A new document outlines the part leisure and sports providers can play in helping to reduce crime and anti- social behaviour, says Matt Partridge
t has long been recognised that culture and sport have an important role to play in pre- venting young people becoming involved in crime and anti-social behav- iour (ASB). In response to this, the National Culture Forum (NCF) and the Chief Cultural and Leisure Offi cers Association (CLOA) have produced a new policy document entitled The Role of Culture and Sport in Reducing Crime and Anti Social Behaviour.
The document has been designed to help providers of culture and sport services better understand community safety and crime reduction agendas – and it is hoped it will provide a man- date for shared action in the future. It identifi es some ways that leisure
providers can contribute to reduc- ing the actuality and fear of crime by engaging with the right partnerships, and provides guidance on better evi- dencing the contribution the sector can make to local priority outcomes. A number of real case studies show the impact that a range of interven- tions have had on diverting those most at risk of offending through cul- ture and sports-based activities. With the cost of placing one young person in custody for a year at around £45,000, councils and their partners will need to renew the focus on inno- vative ways of providing services to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour. Government policy now links preven-
tion and enforcement as key outcomes in delivering change and it’s within the preventative agenda that sport and culture can play an important role in providing better community safety out- comes, perhaps most specifi cally in the area of anti-social behaviour. Preventative activities are often
referred to as diversionary activities and operate at three levels:
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Taking a stand against crime I
So what should providers of culture
It costs around £45,000 to place a young person in custody for 12 months
Government policy now links prevention and enforcement as key outcomes in delivering change, and it’s within the
preventative agenda that sport and culture can play a role
■ To offer preventative activities in areas of high crime/high deprivation. ■ To offer preventative activities for those young people who are known to be at specifi c risk. ■ To offer diversionary activities to young people who are currently in the system to prevent them re-offending or developing a criminal career. Focused work with young people on the cusp of offending or involved in low level crime can signifi cantly reduce enforcement costs. For example, gov- ernment agencies within England and Wales spent an estimated £3bn deal- ing with ASB in 2004.
The Police and Crime Commissioners will be responsible for the commission- ing of community safety activity; this is a fundamental change and will mean that Community Safety Partnerships will have to seek funding from them
and sport do next? ■ Read the document and seek to understand the context that com- munity safety and crime reduction providers are operating in. ■ Share this document and discuss priority local actions with colleagues and delivery partners, such as county sports partnerships, regularly funded organisations and other stakeholders. ■ Investigate the issues that your local Community Safety Partnerships are addressing and identify how your serv- ices can contribute. ■ Engage with your Community Safety Partnerships by demonstrating what you can do for them locally. ■ Offer to deliver services that help prevent crime and anti-social behav- iour taking place. Consider forming a broader consortium of providers to strengthen your proposal. ■ Develop an outcomes framework for Safer Communities. This will help you measure and evidence the difference your service makes to local priorities. It will also help you make the case for continued investment of public money. ■ Share successful examples via CLOA and other best practice networks. As part of your ongoing leadership development, maintain your knowledge and further your understanding of this important area of policy. ●
Matt Partridge is an executive board member of CLOA. Details:
cloa.org.uk
Read Leisure Management online
leisuremanagement.co.uk/digital 69
unless the local council is willing to replace the funding previously supplied through the Community Safety Fund. Participation in the Community Safety Partnership is a way for culture and sport providers to highlight the valuable role they can play in both the support and prevention agendas.
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