Published 23rd April 2018
The impact of crime on wellbeing is significant and negatively affects ill-health, hospital admissions, new business start-ups and community cohesion.
Social risk factors for involvement in criminal activity, include family factors, community factors, education, financial deprivation, alcohol and drug misuse and all overlap as important factors for general health and wellbeing.
The Office of National Statistics indicated that reported crime in England and Wales is rising, with a 13% increase between June 2016 and June 2017. In London, the number of recorded offences is also increasing, with violent crime having risen by 63% since May 2013 and gun crime increasing by 54% in the past two years.
Against this backdrop, Bexley has remained as one of the safest boroughs in London. Current performance d (January to February 2018) highlights that Bexley has the 2nd lowest crime rate per 1,000 population in London.
To tackle some of the root causes of crime and to find solutions require close partnership working. For example, understanding the context and the impact of alcohol on individuals, families and local communities, particularly in regard to domestic violence requires in-depth work at a local level.
The Bexley Community Safety Partnership (BCSP) aims to improve the quality of life for the Borough’s residents by making them feel safer.
The Bexley Community Safety Partnership was established in 1996 prior to the implementation of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, which places a duty on key bodies to work together to reduce crime. The Act recognises that partnership working is likely to have a greater impact on crime and specifies that the following bodies known as the Responsible Authorities must work together:
- London Borough of Bexley
- Metropolitan Police
- London Fire and Rescue Authority
- London Probation
- Bexley Clinical Commissioning Group
The powers with respect to Community Safety and anti-social behaviour have previously been contained with two pieces of legislation; The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003. These powers have now been replaced by a broad range of powers contained in the new Anti-social Behaviour, Police and Crime Act 2014 (“the Act”).
In addition to the Responsible Authorities, a number of other partners work with the BCSP in a multi-agency approach, these include for example:
- Bexley Safer Neighbourhood Board
- Victim Support
- Mayor’s Office of Policing and Crime (MOPAC)
- Local housing providers
- Neighbourhood Watch
The primary role of the BCSP is to set the strategic direction and annual action plan for the Partnership based on a range of data, evidence and sources. A three-year Strategy, BCSP Strategy 2018 to 2021, has been developed. This has been drawn from the intelligence review which looks at crime and antisocial behaviour statistics and emerging issues as part of the annual Joint Strategic Assessment (JSA) together with the consideration of the views of people living and working in captured via the Big Bexley Crime Survey.
The current Key Issues and priorities for Bexley as identified through the above process are as follow:
- Safeguarding and supporting victims and families of domestic abuse and hate crime
- Tackling identified Anti-Social Behaviour
- A more resilient community, better protected from the impact of burglary
- Safeguarding and supporting those most vulnerable so they will be better equipped to avoid becoming victims of violence
- Drug and alcohol related crime and its impact on communities