Regional Organisation for Crime Prevention Delivery

• NCJ Number: 211357
• Author(s): Peter Homel
• Date Published: July 2005
• Length: 15 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Sale Source: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Publication Format: Document (Online)
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: Australia
• Note: Downloaded September 30, 2005.

Annotation

This paper examines the function of regional management systems in Australia in facilitating crime prevention measures that are designed and implemented at the local level.

Abstract

Although crime prevention programs that are tailored to local circumstances promise to be the most effective, regional management can help to achieve efficiency and productivity by providing a delivery infrastructure. Regional systems also provide resources to monitor crime prevention performance; however, when regional systems have been artificially imposed on localities with no organic or historical links, rivalry between groups and localities may emerge. Under such circumstances, localities may view regional management structures as a policing function rather than a facilitator of local operations. This paper profiles some basic types of regional management models based on work undertaken by the British Home Office. One approach involves "Regional Advisors," who are usually centrally located but have responsibility for what happens in a particular region or area. Their functions are limited to that of central adviser and the collector of information. Another approach is the "Regional Coordinator," who differs from the Regional Advisor in having the additional task of promoting, usually through advocacy alone, improved service coordination and delivery. A third approach is the Branch Office, which becomes the center for delivering products or services to localities in the region. This model is intended to ensure that the service provided in one branch is identical to that experienced in another branch. Other approaches to regional management are the "Franchise," which follows the model of modern retailing, and the "partnership" model, which combines resources for multiple entities to improve services in each one. The British experience suggests that the regional management of program delivery will be most effective when the framework is sufficiently flexible to reflect program activity and changing needs within the region's localities. 1 figure and 18 references