Crime reduction schemes working – but red tape halting progress
Government funding for Crime and Disorder Partnerships has succeeded in cutting crime, but complex administrative procedures are reducing the effectiveness of the money.
That is the finding in a new report from the public spending watchdog the National Audit Office (NAO).
It finds that Home Office grants of £927 million to crime reduction schemes and community and police partnerships in England and Wales have contributed to the 22 per cent reduction in the number of crimes since 1999 – as measured by the British Crime Survey.
It says that many of the projects supported have been “diverse in nature, innovative and successful in reducing crime” and congratulates the Home Office “on the range and diversity of the projects and initiatives it has supported.”
But, it finds that resources that could have been used for fighting crime have been “tied up dealing with the different grant conditions imposed by the Home Office and other departments”.
In addition, half of the projects examined were delayed by up to a year, which the NAO puts down to late notification and distribution of funds from the Home Office combined with uncertainty about how much money schemes would receive – meaning they had to wait before finalising plans and hiring staff.
There was also a lack of “specific, measurable and realistic targets” that each partnership’s success could be measured against.
Speaking today, the head of the NAO, Sir John Bourn, said: “The Home Office is funding a diverse array of crime reduction projects, many of which are innovative and contributing towards reductions in reported levels of crime. This is welcome. There is scope, however, for increased review of projects so that more is known about why the successful ones work and why the unsuccessful ones do not.
“Resources could also be used more effectively and more significant reductions in crime achieved if the burden upon partnerships of having to administer complex funding grant conditions were minimised.”
Responding, Home Office Minister Hazel Blears, said: “The Government’s pioneering crime reduction programme was the first ever programme of innovative crime reduction projects. It encompassed a huge range of work from reducing student burglary through to improving street lighting, CCTV and work to prevent young people becoming future offenders. The NAO notes the wide range of initiatives that were funded and that many of these have contributed to reductions in crime.
“With such an innovative, ambitious programme there have been, of course, lessons to be learned. The expert knowledge gained from the crime reduction programme has helped refine and develop local crime reduction work to make it more effective on the ground. We have made significant changes to the way we fund crime reduction work, reducing bureaucracy and streamlining the process. Good practice is also being shared more effectively, through the crime reduction website, regular newsletters and workshops”.
