Community Safety Partnership (CSP)

The Tower Hamlets Community Safety Partnership (CSP) is a statutory requirement of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998: working in partnership to address local issues including antisocial behaviour, drug or alcohol misuse, and re-offending. The multi-agency strategic group is built on the premise that no single agency can deal with, or be responsible for dealing with, complex community safety issues and that these issues can be addressed more effectively and efficiently through working in partnership.

The partnership is made up of both statutory agencies and co-operating bodies within the borough (known as the ‘responsible authorities’), including:

  • The Metropolitan Police,
  • Tower Hamlets Local Authority,
  • London Fire Brigade,
  • East London Foundation Trust (ELFT), and
  • National Probation Service

Co-operating bodies include the London Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime as well as key local partners with a vested interest in community safety, including Tower Hamlets Council for Voluntary Services. 

CSP statutory duties and functions

Whilst CSP’s are responsible for a huge range of activity, the statutory obligations upon them are currently limited to:

  • set up a strategic group to direct the work of the partnership (Community Safety Partnership Board)
  • regularly engage and consult with the community about their priorities and progress achieving them
  • set up protocols and systems for sharing information
  • analyse a wide range of data, including crime levels and patterns, in order to identify priorities in an annual strategic assessment
  • set out a partnership plan and monitor progress
  • commission Domestic Violence Homicide reviews.

The CSP conducted a Strategic Assessment and a public consultation in 2020 to set priorities and a new CSP Plan. The current CSP Plan 2021-24 will be reviewed in 2021 to ensure it is aligned with the new Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime’s Police and Crime Plan, with regards to local policing priorities and community safety funding. The current CSP Plan priorities are outlined below:

Tackling neighbourhood crime and ASB

ASB remains a strategic priority for the CSP and our local public and includes drug dealing. The impact this priority has on the public means the CSP places a strong focus on addressing ASB and crime at neighbourhood level. This priority also includes partnership work to tackle neighbourhood crimes including robbery, burglary and other acquisitive crimes.

Tackling Hate crime, community tensions and extremism

Hate Crime, Community Cohesion and Extremism have been grouped together as one priority due to the links between the three as well as the impacts they can have on the wider community. This priority and specifically the extremism part of it, includes the important statutory work that the partnership carry out under the Prevent Strategy.

Reducing reoffending and tackling the drivers of crime

Reducing re-offending remains a priority for the borough as it focuses partnership resources on the management of a small cohort of offenders, who are responsible for a disproportionately large number of offences in the borough. This priority also includes Drugs and Alcohol misuse due to drugs and drug dealing being a driver of crime and disorder in Tower Hamlets.

Safeguarding those at risk of violence and exploitation

Violence and the varying associated risks are a cross-cutting theme and one of the core priorities in the new Plan is to safeguard those at risk of the most harm. This includes addressing crimes such as knife crime, gang related violence, serious youth violence, violence against women and girls (VAWG) and sexual abuse. Working with the Tower Hamlets Safeguarding Children’s Partnership (THSCP) and Youth Justice Management Partnership, we aim to:

  • reduce young people's chances of becoming victims of crime
  • reduce first time entrants to the youth justice system
  • reduce the number of young victims of knife crime
  • safeguard children from sexual exploitation and other forms of criminal exploitation
  • implement the Violence, Vulnerability and Exploitation Strategy

A Violence Reduction Plan is in place to address serious violence, knife and weapon enabled crime (including work on corrosive substances “acid attacks”) and is managed under the governance of the Community Safety Partnership. Safeguarding and keeping ‘Keeping Children and Young People Safe’ is at the heart of our community safety strategy.

Our action plan has been developed utilising the following principles:

  • move from a criminal justice to a public health approach,
  • prioritise long term over short term, recognising the benefits of early help and prevention,
  • young people must be at the heart of the solution, and
  • partnership with the community and grass roots organisations is fundamental.

 

The plan is formulated around activity to:

  • Analysis and Enforcement
  • Reducing access to weapons
  • Safeguarding and educating young people
  • Working with communities and neighbourhoods to reduce violence
  • Supporting victims of violence and vulnerability
  • Positive diversion from violence 

Useful documents