The Community Safety Team provide support to the Safer Derbyshire Dales Community Safety Partnership, in the development and implementation of the Crime Audit and Crime & Disorder Reduction Strategy to reduce crime and the fear of crime across Derbyshire Dales. You may like to view or download the 2004 Audit, or download the 2005-08 Strategy. 

Alternatively you can view or download the 2004 Audit or the 2005-08 Strategy on the Safer Derbyshire Partnership Website.

The team support and manage the activities that arise from the Crime and Disorder Partnership. These cover all aspects of crime and antisocial behaviour, with particular responsibilities for the strategic support of the reduction in crime and antisocial behaviour. The partnership has succeeded in helping to keep the Derbyshire Dales a low crime area. In the three years since the first Strategy we have succeeded in reducing vehicle crime by around 33%, and domestic burglary by 35%. We have also put in place improvements to make car parking safer, have successfully reduced antisocial behaviour in the Ashbourne, Tideswell and Wirksworth Priority Areas, and have undertaken a range of other initiatives to successfully reduce crime in our communities.

The key to our success is effective partnership working, and throughout the last three years we have sought to develop and extend this. We have put in place innovative joint working with the High Peak Community Safety partnership and have recently extending this to piloting a joint strategic and operational approach so that we can work together even more effectively to prevent and reduce crime within our two districts.

Although we have made excellent progress in reducing crime much more remains to be done. We have set ambitious targets to reduce crime further between 2005 and 2008. We will continue to work in with our partners and with local people to achieve our ambition of keeping the Derbyshire Dales one of the Safest places in England to live, work and visit.

Sections 5 and 6 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, as amended by the Police Reform Act 2002, require specific agencies, known as responsible authorities, to work together, and with other agencies within the community, to tackle crime and disorder and misuse of drugs in their local areas.

The Act requires the responsible authorities to set up Crime and Disorder Reduction partnerships, also called Community Safety Partnerships. The partnerships are required by law to carry out audits of crime and disorder, and develop strategies to deal effectively with these problems, every three years. This is the third set of audits and strategies under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, and for the first time, new legislation means that joint crime and drugs audits must be produced.

In addition, ‘The Antisocial Behaviour Action Plan (October 2003)’ sets out why it is so important to tackle antisocial behaviour and change the culture that lets it go unchallenged.  As part of the drive to deal with antisocial behaviour, partnerships are required to:

• Audit the extent of antisocial behaviour in their area
• Include priorities to address antisocial behaviour in their strategies

Although crime is low in the Derbyshire Dales it is still a concern for both residents and visitors. Crime can affect people in different ways. For example, high levels of antisocial behaviour can make life miserable for communities or individuals, being a victim of crime can blight people's lives, and fear of crime can reduce quality of life.

The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 recognises that tackling crime and improving community safety effectively can only be achieved by effective partnership working. It requires 'responsible authorities' to work together with organisations, businesses and local communities to reduce crime and disorder in their local areas. The Safer Derbyshire Dales Community Safety Partnership is made up of seven responsible authorities and a range of other organisations. The responsible authorities are: 

• Derbyshire Constabulary ‘B’ Division
• Derbyshire County Council
• Derbyshire Dales District Council
• Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service
• Derbyshire Police Authority
• High Peak and Dales Primary Care Trust
• Derbyshire Dales and South Derbyshire Primary Care Trust

View or download the 2004 Audit or the 2005-08 Strategy from the Safer Derbyshire Partnership Website.

The Reach Project is a new project to help reduce crime and substance misuse, through the County's Prolific and Priority Offender (PPO) scheme, criminal justice agencies and other key partner organisations. To read more about the Reach Project click here

Safer Communitites Through Sport

A new report showcasing the achievements of the Safer Communities through Sport programme since January 2007 has been published.

The report demonstrates how sport can help reduce anti-social behaviour and have a positive impact on people's quality of life.

The Safer Communities through Sport programme aims to develop sport and reduce anti-social behaviour in rural Derbyshire, and is supported by a range of organisations including Derbyshire Dales District Council, High Peak Borough Council, Derbyshire Sport, Derbyshire Rural Community Council and the Peak District National Park Authority.

Derbyshire Dales and High Peak Liberation Day

The aim of the High Peak and Derbyshire Dales Liberation Day is to allow the over fifties in the High Peak and Derbyshire Dales the opportunity to learn more about personal / home safety and improving health and fitness. Liberation Day is a concept designed and rolled out by Derbyshire Constabulary to help older people become more aware of distraction burglary, provide community safety and security advice and highlight a range of services and information available to the over fifties.

 Safer Derbyshire Dales Community Safety Panel

The Derbyshire Dales community safety partnership has since 1998 worked hard to engage communities in its work. Recognising that crime (and fear of crime) can best be reduced when statutory agencies work with those closest to the ground, we set up a Community Safety Panel. The Panel is made up of front-line staff from different agencies who work on the same patch (e.g. councils, youth service, probation, housing associations), together with community groups (e.g. parish councillors, community interest groups) and voluntary sector representatives (e.g. victim support, neighbourhood watch). It meets quarterly to disseminate information, consult stakeholders, and gather ideas for theme groups.

The Community Safety Panel has been valuable in three main ways:

- as a networking forum for officers from different agencies working in the Derbyshire Dales

- as a forum where representatives of community groups can engage with statutory agencies

- as a means of developing practical ideas for reducing crime and disorder which feed into operations.

Keeping the format, subject matter and membership of Panel meetings fresh has helped keep up attendance and resulted in positive feedback from those involved.

The most recent Community Safety Panel workshop took place on the 22nd May 2008 which focused on reducing acquisitive crime. To view the minutes from this click here. The link at the top-left of this page lists the minutes of Community Safety Panels previous to this. The next Community Safety Panel workshop will take place on the 11th September 2008.

To view examples of excellent practice within the Derbyshire Dales and High Peak Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership click here.

The February 2007 Citizens Panel survey was relating to Community Safety. To see the results of this survey click here.