Safe City Strategic Assessment
The Southampton Safe City Partnership co-ordinates multi-agency action on community safety to improve lives and foster stronger communities by reducing crime, anti-social behaviour, alcohol misuse and supply, and the use and harm caused by drugs throughout the city. Partners include the five statutory authorities; Hampshire Constabulary, Southampton City Council, Hampshire Fire and Rescue, Probation Services and Southampton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). In addition, there are representatives from the Youth Offending Service (YOS), Southampton Voluntary Services (SVS) and the Integrated Commissioning Unit (ICU).
It is a legislative requirement for the Partnership to undertake a Strategic Assessment each year. This is a public document, which provides an overview of current and future crime, disorder and community safety issues affecting Southampton and makes recommendations to enable the Partnership to focus the Southampton Safe City Strategy and local delivery plans, ensuring they continue to meet the needs of the city. The Strategic Assessment includes the following:
- An analysis of the levels of crime and disorder and substance misuse in the area
- Changes in those levels and why these changes have occurred
- Views of local people living and working in the area in relation to crime and disorder and substance misuse
- Identification of gaps in knowledge which need to be addressed
- Recommendations for matters which should be prioritised
The three-year Safe City Strategy was initially due to be reviewed by April 2020. However, in early 2020 the council and its partners had to turn focus away from reviewing the strategy and address challenges brought on by Covid-19, to ensure business continuality and efficient delivery of critical services. Therefore, the strategy will now be refreshed in 2021, with the 2021 strategy spanning five (rather than three) years. This will continue to be assessed every year using the findings of the annual Safe City Strategic Assessment refresh.
The 2020 Strategic Assessment is a refresh, rather than a full assessment, therefore certain aspects will not be covered in as much detail. As part of a refresh, three products are delivered; a data compendium, slide set and an executive summary, with the latter two summarising key changes. All three products produced as part of the refresh contribute to the overall picture of Community Safety in Southampton and therefore need to be reviewed alongside each other. Products as part of the 2020 refresh should also be read in combination with the last full assessment published in 2019, as this is the baseline from which any changes or key issues are highlighted.