Policing and Community Safety Partnerships

Overview

There are 26 PCSPs, one for each council area. Belfast has one PCSP and four District Policing and Community Safety Partnerships (DPCSPs) covering the North, South, East and West area commands within the city.

Each PCSP has a Policing Committee to take forward specific police monitoring and engagement functions,with the wider PCSP taking forward community safety related functions.

The PCSP Policing Committee works with local police to develop the local policing plan and monitor their performance against this plan.

The role of the Policing Committee is to carry out the following specific functions:

• to provide views to a relevant police commander and to the Policing Board on any matter concerning the district;
• to monitor performance of the police in carrying out the policing plan in the district; and
• to make arrangements for obtaining the co-operation of the public with the police in preventing crime and enhancing community safety in the district.

PCSPs aim to make our community safer. They do this by focussing on the policing and community safety issues that matter most in your area. They:

• consult and engage with the local community on the issues of concern in relation to policing and community safety. The Policing Committee has a distinct responsibility to provide views to the relevant district commander and the Policing Board on policing matters;
• identify and prioritise the particular issues of concern and prepare plans for how these can be tackled;
• monitor - a Policing Committee comprising the political and independent members will monitor the performance of the police and work to gain the co-operation of the public with the police in preventing crime; and
• deliver a reduction in crime and enhance community safety inour district, directly throughour own interventions, through the work ofour delivery groups or through support for the work of others.

The new PCSPs will build on the work that has already been taken forward by the local DPP and CSP.

The PCSP will work with the community to identify issues of concern in the local area and potential solutions, and will prepare a plan to address these concerns. The focus of the plan will be on delivering practical solutions.

They will also work in partnership with those organisations that have a contribution to make to enhancing community safety in your area.

PCSP Strategic Priorities

Strategic Objective 1 – to form, and successfully deliver the functions of, the Policing and Community Safety Partnership for the area by:

• Engaging with local community and statutory groups, to identify local concerns in relation to community safety, and to invite their contribution to addressing those concerns;
• Preparing the PCSP’s plan, and organising the work of the partnership to meet priority needs; and
• Putting in place implementation structures and delivery mechanisms that will contribute to a reduction in crime and the enhancement of community safety in the Partnership’s area, directly through the Partnership’s own interventions, through the work of its delivery groups or through support for the work of others.

Strategic Objective 2 – to improve community safety by tackling crime and anti-social behaviour through:

• Ensuring that local statutory bodies and agencies deal with the anti-social behaviour and crime-related issues that matter in their area; and
• Working in partnership with the police, local statutory bodies, agencies and the community to reduce the impact of anti-social behaviour and crime on the community.

Strategic Objective 3 – to improve community confidence in policing through:

• Ensuring local accountability through the Policing Committee’s role in monitoring police performance;
• Ensuring that policing delivery reflects the involvement, views and priorities of local communities;
• Ensuring improved policing service delivery in partnership with local communities;
• Ensuring effective engagement with the police and the local community, with specific emphasis on engagement with working class communities and young people.