NCJ Number
176233
Editor(s)
B Webb
Date Published
1998
Length
71 pages
Annotation
Under Great Britain's Crime and Disorder Act of 1998, local councils and police agencies are required to conduct and publish an audit of local crime and disorder problems, to consult locally on the basis of the audit, to set and publish objectives and targets for reducing crime and disorder, to monitor progress, and to repeat the auditing process every 3 years.
Abstract
The purpose of the audit is to help local partnerships set strategic priorities. Conducting the audit requires skilled staff, and those working on the audit need to understand the policy process and to collect and analyze a range of data on crime and disorder. Technical help may be necessary in some cases, although it is important for the audit to be fully understood locally. In all cases, police data on recorded crime and calls for service are relevant in analyzing the level and distribution of local crime and disorder. Police departments should also be able to provide data on characteristics of known local offenders. Within the local authority, various agencies may have data on the nature, distribution, and costs of crime and disorder not available to the police. For example, probation and health departments have potentially relevant data on offenders, drug misuse, and violence and on a variety of other social indicators. Statistical analysis is necessary to profile an area in terms of census information, unemployment, truancy, school exclusion, domestic violence, retail crime, and general disorder. The audit needs to provide an overview of problems, including costs where possible, to assess existing responses and to suggest priorities for action. Detailed information is provided on the audit process, consultation, the formulation of strategic priorities and targets, and monitoring and evaluation. An annex identifies potential sources of data for crime and disorder audits. 29 references, 26 tables, and 5 figures