Home Office showcase community safety pilots

The event happily coincided with Alan Johnston's first day as Home Secretary, so we were all treated to his speech to staff.  His focus on community empowerment and connecting with communities was very reassuring to everyone attending the PB showcase event. 

Delegates came from all 24 of the Home Office pilots - which were chosen across England and Wales.  Pilots were given £20,000 to implement a PB pilot on community safety.  The pilots were part of two different schemes - one a police scheme and the other the Crime and Justice Pioneer areas.  The event gave people the opportunity to find out what the other pilots did and to talk about next steps for PB.

Louise Casey started the event with a brief discussion about the importance of empowerment at the time - and that the evidence shows that people want to be informed and involved with the police.  They feel more secure when they are more informed and involved and are more likely to trust the police if they know them.  Ms Casey stated that PB is at the forefront of the community empowerment agenda and something she felt was key to the ongoing engagement with communities.  

Phil Teece, Programme Co-ordinator for the PB Unit, launched our booklet of case studies from the community safety pilot areas, which can be downloaded by clicking here.  The case studies provide real examples of how PB has been implemented in the different pilots.  Each took quite a different approach so the range of learning and good practice is broad. 

The Home Office are now including PB as part of their Engaged Communities Hallmark, and we welcome the opportunity to work with those areas that are part of this programme, as well as any other areas looking for support in implementing PB.