NCJ Number
179933
Date Published
April 1999
Length
78 pages
Annotation
This report summarizes achievements of the Crime Prevention Partnerships (CPP) program in Queensland, Australia that was initiated on a pilot basis to address public safety issues raised by the community, to develop strategies to address identified issues, and to create consultative processes to ensure community ownership of crime prevention responses.
Abstract
The CPP initiative began in late 1997 when the former Queensland Coalition Government launched a 12-month pilot program based on a model developed by the Australian Community Safety and Research Organization (ACRO). The government contracted ACRO to establish CPP's in selected local government authorities (LGAs), and LGAs were given a funding grant of $50,000 each to defray administrative costs of the program and to fund a coordinator. To evaluate the CPP initiative, information was obtained through interviews with CPP members and key personnel, records maintained by ACRO, minutes of CPP, and attendance at several CPP meetings. The evaluation found most of those involved in CPPs endorsed the principles embodied in the partnership approach, even if they were critical of how the approach had been applied in their particular case. Enthusiasm was expressed for community and local government involvement in crime prevention issues. Many interviewees felt that the partnership provided an important focus for crime prevention in the local community and most partnership members agreed the initiative had contributed to better working relations among agencies and groups represented in the partnership. Of the seven pilot CPPs, only two were considered failures in that they were discontinued prior to completion of the pilot. Even in these two locations, however, the need for involving local governments and communities in crime prevention was recognized. Operational problems encountered in the course of implementing and evaluating the CPP program are noted, as well as areas for improvement to the partnership approach. Additional information on the CPP initiative and its evaluation is provided in seven appendixes. 17 references, 2 tables, and 3 figures