Public Services: Crime Reduction, Policing, and Community Safety Essay

This essay provides an in-depth analysis of crime reduction strategies and community safety within the context of public services. It examines current policing methods, including crime recording and statistical analysis, to assess their effectiveness in meeting public and directive expectations. The essay evaluates various crime recording methods and explores how the resulting statistical information supports public service strategies. It also delves into key legislative issues related to crime reduction, critically evaluates multi-agency groups and partnerships, and analyzes public service strategies and policies used to combat crime and improve community safety. Furthermore, the essay explores how current crime problems can be used to devise a crime reduction initiative for public service. The document is available on Desklib, a platform offering a wide range of study tools and solved assignments for students.

PUBLIC SERVICES CRIME REDUCTION AND COMMUNITY SAFETY
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Task............................................................................................................................................4
1.1 Analyze how public and directive expectations are met through current policing methods.
For this consider the current methods for recording crime, how the information can be used to
measure trends and police performance. Also how having the information will help to direct
policing operations.....................................................................................................................4
1.2 Evaluate the effectiveness of different methods of recording crime....................................5
1.3 Evaluate how statistical information gained from crime recording methods supports
public service strategies.............................................................................................................6
2.1 Explain key current legislative issues related to crime reduction........................................7
2.2 Critically evaluate the workings of multi-agency groups and partnerships within the
public services............................................................................................................................8
2.3 Evaluate the structure of multi-agency groups and partnerships within the public services.
....................................................................................................................................................9
2.4 Evaluate public service strategies and policies used to combat crime and improve
community safety.......................................................................................................................9
2.5 Analyze how current crime problems can be used to devise a crime reduction initiative for
public service...........................................................................................................................10
Conclusion................................................................................................................................11
Reference List..........................................................................................................................11
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Introduction
This essay shall shed light on crime analysis, crime reduction, crime reporting, related public
services and other topics on criminology and crime analysis. Crime analysis is a function of a
law enforcement which includes methodological study of identifying and examining the
trends in crime and disorder. In the United Kingdom, criminal intelligence and crime analysis
is controlled by the National Intelligence Model, which is an Association of Chief Police
Officers (ACPO). Information on crime trends help the law and the police departments to
infer the future course of actions to be taken to ensure public safety at all times. These data
and collective statistics enable them to develop strategies and process to help fight and
prevent criminal activities. This essay will inculcate the knowledge of policies and steps
taken by the government authorities, in maintaining a state of law and order, in the reader.
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Task
1.1 Analyze how public and directive expectations are met through current policing
methods. For this consider the current methods for recording crime, how the
information can be used to measure trends and police performance. Also how having
the information will help to direct policing operations.
The rapid increase of various forms of criminal activities in the economic, social and
technological environments pose a tough challenge to policing operations. To fight these
challenges and meeting the expectations of the public and directive expectations, the police
department strategizes and undertakes various policing methods. The challenges include the
onset of globalization of goods and services market, the vastly increasing inequality of
income in the society, advent of technological changes in communication which makes
communication faster and easier, the current patterns of migration and human mobility and
the division of families and social communities to name some (Deresky, 2017). The current
policing methods include bringing in the latest technology to detect, report and record crime,
categorizing crime, examining the variations in regional crimes, detection of crime and other
crime prevention techniques. Reporting of crime in the UK is done through the police record
systems which have several help-lines and victim support portals both offline and online.
Crime analysis is the function of detection of the changing patterns in crime and disorder.
Crime statistics are vastly influential as people believe statistics to be facts, generates
irrational opinions by people of the society and as well as the inability of some to decipher
the statistics available or collected. To give an example of the manipulation of the data
collected can be stated as the statistics being changed and altered by people in higher
authorities and politician. The ONS assembles and compiles the data and Crime Statistics for
England and Wales (CSEW) and publishes it on a quarterly basis. The recording of crime by
the police should be dealt with cautiously as not all crimes are reported to the police and only
those are recorded which are bought under their attention and for some type of offences the
data cannot be recorded. A crime is considered to be recorded only when its occurrence is
known by a person and is duly reported to the police as well as accepted by them that a law
has been broken. The amount of unreported and unrecorded crime is called the dark figure
of crime by the criminologists and socialists (Deresky, 2017). This dark figure of crime
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questions the reliability and authenticity of the official crime statistics. The Home Office
Directives as well as the generally public has expectations from the policing strategies and
the police department to be clear, accurate, informative and transparent with the statistics and
data so that the development in the society in the areas of security, public and community
safety and well being can be seen.
1.2 Evaluate the effectiveness of different methods of recording crime.
Recording of a crime in simple words means an incident and its details know by a person is
reported to the police and the police accepting it as illegal act under the law and recording it.
The Home Secretary, as stated in The Police Act 1996 Section 44(2 and 3), has the power to
ask the chief constables to furnish regular data and statistics of the quantity of crime reported
and recorded by them. The effectiveness and methods of recording crime are:
 Law Enforcement Reports
The policing agencies update the number of recorded crimes in the law enforcement
reports and are used by the relevant bodies in framing and enhancing the strategies
made for crime prevention and reduction (Wall, 2015).
 Victim Study or Surveys
This survey answered by the victims show a much authentic data of the crimes
occurring in the community which might have happened but not reported then or the
victim or witness might not have felt comfortable reporting it (Wall, 2015)..
Explanation of the process of Crime Recording:
 Incident Reporting And Recording
Victims, the people who have witnessed the crime or third party can tell the police
officers about the details of the incident on the streets as well as going to a police
station. The people have to be willing to report the incident for the police to know
regarding its occurrence. The Home Office Counting Rules (HOCR) requires the all
the incidents which are reported are recorded on an incident log or the police record
system (Hewitt et al., 2017).
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 Deciding If A Crime Should Be Recorded
An incident is recorded by the police as a criminal activity if it is illegal under the
law. There is an obligation on the police to accept what the victim or witness has to
say unless there is a lack of credibility and evidence backing the reported incident
(Reid, 2015).
 Closing Incident Records
The incident records are closed once the crime has been recorded and any other
information acquired should be updated on the crime force system (Reid, 2015).
 Recording A Crime
If in a crime there is only one victim and one offender then it is recorded as single
crime against the victim. But if a crime involves more than one victim and offender
then the crime is recorded for each (Corcoran et al., 2016).
 Closing Crime Records
The crime records are closed once the crime has been detected as well as solved and if
it lacks evidence to prove that the crime ever happened (Reid, 2015).
 Checking If The Crime Records Are Correct
The register with each force is used to examining the compatibility of the records with
set process of recording crime (Corcoran et al., 2016).
1.3 Evaluate how statistical information gained from crime recording methods supports
public service strategies.
The statistical data gained from the crime recording processes and method help the law
enforcement agencies and the authorities to develop strategies to enhance the crime
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prevention plans, crime reduction activities and other functions to ensure public and
community safety. These statistics can vastly contribute in the enhancement of the police
services. These can help the police and their allying agencies partner and combine the
methods used to tackle crime in a more effective manner (Santos, 2016). The data collected
can be used to identify the nature of the crimes, the problems associated with the crimes, to
address the problems in a manner which is cost effective, and observe as well as examine any
scope of improving the initiatives taken to resolve such problems. The recording of crime
data help fighting crime in the current times as well as create potential scope of have figures
of crimes which are rare in nature but may take place in future. Such potential threats can be
well prepared for by the agencies and handles effectively and efficiently (Tonry, 2017).
These data help in streamlining the process of analyzing the crime pattern and the current
trends. These can be considered as the positive aspects of the collections and use of such data
but similarly the negative aspects can be manipulation of such data by people with ulterior
motives in power and authority, actual crime rates and information might not be available to
decipher the effective course of actions and other such situations (Christie, 2016).
2.1 Explain key current legislative issues related to crime reduction.
The United Kingdom’s legal structure is a product of years of law creation, alteration and
destruction. It still posses many anachronistic legislations and rules. As much as it sounds
weird, it is true that some existing laws date back to 1322 and some relatively very new and
formed in this century. Below is the list of some laws that are archaic but still exist:
 The entry into the houses of the Parliament is considered illegal in an armored suit.
No member of parliament can wear an armored suit in the parliamentary buildings.
 If a person is in charge of a cow in public and is drunk can be prosecuted.
 Carrying of a plank or similar objects such as a ladder, pole, wheel or placard is
illegal on the pavement of the metropolitan police districts.
 Any whale or surgeon caught on the beach should be offered to the currently reigning
monarch.
 No one is allowed to import polish potatoes for commercial use in England.
 People cannot be intoxicated or drunk in pubs and public premises.
Some legislation and the issues related to them:
 Crime And Disorder Act 1998
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It is argued by the civil liberty groups that ASBOS marks an intolerable and hazy
impression of criminal and civil laws in the process of being issued on a civil burden
of proof as at a breach it can attract criminal penalties and prosecution with five years
of imprisonment. The campaigners of children’s rights also state that it is unbalanced
used in focusing on young people. The use of it can be adverse against children and
some people who need support.
 Criminal Justice Act 2003
It was stated by Ken MacDonald that the act focused on increasing the minimum jail
sentencing criteria. He pointed out that it would directly affect the number in jail said
it is politicization and forces an inessential inability on the judiciary to have
discretionary powers at sentencing.
 Anti-Social Behavior , Crime And Policing Act 2014
This law could have been used to against the sex workers as well as their clients and
the associated effects it might have. It also can target children, street and carol
singers, nudists and others and make them victim to the new development in the law
2.2 Critically evaluate the workings of multi-agency groups and partnerships within the
public services.
The multi agency groups and partnerships were made to make the cities in Britain safer for
working, living, socializing and visiting. A program named As Safer City Partnership
Strategic Plan was developed. The partners or members of this program are the police
department, fire brigade, HM court service, British transport police, crime prevention
association, voluntary representatives and other public service organizations. These bodies
work in association to maintain low level of crime, disorder and anti social behavior. It
focuses on making the night life of the cities safer; reduce cyber crimes, to reduce the threat
of radicalization of vulnerable people and other issue which would make the environment
better for everyone associated to the cities. The structure of the association contains some
statutory partners under the Crime and Disorder Act1988 and other relevant legislation. This
association and partnership of various legal and voluntary bodies has helped achieved
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positive development and has been successful in maintain a safer environment for the people.
The funding of these organizations are done through government and private donations.
There are bodies and organizations both civil and public which are welcomed to participate as
funding partner to achieve a common goal of making the cities safer.
2.3 Evaluate the structure of multi-agency groups and partnerships within the public
services.
The public service carried out by multi-agency group and partnerships have a well planned
structure and are largely built on the foundations that no single agency can handle. One such
example of such associations is the safer city partnership strategic plan under which various
government and non government bodies are included (Anderson, 2017). The following list
shows the partners or member of the plan:
 The City of London Corporation
 The City of London Police
 London Fire Brigade
 London Probation Trust
 Clinical Commissioning Group
 HM Court Service
 British Transport Police
 Transport for London
 City of London Crime Prevention Association
 Residents’ representatives
 Business representatives
 Voluntary Sector representative
The Clinical Commissioning Group, London Fire Brigade, The City of London Police and
The City of London Corporation are statuary partners a stated under the Crime and Disorder
Act 1998. Together they are responsible in carrying gout the objectives of the tasks to be
executed by the association. The member are reviewed yearly to ensure the representations
allows the association to deliver all the planned objectives and do not miss out on any
element.
2.4 Evaluate public service strategies and policies used to combat crime and improve
community safety.
The Safer City Partnership Strategic Plan is a great example of such public service strategies
and policies and the association under the plan has worked together to form strategies and
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policies to carry out the work. These policies focus on improving the quality of safety of the
citizens. The strategies and policies focus on making the best use of available resources to
help lower the crime rate, prevent the occurrence of criminal activities and making safety and
security a priority. The association provides for training of the partners to increase the
domestic abuse awareness. It includes how such situation should be tackled and what are the
options available for the victims to get relief. The association also promotes a city which is
night economy friendly and provides the ease of socializing at night. The night economy has
both benefits and challenges. It needs to be calculated as to how the corrective measures
should be taken to secure the environment.
2.5 Analyze how current crime problems can be used to devise a crime reduction
initiative for public service.
The current crime problems can be examined to develop crime reduction strategies through
setting priorities and working to secure them. The priorities should focus on the well being of
the people of the city and provide a safe environment at all times. The Safer City Partnership
Strategic Plan’s association and its members have set the following priorities to improve
crime reduction in the sector of public service:
 Night Time Economy Crime and Nuisance
It is focused on promoting the night time economy and making the city safer to
socialize in at.
 Acquisitive Crime
It emphasizes on cyber crime while protecting the citizens, workers, businesses and
visitors from frauds and thefts.
 Anti-social Behavior
Any behavior will be responded to which makes the environment unsafe.
 Supporting the Counter Terrorism Strategy Through delivery of the Prevent
Strategy
To help people fight radicalization and being vulnerable as well as remove the threats
posed towards the city.
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Conclusion
To conclude it can be stated that the essay enables the reader to have an intense knowledge of
the crime reduction, public services and community safety. The details mentioned explain the
strategies and policies which are formed to identify priorities in safeguarding the interest of
the residents and citizens in the field of security and safety. The process of reporting and
recording of crime is made simple to understand and explained. The essay also provides the
reader an insight on the legislations in the current times in the UK as well as their areas of
coverage and also the criticism related to them.
Reference List
Anderson, R.D.C., 2017. Commission on Gangs and Violence: Uniting to improve safety.
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