in 1998. In 2002, the CDRP was renamed the Newcastle Community Safety Partnership (NCSP). The adoption of this name reinforced the change in emphasis from crime reduction to community safety. It was acknowledged that whilst reducing crime and disorder was central to the work of the NCSP, its remit was broader and included quality of life issues such as anti-social behaviour and the fear of crime.
An effective partnership was established which developed a strategic response to issues identified by local people, as well as meeting government requirements. The NCSP has been successful in its work to increase community safety in Newcastle.
The Former Newcastle Drug Action Team (DAT)
The National Drugs Strategy, published in 1998, laid out the requirement for organisations to work in partnership at a local level to tackle drugs and the harm they cause to individuals, families and communities.
In 1998, Drug Action Teams were set up along the former Health Authority boundaries. In Newcastle’s case this meant that the local partnership was Newcastle and North Tyneside Drug Action Team.
The Newcastle Drug Action Team came into existence in 2001 at the time that commissioning responsibilities were devolved to Primary Care Trusts. Since this time, Newcastle Drug Action Team has worked to successfully tackle drugs and the harm they cause to people and communities in the city.
Requirements for a New Partnership
The Police Reform Act (PRA) 2002, expanded the number of Responsible Authorities required to work in partnership to develop Crime and Disorder Strategies to include the local Police Authority, Primary Care Trust and Fire Authority.
The role of CDRPs was also amended by the PRA to include a requirement to develop a strategic response to the use of drugs in their area. CDRPs were thus required, for the first time on a statutory basis, to combine the crime and drugs plans into a single strategy alongside anti-social behaviour and fear of crime.
The Police Reform White Paper ‘Policing a New Century’ (December 2001) signalled Central Government’s intention to bring Drug Action Teams and Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships together.
This change intended to simplify local working relationships, give greater recognition to common interests and provide the right framework to establish the more effective delivery of the crime reduction and drugs agendas.
In October 2003 further guidance was produced which advised that in unitary/metropolitan authorities, Drug Action Teams and Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (in Newcastle the Community Safety Partnership) should develop the most appropriate arrangements for joint working towards integration, whether as a merged partnership or by aligning their structures, strategic planning, targets and commissioning.
Newcastle’s Response
In Newcastle, it was agreed to disband the two existing partnerships to form a new partnership as this was regarded as most likely to achieve the best local outcomes. Safe Newcastle, the new partnership will take forward community safety, crime reduction, anti social behaviour, drugs and alcohol work with effect from 1 April 2005.
Working together, the partners in Safe Newcastle will have a greater impact on crime, disorder, drugs, alcohol, and anti-social behaviour. The new partnership will use resources more effectively, will improve services and be a Theme Partnership within the Newcastle Partnership structure.
Safe Newcastle will:
- have an aligned and integrated planning process, and establish and deliver joint cross cutting targets
- develop delivery plans integrated within a strategic framework
- undertake joint planning of expenditure and put in place joint delivery processes
- have a joint performance and accountability structure.
These will allow the new partnership to improve mainstreaming and heighten the profile of community safety and drugs issues with key stakeholders. It will also strengthen engagement with the neighbourhood renewal agenda and improve communication and the sharing of skills and knowledge.
The new partnership will reduce local bureaucracy, simplify partnership arrangements and reduce the burden on agencies in terms of representation. There will also be more effective linkages with other local partnerships and the local voluntary sector, with more streamlined reporting and accountability arrangements.
Please click on the link(s) below for further information:
Safe Newcastle Membership
Safe Newcastle Board meeting dates
Adopted Constitution of Safe Newcastle