Prime Minister Gordon Brown has commissioned a cross-departmental review on how to get better engaged in the fight against crime.
The review, to be led by Louise Casey, will report its findings to a new Ministerial Group, comprising the Home Secretary (chair), the Secretary of State for Justice, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, the Attorney General, and the Minister for the Cabinet Office.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said: "Record levels of funding, new powers and new partnerships have helped to drive down crime by a third over the last decade. I am determined to accelerate this work by freeing local partners to be more responsive to the crime issues that matter most to the communities they serve.
"It is only when local people stand up against crime and anti-social behaviour in their neighbourhoods that an area can be turned around. I want to make sure that the public know how to work with the police and other agencies to make this happen, and that is why I am delighted that Louise Casey will be undertaking this review and recommending how to achieve this on a national scale.
"Louise Casey brings from the Respect programme formidable experience of transforming places and delivering tangible improvements for both victims of crime and the general public."
According to the Cabinet Office, the review, to be staffed jointly from departments and based in the Cabinet Office, will look at how local communities, the police, local criminal justice agencies and other local partners can best work together to:
– Reduce crime in their areas
– Raise community confidence in local agencies
– Lower the fear of crime
The review will build, the Cabinet Office adds, upon the work already underway as part of Sir Ronnie Flanagan’s review of policing, which is looking at strengthening neighbourhood policing and local accountability. It reflects the high priority the Government places on tackling the fear of crime, and involving local communities in setting priorities and designing local solutions.
The review will report to ministers in June 2008. Louise Casey previously led for the government on rough sleeping, anti-social behaviour and the Respect Task Force.
