What does “Community Safety” mean?
Although there is no generally agreed definition of community safety it is generally accepted that community safety is about protecting people’s right to live in confidence and without fear for their own or other people’s safety.
This includes a range of issues such as crime prevention, domestic abuse, drug abuse, road safety, fire safety and accident prevention.
More recently, it has also increasingly encompassed issues such as anti-social behaviour and behaviour that adversely affects the environment (such as littering, dog-fouling, fly-tipping etc).
In 2002, the Home Office produced the following definition:
“Community safety is an aspect of life in which people, individually and collectively are protected as far as possible from the criminal and anti-social behaviour of others, and are equipped or helped to cope with those they do experience. It should enable them to pursue, and obtain the fullest benefits from, their social and economic lives without fear of hindrance from crime and disorder and anti-social behaviour.”.
Role of the Council
The Council has an important role to play in making Castle Morpeth safer. No one agency is solely responsible for making this happen but by working together, pooling resources and a strong commitment we can contribute to make Castle Morpeth a place where people feel safe and secure. This is achieved at two levels: in partnership with other organisations and cross-directorate within our own organisation.
The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (amended by the Police Act 2006) placed a statutory duty on the County Council, District/Borough Council, Police, Fire Service and Primary Care Trusts to form a partnership to tackle crime and disorder. The Council fulfils its statutory responsibilities by acting as a key partner in the Castle Morpeth Crime and Reduction Partnership.
Castle Morpeth is one of the safest places within the United Kingdom, with crime rates continuing to decline across the Borough. Between 2005/06 and 2007/08, there has been a reduction in total crime of 7%. For the same period, domestic burglaries have reduced by 7.7%, incidents of criminal damage have reduced by 6.7 and vehicle crime has fallen by 1.8%.
However, there is a large gap between these measurable facts and residents’ perceptions. Anti-social behaviour (ASB) is seen as a continuing problem and concern for many of the Borough's residents. ASB is considered by 26% of residents to be a problem in their area (alcohol related disorder being the largest element identified), according to a survey conducted by the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership in 2007.