Tackling Youth Offending and Violence: Intensive Policing and/or

Tackling Youth Offending and Violence:
Intensive Policing and/or Dispersal Orders.
Liz Frondigoun and Catherine Davidones
with
Jan Nicholson
Report prepared for Strathclyde Police Force
2010
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to thank all young people, youth workers, Community Planning
Partnership (CPP) representatives, police officers, and local councillors for their
assistance and support in pursuit of this work, and the Scottish Institute for Policing
Research (SIPR) for their financial support. Our thanks also go to Jan Nicholson for
her assistance in the early stages of data collection.
Finally, thanks to the Senior
Analyst at Glasgow Community and Safety Services for his support in providing the
relevant statistics.
2
Contents
Page
Chapter One:
Introduction
5
Chapter Two:
Methodology
9
Chapter Three:
Literature Review
14
Chapter Four:
The Enhanced Policing Plan and Dispersal Orders
24
Chapter Five:
Community Perceptions: Safety, Crime and Policing
30
Chapter Six:
Community Services: Recreation and Leisure
40
Chapter Seven:
Policing the Community
50
Chapter Eight:
EPP and Dispersal Order – The Outcomes
Chapter Nine:
Conclusions and Recommendations
59
Summary Findings
74
Bibliography
76
Appendix 1:
Summary of Participants
79
Appendix 2:
Core Interview Schedule
80
Appendix 3:
Participant Consent Forms
81
Appendix 4:
Enhanced Policing Plan
82
Appendix 5:
Dispersal Order Leaflets
84
Appendix 6:
Promotional Initiatives Undertaken
88
Appendix 7:
Dispersal Zone
89
3
List of Tables
Table 1:
3-year crime levels for EPP key indicators
(October – February)
Table 2:
60
Crime levels for All Crimes by Area (October –
February) for the 3-year Period 2007 – 2010
61
Table 3:
Comparative statistics on ASB incidents
61
Table 4:
Area Levels of recorded incidents – period
October to February - by year for the last 3 years
Table 5:
Levels of crime for October to February for
the 4-year period 2006-2010
Table 6:
64
Levels of recorded incidents of Anti-social
Behavioural Incidents 2007-1010 by area
Table 10:
64
Levels of crime by Area (October – February)
for the 4-year period 2006 – 2010
Table 9:
63
Levels of crime by Area for the 5-year
period 2003 – 2010
Table 8:
63
Crime figures as a result of pro-active policing
(Oct – Feb) 2003 – 2010
Table 7:
62
65
Dispersal Orders: Reported and Crime
Statistics for Anti-Social Behaviour
66
4
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1
This research for Strathclyde Police was supported by a small grant from the
Scottish Institute for Policing Research (SIPR). The research was requested by
Strathclyde Police to examine two specific policing initiatives – The Enhanced
Policing Plan and Dispersal Orders - for dealing with youth on-street disorder
and violence in B Division; historically these neighbourhoods have been
characterised by the endemic problem of youth on-street disorder, violence
and gang activity.
1.2
It set out specifically to examine if there was evidence of any long-term
benefits from the Enhanced Policing Plan (EPP), an innovative partnership
approach to policing in BD sub-division - Shettleston, Baillieston and Greater
Easterhouse - which ran in the 6-month period from October, 2007 to
February, 20081; and to examine the implementation and efficacy of Dispersal
Orders in the neighbouring BA sub-division – Dennistoun, Parkhead and
Bridgeton.
1.3
The EPP was developed in accordance with ACPOS Public Reassurance
Strategy and delivered in conjunction with Community Planning Limited
(CPP) through a multi-agency approach2 following the ethos for the
Community Planning and Community Regeneration Fund. It drew on the
principles of the Glasgow City Centre Policing Plan, Operation Reclaim,
Operation Phoenix, and Glasgow Anti-Social Behaviour Task Force3 where
intensive policing and the delivery of diversionary activities, were found to
have had a significant impact on the levels of reported crime, violence and
gang activity. It was structured specifically to increase public reassurance
through intensive policing by addressing on the one hand local concerns
about youth and gang activity; and on the other the needs of these youths
through the delivery of a combination of educational and diversionary
activities.
1
Frondigoun, L., Nicholson, J., Robertson, A. & Monigatti, S. (2008). Building Safer Communities:
An Evaluation of the Enhanced Policing Plan in the Shettleston, Baillieston and Greater Easterhouse area of
Glasgow. Glasgow Caledonian University.
2
This included partnership working with, for example, Culture and Sport; Land and Environmental Services;
local Councillors; Community Planning Limited; John Wheatley College; Glasgow East Generation Agency;
Glasgow Community & Safety Services; Glasgow Housing Association; Registered Social Landlords; MSPs;
FARE; InnerZone; YES Project; Parkhead Youth Project; and Urban Fox.
3
A full list of 20 partner agencies involved in this initiative is available in the Glasgow City Council Report:
Working Together to build Safer, Stronger Communities: Glasgow’s Antisocial Behaviour Strategy 2005-2008.
(2006:33)
5
1.4
Dispersal Orders had been implemented in various areas of BA sub-division
prior to the introduction of the EPP, around the same time as the EPP was
running, and again during the period of this study, September 2009 – January
2010, to address alcohol-related on-street disorder and violence. Scottish
Police Forces were given the power to introduce Dispersal Orders in the AntiSocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004. These controversial orders
(Crawford & Lister, 2007) confer on the police the discretion to disperse
groups of 2 or more individuals whom they deem to be likely to cause antisocial behaviour.
1.5
The perception on the part of the police service in Scotland is that, in
comparison to England and Wales, the nature and activities of youth on-street
disorder and gang membership in Scotland are based on ‘territorialism’, a
distinction which is generally perceived as being the most significant
characteristic, whereas the relationship with organised crime that is said to
characterise the criminality of gang membership in other locations in the UK
is thought to be less significant in these locations.
1.6
Therefore, after the deployment of these two approaches aimed at
encouraging desistence from criminality associated with gang membership
and on-street youth disorder, it is important to re-examine the perceptions,
concerns and needs of the local communities, particularly those of the young
people, and the police on: the effects the initiatives have had for on-street
disorder and violence, gang activity and territorialism; perceptions of
policing; and young people’s perceptions of diversionary activities and local
facilities available to them in the communities in which they live.
1.7
The research accordingly aims to establish what can be learned from these
two diverse policing approaches and to identify any changes:
in crime levels during the period when Dispersal Orders were
implemented;
in crime levels since the end of the period of implementation of the
EPP;
in the views of the police, community planning partners, youth
workers and young people about what it is like living in the East End
of Glasgow;
in the effect gang and violent behaviour has had/is having on their
neighbourhood;
6
in the community views and perceptions of the effectiveness of the EPP
and Dispersal Orders in tackling these behaviours, and in increasing
public reassurance within the area;
in what youths identify they need to encourage them to make
attitudinal changes in making life choices; and
in the working partnerships of the CPP and the police.
1.8
The EPP and Dispersal Orders were quite different approaches to tackling
youth on-street disorder and violence. Dispersal Orders are more oriented
towards law enforcement and don’t necessarily require the support of the
local community and their community planning partners, compared to the
EPP, which had a wider remit aimed at changing partnership relationships
and fostering closer multi-agency working in tandem with the enhanced
police presence.
1.9
BD sub-division received grant funding of around £400,000 plus for the EPP.
This funding facilitated capital expenditure in relation to enhanced policing,
community engagement strategies including public consultation, the
provision of diversionary resources; and media dissemination. Implementing
the Dispersal Orders on the other hand did not benefit from a grant but was
subsumed within the sub-divisional budget. However, it should be noted
that traditionally when one sub-division receives grant funding, the other
sub-divisions benefit from modest increases in their budgets - in this instance
BA sub-division benefited from an increased budget of around £50,000 during
the period of deployment of the EPP.
1.10
It is important for this study to acknowledge that these two youth policing
initiatives were not run in isolation from normal policing practice and other
police initiatives. For example, immediately following the EPP, Strathclyde’s
Anti-Violence Gang Task Force were active in the BD sub-division area and
this was followed by the CIRV4 project run in partnership with the police by
the National Violence Reduction Unit. Similarly, BA sub-division has also
been able to pull on the resources of these two units to augment normal dayto-day policing practice. Therefore it is not possible to categorically
differentiate between all these initiatives and attribute specific outcomes to
the Dispersal Orders or the EPP alone. Nonetheless this report is a reflection
4 Community Initiative to Reduce Violence.
7
of the perceptions of the police, the local CPP, youth workers and local youths
of the EPP and Dispersal Orders.
1.11
It should also be noted that in both sub-divisional offices there have been
changes in personnel at various levels of the policing hierarchy. For example,
the Superintendent who led the EPP has since moved, initially to take up a
post at Strathclyde Police Headquarters, prior to retiring from the Force. In
BA sub-division it was the same Superintendent who oversaw the periods of
implementation of the Dispersal Orders in 2008 and 2009. Some police
officers who had been initially involved in the EPP and Dispersal Orders have
since been deployed elsewhere, with the exception of a few officers who have
since returned to either BA or BD sub-division. Others currently in post have
had no experience of working in either sub-division prior to, or during the
period in which the EPP ran or previous roll-outs of Dispersal Orders.
However, this has allowed for a breadth of perspectives to be gleaned on the
current situation in these areas.
1.12
Chapter two will describe the main methods utilised in the research, and
chapter three, in the form of a literature review, will identify the key
characteristics of the public reassurance strategy and gang culture in Scotland
and summarise the main findings of academic and other reports and research
in relation to the key themes. Chapter four will provide an overview of these
two policing initiatives outlining the main aims and objectives and how they
were implemented. In chapter five the community perceptions of safety,
crime and policing are discussed. Chapter six offers a discussion on the issues
in meeting community aspirations for recreation and leisure services. Policing
in the community is discussed in chapter seven and the main outcomes from
these two initiatives can be found in Chapter 8, alongside key issues and
implications in the conclusions and recommendations. Chapter 9 presents the
summary findings.
8
CHAPTER TWO
METHODOLOGY
Introduction
2.1 There were three stages to the research. Stage one involved a review of the
existing literature. Stage two involved interviews with the Divisional
Superintendents and telephone interviews with Community Planning Partners
and Local Councillors. In stage three focus groups were conducted in BA and
BD sub-divisions with police officers, young people, and local community
groups. The local community focus groups were found to be relevant to both
BD and BA sub division. The interviews and focus groups were an important
source of information. (Appendix 1 provides a summary of participants.)
2.2
Observations were also carried out in these two areas on a number of
occasions, visiting locations where there were shops, and driving around to
identify environmental changes and to better understand the concerns of the
local communities in relation to vandalism, graffiti (including photographic
evidence), and groups of youths hanging around the streets.
2.3
The report documents and analyses the experience and views of young people,
police officers, youth workers, and gives prominence to their own words. The
study is based on data obtained from interviews and focus groups carried out
in the Shettleston, Baillieston and Greater Easterhouse, and the Bridgeton,
Dennistoun and Parkhead areas of Glasgow, which are characterised by many
territorial boundaries associated with housing schemes of differing size and
varying levels of urban deprivation. Of particular interest is how youths feel
policy makers and service providers can address their concerns and support
them in adopting positive patterns of behaviour; and in understanding the
significance of ‚the gang‛ for those involved in gang-related, violent and antisocial behaviour.
Stage One: Statistical and Literature Review
2.4
The review of literature examines policy documents, published research, other
documents, and media sources. It offers a summary of what is known about
gang activity in Scotland; of the concerns and needs of local communities in
addressing youth disorder; and of the policing and political policy responses to
this in Scotland. This review outlines the background against which these
initiatives emerged and were developed in accordance with ACPOS’s Public
Reassurance Strategy. It contributed to the study by identifying emerging
themes relevant to the research issue. It also informed the development of
research tools at stage two and three as well as providing the statistical and
research context for the study.
9
2.5
Official police statistics were also reviewed5 and an analysis of these two
initiatives is provided in relation to official youth on-street anti-social
behaviour and violence in each of these sub-divisions.
Stage Two: Interviews
2.6
Qualitative research provides a unique tool for studying what lies behind or
underpins behaviour and attitudes, and for studying the dynamics that affect
outcomes of policy6. Carrying out fieldwork in a variety of ways leads to
interaction at different levels between the researcher and the participants, and
between participants. Therefore what is found is not ‘sweeping generalisations
but deeply contextualised meanings of the participant’s experiences’ 7. This
enhances understanding and counterbalances the concerns that quantitative
research can leave many questions essential to the evaluation and development
of policy misconceived or inadequately understood8.
2.7
Interviews were also carried out with the Superintendents who had
responsibility for overseeing these initiatives and with the new Superintendent
in BD sub-division. These interviews examined the policy implications of
policing socially deprived and marginalised groups; the needs of these
communities for supporting young people; the extent of multi-agency working;
and how/whether the EPP or Dispersal Orders have changed the demand
for/nature of policing in these areas.
2.8
Members of the Local Community Planning Partnerships and Local
Councillors were also selected for interview to examine their perception on
whether these initiatives had affected a change in partnership working and the
demand for services: particularly services to deal with issues related to
vandalism, graffiti, violence and gang activity.
2.9
Participants in this study were reached through a number of existing
community-based contacts and a snowballing technique. It was important that
good working relationships were maintained with the police, partnership
agencies, young people, and youth leaders/community workers.
5
Before and after crime statistics on youth on-street disorder were supplied by a Senior Analyst at Glasgow
Community and Safety Services.
6
J Ritchie & J Lewis (eds) (2003) Qualitative Research Practice. London: Sage
7
Maykut, P. and Morehouse, R. (1994) Beginning Qualitative Research: A Philosophical and
Practical Guide. London: The Falmer Press.
8
J Ritchie & J Lewis (eds) (2003) – ibid.
10
Stage Three: Focus Groups
2.10 Fieldwork at stage three comprised a total of 11 focus groups with police
officers from Strathclyde police force and young people in various locations
within the BA and BD sub-divisional area. Participation was by no means
taken for granted and no incentive was provided. However, a donation was
given to each of the youth groups who participated in recognition of the
investment of time and energy made by the young people involved. This also
meant that the club as a whole could address how best to allocate the money
rather than individual members benefiting to the exclusion of those who were
either too young, or unable to participate.
2.11 Parental agreement for access to the young people under the age of 16 was
negotiated through the youth workers in the various youth clubs. All young
people who participated in focus groups at their youth clubs did so
voluntarily. They had the nature of the research explained to them and care
was taken to ensure they fully understood that they didn’t have to answer any
questions they didn’t want to or were uncomfortable with, and that they were
free to leave when they wished.
2.12 Youth workers in the groups visited were also interviewed on the same topics
as the youths to provide an insight into how they perceived the communities in
which they worked and on how current and future policy could address the
issues faced by these young people and the communities they live in.
2.13 Care was taken to ensure a range of perspectives and experiences was accessed
from the police and young people. Youth groups included in this research
were selected by the research team. The research team acknowledges that not
all ‚types‛ of young people attend youth groups, but every attempt was made
to ensure that a wide range of backgrounds of participants was achieved by
close consultation with the local youth leaders and workers including those
who are involved in outreach work.
2.14 Focus groups and group/individual interviews provided an excellent forum for
generating discussion about the experiences of public safety and other
concerns, particularly with the young people – they were characterised by
some individuals dipping in and out when the topic of discussion was of
particular interest to them; which provided many interesting and insightful
points. Core topic guides were used as the basis for discussions. (See
Appendix 2).
2.15 The focus group/interview schedules covered 6 main areas of interest:
experiences and concerns of living/working in a particular area; feelings of
11
safety; education and aspirations; leisure activities; perceptions and
membership of gangs; and their awareness of, and perceptions of, policing, the
EPP, and Dispersal Orders. All participants were encouraged to express views
on these topic areas:
experiences covered neighbourhood and community concerns;
safety included location, time of day and who/what reduced/increased
feelings of safety;
aspirations encompassed the support and advice available to the young
people through community, education and employment services;
leisure activities evoked discussion on what was available, their
suitability, and barriers to using facilities.
2.16 Discussion on gangs focused on perceptions about gangs - including that of
identity - but also on the impact of gang activity for the community and young
people. The young people were also encouraged to talk about what they liked
and disliked about gangs. Perceptions of police and policing were also
discussed, including the hopes and fears, success and potential of these
initiatives.
The core topic guides were supplemented with specific probes
and techniques in order to ensure wide-ranging discussion of the issues that
participants felt were significant. In this way the focus group method could
avoid some of the skews, areas of neglect and assumptions that limit some
existing research.
2.17 Focus groups consisted, on average, of 5-10 officers for the police, and of 4-10
young people for the youth groups, although one of the police groups was very
small. Participants were informed about the research aims and objectives and
participant consent agreements were made available. (See Appendix 3)
2.18 All focus groups with the police and community groups were tape-recorded
(with consent) and were preceded by a brief summary of the scope of the
research and the interview. These took place in their local meeting place or
police stations at a time convenient to the participants.
2.19 Only two of the focus groups with the young people were tape-recorded (with
consent) as the age groups varied in the other groups and some of the
participants were of an age or disposition that makes it difficult to interview
them formally. In order to prevent anxiety amongst the younger participants,
all focus groups and interviews were held in familiar surroundings – schools
12
and/or local youth clubs - and the young people were encouraged to discuss
and talk about their experiences while engaging in normal club activities.
Therefore more extensive notes for all the other focus groups and interviews
were taken. However, this did not affect the quality of the data gathered as the
researchers worked where possible in teams of two. It should be noted here
that these focus groups were very lively events and all the young people who
contributed spoke very positively about their clubs and were keen to express
their views for this study.
2.20 Professional transcribing services were used.
2.21 The research was conducted in line with the ethical guidelines of the British
Sociological Association, The British Society of Criminology and Glasgow
Caledonian University.
13
CHAPTER THREE
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
3.1 In this chapter a range of academic and other literature relevant to community
policing of young people, including policy and partnership working, are
reviewed. Recent attempts to address youth offending, anti-social behaviour
and violence in Scotland are outlined. It is not a comprehensive review but
offers a summary of what is known about youth anti-social activity and
disorder and how this impacts on communities; and the policing and policy
responses to this in Scotland. Therefore it provides the background against
which recent policing initiatives have been developed in accordance with
ACPOS’s ‘Public Reassurance and Youth Strategy’ and the Scottish Government’s
‘Safer Streets’.
Youth Offending
3.2
Social deprivation, poor housing, low educational attainment, drug and
alcohol abuse and poor employment prospects have consistently been linked
with youth crime, violence and disorder. Young people, it would appear ‘tend
to be a perennial source of anxiety. Law and order enthusiasts, for example,
have persistently warned us of ‘new’ delinquent syndromes in which youth
seems to delight in crudity, cruelty and violence’ (Muncie, 2009:13).
3.3
However, as Oldfield et al (2009) point out, explaining these relationships has
been constrained by an over-reliance on quantitative research which
inadequately explores any causal relations. For example the Scottish Executive
(2005) ‘Measurement of Youth Crime in Scotland’ highlights young people as
‘responsible for higher proportions of offences such as fire-raising (86%),
vandalism (75%), theft of motor vehicles (75%), theft by opening lockfast places
(65%), handling of offensive weapons (59%) and housebreaking (55%)’ (op cit:i)
but is less helpful in explaining why. Anderson (2005) argues that there are ‘no
reliable data sources that would allow the extent of anti-social behaviour by
young people and fear of youth crime in Scotland to be measured fully’ (op
cit:43) but estimate that 43% of crimes were committed by those under the age
of 21 (op cit:i). Furthermore, determining true levels of youth offending is
difficult because of changes in policing practice or the law, changes to the
procedures of reporting and recording of offences, and changes in public
opinion/tolerance.
3.4
The Scottish Government Social Research (2008c:18) report indicates that 62%
and 45% respectively of their respondents believe that the behaviour of young
14
people today is worse than it was in the past and that they feel young people
have no respect for older people. Interestingly though, this report also
identifies that it is only thought to be 20% (approximately) of the youth
population who are troubled or troublesome. Mooney and Neal (2009) note,
‘*i+n the specific field of community safety’ all too frequently high crime
communities are perceived to be full of ‘problem people’, not ‘people who may
have problems (Foster, 2002:168).’
3.5
Youth offending continues to be of concern for many communities. In
Glasgow one particular concern is in relation to the perceived rise in alcoholrelated gang and knife crime as being a significant youth problem. Evidence
suggests ‘Glasgow has far higher reported crime rates than Scotland as a
whole’ (Kintera et al, 2008:63). Yet Crawford and Lister (2007:69) point out
that ‘the current generation of parents is less likely to allow their children out
unsupervised than their parents.’
3.6
The focus on youth gangs, Muncie (2009) argues, is peculiar to the 20th Century,
it is diverse, and takes a variety of forms - they may be joined for protection yet inter-gang conflict is endemic and further concerns have been voiced about
knife crime. These issues can have profound effects on the life-choices and
chances for young people who are brought up and caught up in a gang, knifecrime culture, to the point that it significantly affects their mobility within and
between local areas due to the territorial nature of gangs (Deuchar & Holligan
2010; Kintera et al 2008; Frondigoun et al 2008; Frondigoun & Addidle (2009).
3.7
Geographical divisions are of even greater concern in understanding intergang conflict in Glasgow than sectarianism (Deuchar & Holligan, 2010; Kintera
at al 2008). Gangs ‘were formed on the basis of geographical territory and not
on a religious or football basis’ (Duechar & Holligan, 2010:20). This supports
the findings of Kintera et al (2008) who linked gang activity to identity because
‘gangs all had names that were clearly territorial, < named after places < and
used ‚tags‛ to mark their territory’ (op cit:24) and argued that territorial
conflict was no longer linked to religion (op cit:32). Furthermore a generational
link was found in that ‘gang names were frequently the same as, or a version of
names used in the past, even 30 or 40 years ago and used the same idioms’ (op
cit:26).
3.8
Deuchar & Holligan (2010) link gang membership to ‘excitement, identity and
status<.*which provide+<..’opportunities for positive forms of social bonding
and networking’. Simultaneously, though, ‘gang membership also resulted in
15
a sense of confinement< Youngsters often felt trapped in the confinement of
their housing schemes and had a feeling of exclusion that stemmed from a
history of conflict <’(op cit:25). Consequently, fear of straying into or being
found in the wrong area – another gang’s territory - is of considerable concern
to young people living in these areas (Deucher & Holligan, 2010; Kintera et al,
2008; Patrick, 1973).
3.9
The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) Report, Breakthrough Britain: Dying to Belong
(2009), claims that central and local governments in the last decade have failed
to effectively address gang activity. Consequently, gang activity in some of
our most deprived communities has become entrenched to the extent that
‘Police in London and Strathclyde have each identified 171 and 170 gangs
respectively (ibid: 19) and a study conducted by MORI in 2007 states that there
has been a ‘50% increase in school age children reporting having carried a
knife’ (Eades et al (2007) cited in CSJ 2009:20).
3.10 Such gang activity and on-street-disorder is often described as drink-fuelled
and/or is linked to under-age drinking, the dangers of which, Galloway et al
(2007) argue, are rarely recognised by young people. While Forsyth et al (2007)
argue that ‘the scale of alcohol-related physical activity in residential
neighbourhoods appears to be large’ there is a need to look beyond the issue of
alcohol provision and look at the relationships between the use of alcohol and
crimes. For, as McKinley et al (2009) highlight, alcohol has been found to be a
significant contributing factor to the criminal activities of young men within
the prison populations.
3.11 Consequently alcohol-related crime and disorder and community safety are
significant areas of concern for communities, with a large number of people
believing that young people are a problem within their area (Hill and Wright,
2003). Crawford and Lister (2007) note that ‘between a third and one half of all
young people aged 11 to 15 have had experience of adversarial contact with the
police (Anderson et al 1994; Jamieson et al 1999)’ which McAra and McVie
(2005) point out is often due to the (wrong) company young people keep.
3.12 Subsequently this issue has been slowly gaining prominence at the Scottish
Government9 level. A number of publications regarding youth justice and
youth offending are available in Scotland. It’s a Criminal Waste – Stop Youth
Offending Now (Scottish Executive 2000) set recommendations for Youth Justice
9
Previously the Scottish Executive.
16
in Scotland. The report claimed that, while the principles underpinning the
Children’s Hearing System were fundamentally sound, practices and resources
to support them had fallen behind the times and change was overdue (McNeill
& Whyte, 2007:159).
3.13 Nevertheless, as Crawford and Lister (2007) point out, Scotland in general has
had a more cautious approach to the use of anti-social legislation than other
jurisdictions in the UK, preferring to adopt a ‘voluntary approach.<rather
than direct legal interventions’ (op cit:11).
Addressing Youth Offending
3.14 The National Standards for Youth Services (2002) set out Scotland’s Action
Programme to Reduce Youth Crime and National Standards for Youth Justice Services
in Scotland; existing services were criticised by Dealing with Offending by Young
People (Audit Scotland 2002). Following this, Dealing with Offending by Young
People: Performance Update (2007:2) found that ‘increased funding and a
stronger focus on youth justice services have delivered some positive changes,
but significant challenges remain’; including ensuring services address local
needs together with reducing levels of offending behaviour, and the need for
partners to develop a coherent and integrated approach to services for children
(ibid: 31).
3.15 In 2008, this trend continued in the Preventing Offending Behaviour – A
Framework for Action10 - not a new vision, although it does incorporate a shared
commitment within the context of new partnership, as set out in the Single
Outcome Agreement to improve service delivery. The aim is to ‘reject the
polarisation of children’s needs and community safety; but to champion them
both’ (Scottish Government, 2008:2).
‘As equal partners, we will focus on identifying and embedding
what works, enabling good practice to spread, and demonstrating
impact in improved outcomes for children, young people and
communities. At every level, we will get better at partnership,
using information, seeing holistically and acting strategically’
(Scottish Government, 2008b:2).
10
The framework is formally owned by the Scottish Government, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities
(COSLA), the Association of Chief Police Officers Scotland (ACPOS), Scottish Children’s Reporter
Administration (SCRA) and the Crown Officer and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) as key delivery agencies.
17
Community Safety
3.16 The policing of youth and associated problems of anti-social behaviour, risk
and the rising fear of crime have increasingly featured in community safety
policy debates in recent years. The ethos of recent policing initiatives, and
legislative powers, have placed an emphasis on prevention and/or early
intervention rather than on enforcement and criminalisation of young people
apart from the most serious of offences.
3.17 Community safety policy has grown slowly in importance and significance in
the UK since the 1980s and now stands as the essential core of a collection of
strategies (Gilling, 1997, Crawford, 1998; Stenson, 1998; Hughes, 1998, 2008) to
address crime and related problems of disorder and insecurity, public attitudes
and perceptions about crime and the fear of crime; and to increase public
reassurance by effectively tackling crime and disorder. As Hughes (2002)
observes, this raises the possibility of moving from narrow law and order
agendas to more generalised visions of ‘harm reduction’ in the pursuit of
justice.
3.18 As such it is not merely the responsibility of the police, but requires the active
involvement of various actors from the public, commercial and voluntary
sectors, as well as of private citizens. This necessitates a ‘pluralisation of
responsibility’ and a significant change in the way in which Government,
organisations, and the public think and behave (Crawford, 1998). Thus
prevention of youth crime requires a combination of approaches which seek to
address the development of criminality among young people, reduce criminal
opportunities and act upon the social conditions that sustain crime (Crawford
and Matassa, 2000).
3.19 While Community Safety Policies have been focusing on increased public
reassurance by effectively tackling crime and disorder, the media have been
less helpful in supporting this. For example, media reports which focus on
youth behaviour and perceived disorder have been identified in some cases as
fuelling youth disorder and in others as increasing fear amongst young people
(Frondigoun et al, 2007), although as Leishman and Mason (2003) argue
‘harnessing the media effectively to promote the police can in all likelihood do
more to provide symbolic reassurance to more of the public for more of the
time’. Recent examples of effective media strategies by the police for
increasing public reassurance and confidence in policing was evidenced in the
approach taken in the Enhanced Policing Plan (Frondigoun et al, 2008) and the
Inverclyde Initiative (Frondigoun & Addidle, 2009).
18
3.20 The Reassurance Policing Model (RPM) was developed to address the ‘gap’
between falling levels of crime and the media-fuelled public perceptions
(Lovell & Evans, 2006) of rising levels of crime (Herrington & Millie, 2006), in
particular those crimes committed by young people, especially gang-related
crime which Muncie (2004) argues is not new but has been a consistent theme
in the UK. The model therefore aims to address communities’ fears of crime
and increase public confidence in the police through community engagement
and ‘a re-commitment to the delivery of high-visibility front-line policing that
both leads and encompasses diverse partners from among the extended police
family’ (Hughes & Rowe, 2007:329).
3.21 Community Engagement and the establishment of Key Individual Networks11,
combined with a problem-solving approach, is key to the effectiveness of the
RPM, as it is argued that the police cannot work alone in solving the inherent
problems in some communities (Donnelly & Scott, 2005; Strang, 2005; Bullock,
Erol and Tilley, 2006). Community involvement is important for effective
public reassurance policing in identifying problems, analysing them, selecting
a suitable response and then assessing the effectiveness of the actions taken
(Goldstein, 1990 in Bullock, Erol & Tilley, 2006).
3.22 Partnership working and policing at community level are recognised as key
elements in addressing community concerns about youth on-street-disorder:
‘Agencies should focus on the identification, assessment,
planning and management of children and young people.
Those working with this group must take into account both the
needs and risks of a child or young person…we expect the
police and local agencies, working in partnership, to support
and manage the needs and risks of young people and protect
others in their community’ (Scottish Government, 2008).
Collaboration and Partnership Working
3.23 Sullivan and Skelcher (2002:1) state that, ‘partnership is the new language of
public governance’ which Atkinson (2005) argues hoped to address the issues
of ‘fragmented organisational and professional silos’ and replace it with an
integrated, multi-sectoral and multi-professional approach. Joining-up of
policy and services has been a key theme running through recent policy
11
Fielding and Innes use this term for ‘individuals who have detailed knowledge of communal life in a locale
and are in a position to provide a meaningful assessment of how policing there has improved or worsened’
(2006:135).
19
developments in relation to children and young people in the UK (Percy-Smith
2005:1-13).
3.24 In Scotland, community planning is considered a crucial component in the
wider programme of public service reform and modernisation for local
government and public service delivery (Scottish Executive, 2006). Though not
a new concept12, community planning is a process of co-ordinated policy
making and joint service delivery between the police service, local authorities
and public agencies, representatives from the local community, voluntary and
private sectors.
3.25 Under the framework of community planning, community safety has become a
key priority for agencies in working together to build ‘safer, attractive,
healthier, vibrant and economically attractive communities’ (Scottish Executive
1999, Executive Summary). Local authorities and the police were encouraged
to take a proactive lead in building safer communities by establishing local
partnerships involving public, private and voluntary organisations.
Performance and the Single Outcome Agreement
3.26 The Scottish Government and local government share an ambition for outcome
focused planning and delivery of public services in Scotland. As expressed in
the historic Concordat of November 2007 and the subsequent development and
agreement of Single Outcome Agreements between all 32 Councils and the
Scottish Government by June 2008. Now, the performance of the police and
other community planning partners is fed into the strategic ‘umbrella’
framework of the Single Outcome Agreement (SOA).
3.27 A Single Outcome Agreement is the means by which,
‘Community Planning Partnerships agree their strategic
priorities for their local area and express those priorities as
outcomes to be delivered by the partners, either individually or
jointly, while showing how those outcomes should contribute
to the Scottish Government's relevant National Outcome’
(Scottish Government 2008a, p5).
12
Community Planning was given a statutory basis in the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003. Prior to this,
Area Team Partnerships and Social Inclusion Partnerships all involved networking and partnership between
public, private and community sector agencies.
20
3.28 The SOA sets out how both the Scottish Government and Community Planning
Partnerships will work towards improving national outcomes for local people
in a way that reflects local circumstances and priorities.
Policing Policy
3.29 Strathclyde Police have in recent years developed a number of initiatives to
address youth offending and gang activity at the community level: for
example, Operation Reclaim in 2004, Operation Phoenix in 2007 and the
Inverclyde Initiative in 2008/9, which built on the principles of the success of
the Glasgow City Centre Policing Plan. The Enhanced Policing Plan in BD subdivision aimed to build on the success of these initiatives in Scotland and
elsewhere. The introduction of Dispersal Orders/Zones in BA sub-division
marked a more distinctive approach – which is discussed below - to address
similar types of youth disorder to that faced by police in BD sub-division.
3.30 Operation Reclaim was a partnership initiative set up in 2004 initially to tackle
gang fighting, territorialism, anti-social behaviour and racially-motivated
crime in the Red Road area of Glasgow. Since then it has continued in the
surrounding areas of Springburn, Sighthill, Barmulloch and Royston. It
focused on educating young people about the dangers they were exposing
themselves to and providing diversionary activities (mainly football) in a safe
environment.
3.31 Operation Phoenix was introduced in the Greater Easterhouse area of
Strathclyde in 2007 and was focused on tackling the issues of territoriality, antisocial behaviour and gang activity. The aim was to provide a 7-week
programme of activities that would encourage integration in a safe and fun
environment to reduce barriers between young people and the police and
perhaps more importantly to help build positive relationships between the
young people for the ten territorial areas in Greater Easterhouse.
3.32 The Inverclyde Initiative, first introduced in November 2008, is an innovative
approach to policing, focused on addressing the problem of groups of youths
deemed to be ‘at risk’ and the associated issues of ‘child protection’, which
aimed to raise parents’ awareness of the activities their children are involved
in; challenge youths’ behaviour patterns; educate them to the dangers they are
placing themselves and others in by pursuing such activities; provide them
with information and opportunities to encourage them to adopt positive life
21
choices; and inform on community opportunities to reduce the likelihood of reoffending.
3.33 Operation Staysafe which ran in England is a coordinated effort to help protect
young people and to reassure the wider public that the police are dealing with
issues that are of local concern. It is targeted at ensuring that young people
who are out and about on the streets late at night and deemed to be at risk of
becoming a victim, or being drawn into criminal behaviour, are returned safely
to their parents/guardians. Where appropriate young people are referred to
other youth support agencies such as Family Support Teams, Parenting
Programmes and Alcohol Awareness Projects.
Current Initiatives
The Enhanced Policing Plan (EPP)
3.34 Building on the experiences and successes of these earlier initiatives, the
Enhanced Policing Plan incorporated many of the principles of good practice in
previous initiatives with intensive policing, aimed to provide in partnership
with other agencies an effective alternative to an enforcement-only approach to
dealing with cases of youth offending including violence, knife-, alcohol- and
gang-related crimes. Introduced in 2007-2008, with a budget of around
£400,000, its aim was to reduce youth offending including alcohol abuse, gang
fighting, knife crime and anti-social behaviour, and to reduce fear of crime
alongside increasing public reassurance in policing within targeted areas. It
involved, for example, high-visibility policing, increased community
engagement with young people in schools and clubs, and a programme of
diversionary activities delivered in partnership with the CPP to support and
promote positive life choices.
Dispersal Orders (DOs)
3.35 The Dispersal Orders/Zones which were implemented in BA sub-division at a
similar time as the EPP were introduced as part of a concerted plan to address
BA sub-division’s appalling statistics for violence: in May of 2008 they were the
worst for Strathclyde Police Force. Local plans were developed to tackle this
issue based on statistical data and intelligence identifying violent crime
‘hotspots’. The aim of the plan was to make use of anti-social behaviour
legislation and introduce Dispersal Orders for an initial 3-month period with
an option to extend for a further 3 months. The intention was to reduce violent
incidents by preventing young people from gathering in large groups,
consuming alcohol, and becoming involved in violent crime.
22
3.36 Together these two initiatives shared the principles of:
high visibility policing in key areas at critical times;
providing a co-ordinated approach for making appropriate referral of
offenders and potential offenders to other partner agencies; and
encouraging the uptake of alternative/diversionary activities/support
programmes to establish and promote positive life choices.
3.37 The following chapter discusses Dispersal Orders, the Enhanced Policing
Plan and their relevance for policing in the BA and BD sub-divisions of
Strathclyde Police.
23
CHAPTER FOUR
THE ENHANCED POLICING PLAN AND
DISPERSAL ORDERS
Introduction
4.1
This chapter provides an overview of what the EPP and Dispersal Orders are;
the aims and objectives of implementing these policies; and why it was
anticipated they would address specific local issues. It will also discuss the
issues of crime, violence and gang-related behaviour within these areas. The
responsibility for policing Baillieston, Shettleston and Greater Easterhouse
where the EPP was implemented is overseen by BD Sub-Division and for
Parkhead - where Dispersal Orders were implemented in 2009 - by BA SubDivision of Strathclyde Police.
Enhanced Policing Plan and Dispersal Orders
4.2
BD Sub-Division of Strathclyde Police developed the EPP with their
Community Planning Partners, in line with the principles of ACPOS Public
Reassurance Strategy. This plan built on the success of the Glasgow City
Centre Policing Plan13, Operations Reclaim and Phoenix14. On the other hand,
BA Sub-Division of Strathclyde Police took the decision to use the powers of
the current ASB legislation15 to implement Dispersal Orders to deal with what
they describe as the worst performance figures in their area under their own
key performance indicators.
These two approaches aimed to address
community concerns about groups of youths identified as ‘troubled or
troublesome’ who were involved in anti-social behaviour, alcohol-related
disorder, substance misuse, knife-carrying, and violent crime.
4.3
Both of these approaches to policing were developed through an intelligenceled, proactive and flexible policing capability with the direct intention of
impacting on the detection and reduction of the above-mentioned crimes.
Therefore these approaches were also concerned with reducing the fear of
crime and enhancing community safety and public reassurance.
13
The City Centre Plan was based on high visibility policing and increased supervision of taxi queues, at peak
times for crime, for example, when the various pubs and clubs close and there is a high volume of young and
often drunk men and women looking for transport home.
14
Police-led initiatives to provide diversionary activities (such as football coaching, gorge-walking etc.) for
youths.
15
Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004.
24
4.4
The EPP also aimed to divert young people away from anti-social behaviour by
providing and encouraging the uptake of alternative recreational/leisure
options: for example, the establishment of an outdoor gym; while the focus of
Dispersal Orders was on preventing young people from engaging in anti-social
behaviour through early intervention. Officers were also handing out leaflets to
signpost young people towards leisure and recreational groups currently
available in their local community. For a more detailed description of what the
EPP entailed see Appendix 4, and a copy of the leaflets used during the
implementation of the Dispersal Orders can be found in Appendix 5.
BD and BA Sub-Division
4.5
The BD Sub-Division has responsibility for policing Shettleston, Baillieston,
and Greater Easterhouse, which has a population of approximately 75,00080,000 and includes the following wards: Ruchazie/Garthamlock; Easterhouse;
Springboig/Greenfield/Barlanark; Tollcross/West Shettleston; Baillieston/
Garrowhill; and Mount Vernon/East Shettleston.
4.6
The BA Sub-Division has responsibility for policing Calton and East Centre
which has a population of approximately 45,000-50,000 and includes: Carntyne,
Cranhill, Riddrie and in particular for this study Calton, Bridgeton, Parkhead,
Dennistoun and Dalmarnock.
4.7
These areas have endemic problems with high levels of on-street crimes
including drugs, violence and gang-related activity and are historically
characterised by poverty and deprivation, low educational achievement and
poor health. However, in recent years some of these areas have experienced
considerable urban regeneration and new-build public and private housing
which has impacted on the experiences of some of those living there, but has
also created a disparity between their experiences and the experiences of those
living elsewhere in wards currently identified as needing specific attention.
4.8
The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2006 (SIMD) shows in both of these
areas a significant proportion of the population falls within the 15% most
deprived areas in Scotland. The SIMD 2009 states that all the datazones within
the 15% most deprived areas in 2006 have remained the same, ‘with the most
deprived datazone listed as the Parkhead/Barrowfield area in the East of
Glasgow’ (Scottish Government, 2009: 3). Therefore, there are varying
experiences of poverty and deprivation and crime. In particular Barlanark,
Bridgeton, Calton, Dalmarnock, Dennistoun, Easterhouse, Parkhead,
25
Springboig, Tollcross, and Wellhouse, which were also identified through
public reassurance consultations and analysis of the crime, violent and
disorder statistics as areas of concern for policing. They are therefore the main
focus of this study.
4.9
The SIMD indicates that crime rates in the most deprived areas are around one
in four per head of the population. This presents particular challenges for
service providers including the police and their Community Planning Partners
in achieving their goal of developing more confident, safer and vibrant
communities. Strathclyde Police recognise that to do this it is important to
engage with the communities they serve, in order to understand their concerns
and to encourage community involvement in addressing these concerns.
‘Public consultation is not a cosmetic option’16 but critical to the success of
developing public confidence and reassurance and in identifying effective and
sustainable solutions.
4.10 In order to ascertain the main public concerns with Strathclyde a force-wide
public consultation was carried out in 2007 17. A brief summary of the findings
relevant to the specific areas of interest for this report is provided here. The
survey showed that anti-social behaviour and drugs were the main concerns
but that there were also environmental issues. In particular the specific issues
which were identified as the main concerns for policing in the BA and BD Subdivision areas were:
Gangs;
Youth Disorder;
Alcohol-related Disorder; and
Drug Abuse.
The findings from this consultation coupled with the analysis of their crime
data identified what they term as ‘hot spots’ - that is the areas that were
causing the communities most concern; therefore in order to increase public
reassurance these areas were the focus of targeted policing activity.
16
17
Public Reassurance Guidance Manual. Glasgow: Strathclyde Police.
Signal Interviews were carried out as part of their public consultation exercise.
26
4.11 Accordingly the EPP adopted a problem-solving approach to policing within
the division; addressing specific local issues for the police and their partners.
However, this is where the two approaches digress. Dispersal Orders, solely a
police-led initiative, were primarily based in dealing with the ‘problem’
through enforcement of law and order, although they did engage in a public
consultation and also provided information leaflets about Dispersal Orders
and leaflets which identified the various youth groups that were available
within the Dispersal Zones.
4.12 In comparison the EPP concentrated on a multi-agency approach in
partnership with the CPP, and the BD Sub-division formed a Joint Problem
Solving Group to address the questions: What is the problem? How can it be
addressed? Who should address it: the police or one of the partner agencies; or
the police in partnership with one or more of these agencies?
4.13 Thus the processes of policing these two quite distinct approaches followed
different procedures. For example, the EPP followed closely the Public
Reassurance Model of Policing and developed through its multi-agency
approach EPIC18 templates which clearly defined the locally specific problems,
who was responsible for what – police and/or other service providers, and
monitored progress in relation to tackling these issues. For example, in one of
the locations there was a specific problem with graffiti and vandalism: Land
and Environmental Services undertook to clean up the area and the police
increased patrols in order to deter further vandalism. More generally issues of
alcohol-related youth disorder were addressed by increased police patrols in
conjunction with supporting licensed premises and with the implementation of
the test purchasing initiative.19
4.14 Policing of the Dispersal Order zones was less partnership oriented although
the local community were consulted in a public meeting attended by the
leading Superintendent prior to the implementation of the orders in the
designated dispersal zones.
Policing focused on increased patrols in
designated zones, and talking about issues of concern to groups of young
18
EPIC – Enforcement, Prevention, Intelligence and Communication. A traffic light system which worked on
the basis of a Red when targets and goals were set at the Joint Problem Solving Group; Amber signified when
the minimum target has been achieved, for example agreement to what action was to be taken, plans in place and
work begun; Green when the target had been achieved. However, monitoring continued and if, for example,
after an area had had graffiti removed and generally been cleaned up, it was then to be subjected to further
vandalism it would be recorded as an Amber or Red depending on the level of action required to deal with the
situation by the Joint Problem Solving Group.
19
Test purchasing – where with the consent of the parent or guardian of a young person (under the age of 18)
they are, under the supervision of the police, sent into licensed premises to try and purchase alcohol.
27
people hanging around who could potentially cause trouble. These young
people had Dispersal Orders explained to them, and were provided with the
leaflets referred to above.
4.15 The rationale for dispersing groups of young people was - if they were
prevented from gathering in groups/gangs in the early evening the likelihood
of on-street disorder and violence later in the evening would be reduced.
4.16 These initiatives were also supported and enhanced by Strathclyde Police
Campus Officers who engage with young people through a variety of school
based sessions – talks, activities and videos – to inform young people of the
variety of youth diversionary activities available and to encourage them to
make positive life choices.
4.17 During the period of the EPP there were a number of dance, youth and
community events which were attended by some of the young people from
areas covered by BA and BD Sub-division. There was also increased media
coverage – newsletters, TV and Radio interviews, newspaper articles and
adverts with the police - to disseminate information about the EPP: what its
aims were; where it was running etc. (Appendix 6 gives a list of the
promotional work carried out)
4.18 Since the initial end of the roll out of the EPP there have been a few weekends
where the principles of EPP policing have been implemented. These weekend
initiatives have been funded from a combination of a reallocation of funds
within the sub-division budget and small grants from their CPP. For example,
a small grant of around £20,000 pays for approximately 280 hours or the
equivalent of one week’s overtime to implement a mini-EPP.
4.19 However, the continued interest in the EPP is centred on its effectiveness in
impacting on: violence in the community; changes in partnership working; the
environment and well-being of the wider community; residents’ perceptions of
safety in their community. In short the aim is to establish how far the changes
that were aligned with the EPP have been maintained.
28
4.20 Furthermore since the original EPP both Strathclyde’s Gang Task Force and the
National Violence Reduction Unit’s CIRV20 have been rolled out in both the BA
and BD sub-divisions.
This underlines how tackling on-street gang and
alcohol-related violence is recognised as being a long-term issue. It will require
effective policing, and long-term programmes to reverse what has been an
historic issue in these areas.
4.21 In comparison it is reported that Dispersal Orders are about ‚good coppering‛
– intelligence-led, problem-solving approaches to develop strategic plans for
addressing specific issues in identified hot spots.
4.22 The following chapters examine the views of the police, youth workers and
residents in the BA and BD Sub-Division areas on their perceptions of what it
was/is like to live in this area, work in the area, the implementation of
Dispersal Orders and the EPP, and whether they have impacted on their
perceptions of feeling safe in the community.
20
CIRV – Community Interventions to Reduce Violence.
29
CHAPTER FIVE
COMMUNITY PERCEPTIONS: SAFETY,
CRIME AND POLICING.
Introduction
5.1 Residents in these communities, which historically have been characterised by
high crime, poverty and deprivation, report that since the introduction of these
two policing strategies their perceptions of safety, crime and policing has
changed.
It is recognised that it is a relatively small proportion of the
population in these communities who are involved in criminal, anti-social,
violent and gang-related activities but that their behaviour has a significant
impact on their community’s perceptions of safety. Despite the general
perception of change, territorialism, place, age and affiliation with gangs are
strongly associated with the degree of change within a community, and
therefore it is recognised that there is still much to be done to meet the
aspirations of the wider community in general and the young people who live
there. This chapter discusses these community aspirations and their changing
perceptions on safety, crime and policing.
5.2
Interestingly, many of the participants reported that they were not entirely
sure what either the EPP or a Dispersal Order was but they were all aware of
changes in policing tactics in their areas. Furthermore, a large proportion of
respondents still believed that these ‘tactics’ were still in place. They spoke
about ‚when the police were about all the time…with the bikes and
everything‛ and it would appear that having become used to seeing the police
about more they are now more aware of seeing the police than they were
before. There was a general consensus of opinion that the ‚…police are about
all the time now…every time you look out of the window you see them
passing; walking, on their bikes……oh aye, all of the time‛; but maybe not
quite as many now as there had been, although local residents intimated that
they all would like the increased levels of high visibility policing to be
sustained.
Community Perceptions on Safety
5.3 Feeling safe and being safe for older residents and young people alike in both
the sub-divisional areas is linked to ‚being known‛ and ‚knowing‛ your
community. They report that when you live in a particular area you get to
know the places not to go to, the places to avoid as ‚everyone knows who the
bams are and where they hang out‛.
30
5.4
There is also a feeling that ‚things have quietened down‛ specifically in
relation to on-street youth disorder and gang-related violence; the general
perception being that these communities are improving.
5.5
In the BD sub-division it is also felt that new housing stock has helped: new
housing has been in the form of semi-detached or terraced housing as opposed
to the old ‘close’ (tenement) type housing that it replaced. Consequently there
are fewer opportunities for people to gather unobserved (in stairwells for
example) and cause trouble.
5.6
Regeneration, it is reported, has split or mixed families from different
territorial areas throughout the process – in some cases during the regeneration
of areas/properties, families have returned to their original neighbourhoods to
find that they do not always have the same neighbours and in other cases some
families have not returned at all.
5.7
The perceptions of those living close to the Edinburgh Road corridor
(notorious for gang fighting) was summed up by one resident who stated that
it ‚has always been a problem with gang fighting and a difficult one but now,
not so often‛. It was reported that violence flares up ‚really only with one
family who have no fear of the police‛ and ‚to be honest we all laugh at it
behind the curtains … but the police do need to be called to deal with it‛.
5.8
Others who reside in the BD sub-divisional area also report that the EPP has
had a positive impact on the behaviour of many of the gangs/gang members both young and old! The residents’ observations of the community suggest
that ‘there is far less fighting now’ although they are now expressing concern
over a ‚few noisy neighbours‛.
‚I’m not saying it [gang fighting] does not happen, but it used to
be every night, now more rough and tumble….fights - it is once
in a while. …aye, and there are not so many of them. …no less
than there used to be. …it is the same old same old. …aye, the
families, you know the ones‛.
5.9
However, it was not all positive across the BD sub-divisional area, as some
concern was expressed by a group of older residents about the increase of
violence in their specific community. The perception here was that violence
and disorder was increasing and that things were getting worse; it was
strongly felt that this was not the result of displacement due to recent policing
strategies, but a direct result of social housing issues.
31
5.10 Buying-to-let arrangements were identified as having created this problem:
‚Our bit used to be so quiet, but then they started to sell the flats and there are
all types there now and you don’t know who to contact about them…and the
housing can’t do anything about it…or at least they don’t do anything about
it‛. The buy-to-let market and absent landlords are blamed along with DHSS
tenants. They also complained that there is no support for the tenants who
have lived in these areas all their lives. Furthermore these discussions revealed
that much of this violence and disorder being discussed was not in relation to
young people, but to older couples. It was not necessarily on-street disorder,
although sometimes it did spill from the domestic setting into the street.
Dumping and parking were also raised as issues.
5.11 Two areas were identified by participants – Ruchazie shops and Craigend;
although these areas were not central to the EPP nor Dispersal Order strategies,
they do lie within the wider sub-divisional area. Participants from Craigend
have reported that more needs to be done to deal with Anti-Social Behaviour,
in particular the ease with which alcohol can be obtained by young people, and
there were calls for more test purchasing in the area.
5.12 Conversely, it is reported that the police have made a ‚huge difference to
Hallhill‛, in ‚Garthamlock there’s been a marked improvement‛, and residents
living close to the Edinburgh Road corridor previously described as ‘awful’
now report it as ‚quiet and fantastic‛ although there was concern expressed
about what might happen in the longer term as ‚the police thing was intensive
but short lived‛ - might it slowly drift back to what it was like before?
5.13 A welcomed development across both BA and BD Sub-divisional areas that has
increased feelings of community safety amongst the young people, is the
deployment of Community Wardens and a perception that there are more
street youth workers around. Consequently, some young people felt less
constrained by territorial issues and report they feel there is help easily
available to them if they should need it: ‚if you feel threatened, and you say
you’re frightened, they will walk with you‛.
5.14 It also has to be acknowledged that there are still groups of young people and
older residents who question the role and authority of the wardens – ‘they
can’t do anything but call the police and we can do that ourselves’ and ‘they
are never there when you need them’.
5.15 Despite the perception of reduced gang fighting, young people are still
frightened of being in another gang area on their own; some therefore still feel
confined to their own local areas. One young resident stated: ‘going into
32
another area is always [potentially] dangerous’, whether as an individual or in
a small group.
5.16 Two main exceptions to increased feelings of safety were found in Parkhead
and Easterhouse. In these two locations young people reported that ‚things
had got better, then it was getting worse again‛. Apparently, there are pockets
within these areas where gang fighting still takes place on a fairly regular basis
– ‚weekends mostly… tribal violence and sometimes family fights‛ unlike the
‚rough and tumble‛ they referred to when talking of the quieter areas.
5.17 Boredom is reported to be the single most important contributing factor to
gang fighting. Young people, report that ‚we just get drunk and fight‛ because
there is ‚nothing to do‛. ‚The Drummies‛, who are identified as being
involved in the continued gang fighting, are described as ‚…‘pure
bams’…..they think they are hard men but they are pure wee dafties.‛
Furthermore the young people claim that ‚if there was something else to do….
we wouldn’t do it!‛ Interestingly, ‚we wouldn’t do it‛ meant for some young
people they would not get involved in gang fighting and for other young
people it meant the opposite - they wouldn’t give up gang fighting to take up
another activity or join a club.
5.18 Other interesting observations and remarks were made about the involvement
of girls in gangs, summed up in the following comment ‚girls more so now get
involved in gangs including violence…there are lots of lassies involved in gang
fighting…..aye before the summer…..[and] they can be bad and they don’t
care….they are really bad and they face up to you…..especially a certain
few….there are more girls out on the streets now‛. However, it was also
reported that ‚girls were less likely to suffer from or have a ‘territorial burden’
than boys‛. Thus while girls were becoming more noticeably involved in
gangs, the perception is that they are much less likely to be targeted or
victimised by members of other gangs and therefore less constrained by
territorial boundaries.
5.19 There was, however, a degree of sympathy for the young people living in these
areas and much more criticism directed towards their parents. ‚Poor
parenting‛ was cited as being a significant issue. Many of the parents, it is
reported, do nothing with their children. Some parents it is felt are more
concerned with their own enjoyment - mainly drinking - with the result that
their children were poorly supervised; many believe this lies at the root of the
young people’s problems. For example, one respondent recalled an episode
last summer when the weather was particularly good: ‚It was astonishing to
see the number of young children, toddlers….3, 4, 5, 6 year olds….all running
about into the bins all over the place. I’m saying to myself, ‘why are these
33
parents not taking their children to Hogganfield Loch?’ It doesn’t cost and
you get a 19 bus that drops you right at the Hogganfield. But they sit back
with their cans of beer and their bottles of whatever, and let their kids run
about getting themselves into trouble‛.
5.20 In the BA sub-division young people reported that things had been ‚quieter
but then got a bit worse‛. However during the period of this study Dispersal
Orders were in place in the Parkhead area and those participants who were
contacted at the end stage said that it was becoming quieter again. This serves
to enforce the necessity for sustained vigilance by the police and their partner
agencies in continuing to monitor their intelligence reports and address ‘hot
spots’ quickly and effectively to suppress any escalation in violence in these
areas.
5.21 For some young people, even school was perceived as a potentially unsafe
place, where violence can on occasion take place but more significantly where
future violence can be arranged. ‚Aye, violence and fighting goes on all the
time – they even arrange gang fights and stuff there [in school]….all the time
they do it‛. However, the context in which these claims were being made was
unclear. It would appear that some of the references made here were based on
hearsay from friends: it was not their experience at school but reported events
from other schools.
5.22 The one place where all the young people reported feeling safe was in the
various youth clubs they attend and on the occasions when they are attending
an organised youth event – for example, the dance events at the Bridge. These
events are important to the young people, it is something they enjoy, and
therefore they are more tolerant of individuals from other areas when
attending these events. Hostility between rivals is, temporarily at least,
suspended.
5.23 These dance events are thought to be safe because of the soft or self policing
policy. Tickets for events are only given out by Youth Groups or Street
Workers in order to reduce the likelihood of any violence occurring. Therefore
young people wishing to attend have to conform to a reasonable standard of
behaviour – digressions are likely to see them excluded from attending. The
police also attend, but usually only at the beginning and at the end to ensure
the safe arrival and departure of anything up to 250/300 young people.
34
Community/Police Relations
5.24 Community/police relations were also perceived to be much improved
generally. In the BD sub-divisional area, where the EPP ran, KIN groups,
which are generally regarded as a ‘good thing’, report that communication and
confidence in the police to police the area has grown. There was a feeling
amongst the participants that residents would be more likely to report
incidents to the police now, than in the past.
5.25 It is also evident that residents in these areas have a clearer understanding of
the working relationships between the police and their partner agencies. For
example, in one of the community focus groups there was some discussion on
how some residents respond when ‚things kick off‛. Some participants stated
that when on-street disorder/gang fighting occurs they phone ‚….the cameras
first [mobile CCTV unit] and then the police‛.
5.26 The participants were, however, concerned by what they identified as ‘those
who didn’t trust the police’ as compromising the safety of the community by
refusing to contact the police when there was trouble in the area. Furthermore,
this lack of trust or suspicion of the police was also extended to those who
were involved in KIN and/or other community groups. It became evident in
the discussions around this that divisions in the community were still an issue:
participants reported that they ‘kept themselves to themselves’ and didn’t
make it known to all in their local area that they were an active member in a
KIN or community group ‘cos it would only lead to more trouble’ with some
people.
5.27 Conflicting attitudes towards the police were more obviously apparent
amongst the younger participants in both sub-divisions. Many recognised that
the police had a difficult job to do and were there to protect people from
getting hurt, but still questioned why they [young people] were challenged by
the police ‘when we are not doing anything’. Young people were adamant that
they were over-policed but this was tempered by a realisation that if you ‚had
nothing to hide‛ it didn’t bother, just annoyed you – ‚it just kind of annoys
you that you keep getting asked what you’re doin’ and where you’re goin’‛.
There was also support from some of the elders in the community who also felt
it was unfair that a ‚few bad uns meant that all the young ones get stopped
indiscriminately by the police‛.
5.28 However, there was another group of young people who felt that because they
had been in trouble in the past they were now targeted. This they reported, left
them feeling ‚why bother? They [the police] don’t believe me and they are not
going to leave us alone‛. Consequently, they reported, ‚there is no point in
changing, you are just going to get in trouble anyway……so you might as well
35
just do what you do…….why change if you are not going to be believed and
end up in trouble with the polis anyway?‛
5.29 Despite these mixed messages there was clear support for the community
police officers who were viewed quite positively. ‚Aye the ones on the bikes
and that they are fine – they talk to you and ask you how it’s going….they
will have a chat and a laugh with you‛. There was a clear sense of developing
relationships between the young people and these community officers. The
young people felt they were treated with respect, and not just moaned at and
moved along. ‚Aye but they always play good cop/bad cop…‛ and in a more
light-hearted mood a group of young people in Easterhouse made a plea for
the police to ‚leave our sausage suppers alone‛ because ‚they keep going into
the chippy and taking the last sausage supper!‛
5.30 Campus officers were also identified as providing good support by some of the
young people. The informal school-based contact was found to provide an
opportunity where young people came into contact with the police in nonconfrontational roles. Interacting with police in the school environment was
reported to offer young people the chance to better understand the role of the
police and ultimately to understand policing in a more positive light. For some
young people, the Campus Officer was their first opportunity to interact in a
non-confrontational way with the police. However, some of the young people
were keen to let it be known that their school didn’t have a campus officer –
they appeared proud of this and the implication was that they attended a
‚good school‛ and ‚we don’t need one cos there is no trouble or nothing‛.
5.31 It was also clear in schools that did have a campus officer that there were
varying levels of police engagement with the young people and differing
perceptions of the various campus officers. In some schools young people
perceived the campus officer’s role as only there to deal with problem or
troublesome pupils, whereas in other schools the campus officer appeared to
have a more developed role and was known by virtually all who attended that
school.
5.32 Those young people who have daily contact with campus officers in their
school appear to have a better understanding of the role of the police officer in
the community and of the job they have to do. Other less informed young
people still displayed some exceedingly negative attitudes towards the police
and the policing of their community.
5.33 Significant, though, are the claims made by young people, police, youth
workers and community voices, that many of the young people involved in onstreet disorder, alcohol- and gang- related crime and violence also attend
36
school together and ‚for the most part get along‛. It is in ‚their own back
yard‛ where the history of families and territories ‚rears its ugly head‛, that
violence occurs.
Gangs
5.34 Territorialism continues to be a significant issue for some young people.
However, there are encouraging signs that this may be changing. Young
people in the BA sub-division where Dispersal Orders were implemented
reported that there was virtually no gang fighting there, because ‚there is no
point – they know they are going to get caught….the police are everywhere,
man‛.
5.35 This should not be confused with any notion that the gangs no longer exist as
apparently ‚gangs are everywhere‛ and ‚you are not going to stop that
because everyone is in a gang – they just are, cos it is where you live an’ that‛.
Therefore the gang is still an important factor, strongly linked with
territorialism and identity, in some young people’s lives. It is reported that
boys ‚under 11 go gang fighting and lots more go down to see‛. Gang names
are still used to describe places - living there means for some, that they
automatically belong to that gang.
5.36 Despite the comments above, in discussions with young people around the
issue of territorialism and gang fighting across both sub-divisions were the
repeated comments that the gangs ‚just don’t fight anymore‛. This perceived
reduction in gang fighting is entirely consistent with wider community
observations that things had ‚quietened down‛ considerably in the individual
neighbourhoods.
5.37 Of particular note is the assertion from some young people that in the BA subdivision since Dispersal Orders were introduced, combined with the activities
of Strathclyde’s Gangs Task Force and the Violence Reductions Unit’s CIRV
project, the effect on the gangs has been that they ‛sort of all joined to make
the one gang‛. Consequently, there is less fighting within the sub-divisional
area. Although there were a couple of exceptions – the Rebels and the Wee
Men – it was suggested that on the whole even these gangs were less active
than they had been previously. Another reason for less fighting put forward
by some of the young people was ‚the ‘Sonnyhills *colloquial for ‘Sandyhills’+
were too strong just now and they were scared of them‛.
5.38 While affinity to numerous individual gangs was still evident, there was also a
collective identity with the wider neighbourhood in which they reside.
Nonetheless, they reported that they were still prepared to ‘defend’ the area:
37
‚Aye, cos you need to, cos of the Calton – man they are all bampots. See the
rest of them need to keep them out - that’s why they fight…..they [Calton]
come across and pick fights with us so we have to show them. It s really only
them we fight now. Aye, and sometimes the Rebels as well.‛ Thus within a
neighbourhood there may be less inter-gang rivalry when those from another
neighbourhood breach the boundaries the collective gangs are prepared to
defend.
5.39 There were mixed views on the Parkhead Rebels; some suggesting that this
gang was still troublesome, others that it was only a few of the gang members
who were troublesome. What was obvious was that gangs - irrespective of
which gang they were in - were hugely influential in some of the young
people’s lives. Gang culture still restricted freedom of movement for some,
due to a fear of attack from other gangs. Living in an area meant you were a de
facto member of the gang, and some even suggested that the influence of the
gang would impact on their ability to get employment within the area in which
they currently live. One young lad summed up the employment issue in the
following way‚I want to do scaffolding….but he [referring to a local business
owner] knows my family….he and my…so he knows where we
live and all that and that my dad and I are Rangers supporters
and all that and he won’t employ me……he even told me that …..
cos we see him when we visit and all that ….but no man - he is
not going to employ me….just cos of where I stay and Rangers
and all that …..it is stupid, just daft…..but that is the way it is
round here…….everyone knows everything…not good‛.
5.40 A significant issue for young people in these areas is a strong public
assumption that all young people are involved in gang activities. Young
people report that irrespective of their personal histories they are viewed as
‘troublesome’. Consequently, some young people felt that there was no point
in trying: ‚they [the police] don’t believe you – they stop and ask questions,
move you on…they just don’t give you any peace…‛
5.41 This perception of ‘all young people being tarred with the same brush’ was a
recurring and worrying theme, particularly for those with diagnosed
‘behavioural problems’ who it was reported were often identified as
‘troublesome’ rather than ‘troubled’. This could potentially mean that
particular achievements and ambitions of some young people from difficult
backgrounds and with behavioural issues, could be overlooked. For example,
some of the young people had aspirations to become teachers, lawyers, and
38
even to join the police with the encouragement of their teachers. However, two
boys who could have fallen into this overlooked category have been successful.
One boy who had a considerable troubled history is to take part in the special
Olympics and another young lad with a troubled background recently joined
and designed football strips for a youth club; it is the intention of youth leaders
to seek funding for the strips to enable the club to have and kit out its own
football team, thanks to this troubled young person’s aspiration to develop a
youth league in his area.
Conclusions
5.43 This chapter has highlighted the changing attitudes and perceptions of the
residents, including the young people who live in the BA and BD subdivisions. In general they report that these areas are experiencing reduced
levels of on-street youth disorder, improved community/police relations, and
improved confidence in the police to police the area along with decreased
feelings of fear of violence in their own community. For some neighbourhoods
where they report less on-street youth disorder and violence it would appear
hitherto unreported violence is now causing concern: violence amongst older
adults. This change is being linked to changes in ownership of housing stock
and letting arrangements. Conversely in other neighbourhoods housing
regeneration is identified as having a positive influence in reducing crime and
violence. There are also conflicting views on the efficacy of the Community
Wardens, but the young people have identified them as a useful resource in
relation to community safety. Similarly, there is a degree of ambivalence
amongst the young people towards the police, by and large over what the
young people perceive as ‚over policing‛.
39
CHAPTER SIX
COMMUNITY SERVICES, RECREATION
AND LEISURE.
Introduction
6.1
This chapter will examine the perceptions of the Community, Community
Planning Partners, Youth Groups/Leaders, local Councillors, and other service
providers involved in working with and delivering services for these
communities, including leisure and recreational activities.
The initial
evaluation of the EPP showed that good partnership working had a positive
effect for the community and for the agencies involved – resources could be
pooled and it avoided duplication. It had also identified the need for
improved if not increased provision of youth facilities which is relevant across
a number of locations and not just specifically the BD sub-division.
6.2
Community perceptions of change will be explored in relation to the provision
of community services including services for youths. The successes and
difficulties for partnership working and the demand on services will then be
explored.
Communities and Facilities
6.3
While KIN Groups or Public Reassurance Groups (PRG) as they are now called
were an integral part of the EPP they are also more generally regarded as being
a part of Community Policing across Strathclyde. Consequently they are a
valued resource for discussing and identifying community concerns and
subsequently for improving public reassurance in relation to policing.
However KIN members question the level of commitment from their own
community in the long-term sustainability of them.
6.4
KIN members report that there is an issue in attracting younger members of
their community to take up this role. They report that it ‚is difficult to get 2040 year olds to attend the meetings, but there are lots of 60-70 year olds who
are very active in the community‛. Consequently concern was expressed
about the provision of current and new services matching young people’s
needs. Community groups generally supported the need for more youth clubs
and greater variety in what new youth clubs offered, while acknowledging that
the existing youth clubs did a grand job and were generally thought to deliver
a ‚good quality‛ of service.
40
6.5
The pressure on existing youth service providers was brought to the fore
during the period of this research when a fatal incident occurred towards the
end of 2009 in the BA sub-division, which involved young people. In the
immediate aftermath there was an increased demand on youth services which
they report they were able to meet in the short term, but argue that if this level
of demand is to be sustained or increase in the long term, they would need
more resources. Of particular concern to the youth groups is the current
funding structure for youth projects, which at best usually runs for 3-year
periods of time with little flexibility built in to meet such unexpected demands
when they occur.
6.6
While the incident itself is not central to the understanding of the impact of the
EPP or Dispersal Orders, the consequences of the incident are relevant to the
delivery of services in these areas. Youth leaders remarked that the rise in
demand for youth services was two-fold; young people coming along
themselves to see if they could join but also parents bringing and encouraging
their children to join, or at least to enquire about what is available at the local
youth club/s.
6.7
Youth leaders have also reported that the incident has impacted on how young
people now view and talk about their community, and how it has also helped
to shape or inform their future choice of career, such as an increased interest
among young people attending the youth club in the armed forces. Some
young people, reputedly, have stated, ‚it is violent and dangerous living here;
we might as well get paid for living a violent and dangerous life‛ and so they
are seriously considering joining the Army.
6.8
Although there was a strong representation for improved facilities for all ages,
the need for youth facilities was highlighted. It was also acknowledged that
many of the facilities currently available were deemed to be excellent. In
particular Alex Richardson was commended as being ‚committed‛ to
providing quality local youth services and FARE was singled out by many
respondents, secure in the belief that this group had recently been awarded a
10-year grant to provide youth facilities. Consequently there are high
expectations of what this funding will deliver.
6.9
The young people also report that while the rave/dance events are still being
run at the Bridge on a fairly regular basis, they, along with residents and youth
workers, are disappointed that the ‚police didn’t run Phoenix this year‛.
41
However there is an expectation that youth groups will take the lead on this –
one group in particular was mentioned (FARE) as setting up action plans for it.
6.10 Furthermore, it was reported that most of the young people who attended the
various youth clubs in both the sub-divisional areas were not currently
involved in trouble, although some of them had very difficult backgrounds. It
was reported that ‚few of the hard core gang members‛ attended any of the
youth clubs. Some of the young people were described as ‚troubled‛ and that
they would push you to see how far they could go, but they never crossed the
boundary - ‚they know when to stop‛ - as they didn’t want to be outside and
excluded from the club. The only hard core gang member referred to in this
study as having joined a youth club was currently ‚banned [from attending it]
because of his bad behaviour in the club‛.
6.11 There were also complaints from community groups that the good kids were
not getting anything as opposed to the bad kids who they felt were being
rewarded for their bad behaviour. There was considerable discussion on this
point amongst the various contributors to this research and some conflicting
views. What is apparent is that almost no one was in favour of withdrawing
the offer of facilities to those deemed to need them most, just that resources
should also be made available to the well behaved young people. It was also
commented on by several participants in the community groups, that many of
the young people who find themselves in trouble ‚only need love and
attention….even though they fight they are normally very pleasant‛.
6.12 Dispersal orders were identified as too indiscriminate in who they targeted,
which therefore led to many young people feeling they were being unfairly
picked upon by the police. This was felt to be in direct conflict with the general
ethos of the need for the police to engage more with young people. Having
said that, youth workers were not in direct opposition to dispersal orders, just
questioned the difference in approaches taken by the police, which reflected
the confusion of some young people who were unsure of their position in the
community and the role of police and policing therein. Differing approaches, it
was argued, were sending mixed messages, and in some cases any gains made
by one approach were being reversed by subsequent policing initiatives.
6.13 Another issue that was raised in discussion was the apparent refusal by official
agencies to acknowledge girls’ involvement in gangs. It was commented that
apparently ‘they get away with it cos folks don’t think they are involved’, but
42
that on some occasions ‘the girls were worse than the boys – cos the boys fight
proper whereas girls - anything goes’.
6.14 There was also concern expressed by young people and others in this study
over the mixed messages that were being sent by the variety of policing
initiatives that have been running in the area. The EPP they perceived was
about engagement, the Gangs Task Force and Dispersal Orders about
enforcement, and the CIRV project a ‚bit of both‛. While the activities of the
Gangs Task Force and CIRV were not of concern to this research the influence
they were having on the community was such that participants brought them
up. Some questioned the appropriateness of some of these initiatives stating
that CIRV are ‚asking too much of the young people…asking them to sign their
lives away‛, while others welcomed the CIRV initiative and any other that was
aimed at addressing on-street youth disorder and violence. Dispersal Orders
were also criticised, the perception being that there was less consultation, they
were more punitive and therefore less helpful towards working with young
people and changing their perceptions and behaviours.
New Facilities
6.15 One of the new youth clubs which has opened since the initial roll out of the
EPP, FUSE has proved to be a popular venue. One of the club leaders reported
that the young people ‚queue up outside for hours to get in‛. Young people
who attended this facility were enthusiastic about it and in particular liked that
they could choose what to do, rather than being required to do or take part in
organised activities.
Some merely chilled out when they were there.
However, almost all of the young people attending this club would like to see
more community facilities or for the current facilities to be monitored, as they
report they can’t use the current football and basketball pitches because of
‚junkies and others hanging out and drinking‛ there. The young people would
also like to see this youth club open for longer hours - ‚all day – we would like
to be able to come here and do our school work as well‛. The young people
were also clear that they felt that this and other youth groups/clubs they
attended were of a good quality – they just wanted more!
6.16 Another new facility which has opened since the original roll out of the EPP is
‘The Connie’. This facility is run by a local housing association and opened in
June 2009; it is funded for 3 years, and has a pool table, kitchen, and a
computer room. Previously it had been run from a less well equipped hall in
the local sports centre. The young people attending this facility were also
allowed to choose what they wanted to do as opposed to directed activities,
43
but all were in agreement that they liked the new premises better. However,
the leaders did admit that not all young people had transferred to the new
facility, but that it had been balanced out by some new members who had not
attended when they were in the old hall. Territorial issues were thought to be
the reason behind the changes in membership of this group.
6.17 In general all young people would like all youth facilities to be open and
available to them on more occasions. In particular the community groups
identified that there was a distinct lack of facilities for the under-12 age group.
A general plea was made for separate facilities for the under-12s, 12-15 year
olds, and 17–18 year olds as they all have different needs. Other young people
were aware of clubs that were opened on the nights their preferred choice of
club was closed to them and they had nothing to do, but some of these clubs
were not in their area and therefore the young people would not be able to go –
territorial boundaries meant it was foolhardy to go there by oneself!
6.18 Young people wanted the police to come and give more talks about the issues
of gang fighting and how it ruins lives. This they felt might help to stop other
young people from gang fighting. In addition to more clubs they would also
like to have access at the local level to ‚bowling, proper basketball, and a gym‛
and they believe that access should be ‚free to all young people‛.
Partnership Working
6.19 Generally the partners involved in delivering the EPP report that it ‚enabled a
lot of networking which continues to this day – it definitely improved
partnership working‛, which enabled all service providers to ‚constantly
target hotspot areas‛. It also highlighted how useful mobile CCTV was and
other facilities that were available to support vulnerable communities from
Glasgow Community and Safety Services (GCSS). Service Providers remarked
that with being able to ‚call on GCSS to monitor problem areas with CCTV
cameras, and the police following it up with enforcement…then it ceases to
exist as a problem‛. Closer partnership working with tangible outcomes that
are evident in the community also helps to increase public confidence in
service providers to deliver safer, and more attractive communities.
6.20 Community groups reported that while partnership working was continuing
to improve the area they believed that there were still some significant barriers
that needed to be addressed. For example, they recognised that individual
partners are limited in what they were responsible for and in what they can do.
44
Therefore on occasions, community expectations exceeded the service
providers’ ability to deliver. This was also supported by the comments from
the services themselves, who stated that they had specific remits and budgets
that constrained the commitment they could give to any one project. For
example, local perceptions of Housing were favourable, less so of social work,
and mixed opinions were evident on environmental services: in some areas
they were praised for removing graffiti and in others it was felt they ‚didn’t do
much…especially the chemist wall at Craigend which gets it all the time‛.
Issues with the arrangements for the emptying of recycling bins were also
raised as some residents claim they have ‚waited up to 6/7weeks to get them
emptied‛.
6.21 Environmental services note that the problem solving group set in place during
the period of the EPP provided the opportunity for input from other services
on the issues they faced in working in and delivering services for specific
locations – particularly in removing rubbish and graffiti - but also allowed for
more coordinated multi-agency working practices. For example, they report
that ‚we were also given a police presence when we were cleaning up an area
considered dangerous‛.
6.22 Furthermore, partner agencies report that their experience of closer working
relationships during the EPP meant that these principles had been transferred
into their normal working practice. This serves to highlight the transferability
of the principles of good working practices. The general perception is that the
policy and practices of the EPP had been embedded in the day-to-day
partnership working across and between organisations, irrespective of whether
they are dealing with issues of housing, policing, or other service providers.
6.23 Interestingly, the partner agencies are of the opinion that personality and
commitment were key to the success of the EPP. In particular it is reported
that they were ‘Lucky to have Supt. Martin leading this initiative as she was
very committed and efficient’ at implementing and rolling out the plan. There
was apparently considerable concern expressed at the rapid change of
personnel in BD sub-division immediately following the period of
implementation of the EPP. The key personnel were moved; in this case
Superintendent Martin was relocated to Police Headquarters and a new
Superintendent appointed to the sub-division. This is something that the other
partner agencies find frustrating – ‚no sooner have they got an established and
working relationship than officers are moved on‛. While the police argue that
this should not affect partnership working the other agencies involved don’t
share that view. They report that they have to start all over again and build
45
new relationships – trust - in order to understand the perceptions, view and
ethos of a new key partner, who may or may not share the same principles as
the out-going incumbent. Furthermore, they are critical of the lack of any
apparent handover period between outgoing and incoming key individuals to
facilitate a smoother transition.
6.24 Criticism of this practice did not end with the partner agencies but also was
reflected in the views and opinions of the community group participants and
leaders of youth groups. They find it equally frustrating – no sooner do you
have a working relationship established, with someone who you can trust and
talk to, who understands the area and the difficulties therein, than it is all
changed.
6.25 One of the biggest constraints on the EPP was time and time limited funding –
in principle it was very favourably received, but the lack of sustained funds
and no contingent long-term plans are seen as a negative.
6.26 The majority of partners do report that the EPP has had a lasting effect on
working practices – people work more in partnership and while they value the
holding of what was called the problem solving team (PST) meetings, now
referred to as the public reassurance network group (PRNG) meetings questions were raised as some of the partners are less involved than they were
originally. They report that they now have established closer working
practices, whereby they ‚just pick up the phone‛ and deal directly with other
known individuals in partner agencies to deal with problems when they arise.
6.27 This, however, needs to be taken with some caution as a couple of key
individuals in partner agencies admitted they were unsure if the PST/PRNG
were still meeting. Some of these individuals had also moved post and they
were unsure if their successors (who some didn’t know) knew about these
meetings. Thus it would seem that while there is evidence to support the
contention that best practice has been embedded in the day-to-day working
partnerships between agencies, there is a possibility of this example of best
practice being lost as and when personnel move post. Consequently it is
apparent that internal working practices need to embed the principles of
partnership working between agencies into the remit of the key individual
roles within all the agencies – statutory, voluntary and community
organisations - to ensure that this practice is maintained.
46
6.28 Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) reported that their tenants had wanted
high visibility policing to deal with low level ASB such as drinking in the
streets, noise, litter, and graffiti; this they claim has now been achieved as
Community Planning now provides the revenue to fund an additional 100
community police in Glasgow and there are now an additional 278 community
police across the city compared with 2007.
6.29 Partnership agencies and councillors also report that the feedback they have
received from residents in the area is that they were very much in favour of the
increased presence of police on bikes and on foot.
6.30 Some of the partner agencies – for example housing, also believe that the
principles of the Problem Solving Table are now being rolled out across the city
– in particular the principles of working together to tackle specific issues in
specific areas is being copied as an example of best practice in partnership
working.
6.31 Sustainability of the improved community relations and decreased levels of
violence were thought to be dependent on the commitment of Strathclyde
Police, including the commitment of individual police officers working in these
areas. Generally those who were involved in policing the EPP report that
while it was running it was a ‘roaring success’. Sustainability, however, they
indicate is likely to be dependent on them [the police] building on the
experience of the EPP and continuing to adopt the ‘good practice’ of an
‘intelligence-led problem solving partnership delivery that [was] built around
that’. This it was thought should be reflected in the Community Strategic
Assessment/Public Reassurance Strategy.
6.32 It was stated by partner agencies that ‚at the very least the EPP has raised
awareness amongst partners on what can be achieved‛ and they believed that
they had raised an awareness in the public, that while solutions may not yet
have been found to their concerns, they are being taken seriously and the
police together with their community partners are working to try and resolve,
or at the very least alleviate some of the problems they are facing.
6.33 What has emerged strongly is that the police and partner agencies are more
aware of the benefits of partnership working. They can clearly see the benefits
in pooling resources and the potential reduction of a duplication of services.
However they are equally united in understanding that tackling the issues of
youth ASB is a long- term issue. They are all adamant that there is no quick fix
47
and while they recognise the value of the EPP, working in support with
Strathclyde Police’s Gangs Task Force and the CIRV programme, it is also
recognised that there is a need for a sustained (most likely 5-year) policy of
diversion, education and employment to effect sustainable change in the
choices taken and behaviours displayed by these young people.
6.34 In addressing these issues there is strong evidence that partner agencies are
aware of the need to listen to what communities and young people want. For
example, the service providers are aware that some of those young people who
have been found to be engaging in on-street ASB also attend some of the clubs
that run in the East End. Nonetheless, the agencies report this just serves to
highlight the need for more variety in the services provided. Variety they state
is something ‚we all want and young people are no different‛. Culture and
Sport argue that ‚perhaps we need to recognise that young people need both
structured and unstructured activities – perhaps we need to listen to their
pleas and provide them with somewhere they can just chill!‛.
6.35 Councillors who represent these areas report that the extra resources on the
beat during the implementation period of the EPP and Dispersal Orders were
welcomed by the wider community and generally it was believed that that
level of policing was what was ‘fit’ for the community. They also welcomed
the increased community engagement, which increased public confidence in
the police to police their community. Knowing that the police were active in
the area helped to reduce community/police tensions.
However, some
feedback suggested that some residents and partner agencies felt that GCSS are
more approachable and responsive to community concerns than the police, but
note that GCSS ‘loop’ into the police. They also reported that observations
suggested that during and since the EPP, police response times have improved.
6.36 Overall the experience of partnership working has been reported positively
and described by a few as being ‘fantastic’.
Conclusions
6.37 Communications between communities and service providers including the
police have improved, with inter-agency working identified as improving the
efficiency of service delivery. There are also a number of areas of concern
regarding the sustainability of the level of change and continued commitment
to close partnership working. Communities themselves need to become more
actively involved, particularly the younger members of the community.
Funding and personnel issues also need to be examined; change it was argued
48
does not lend itself to good sustainable multi-agency delivery of service.
However, partnership working should not rely solely on individuals and
personalities but be embedded in working practice. While there are claims
amongst the agencies involved that this is the case, these should be taken with
a degree of caution. In some agencies where personnel had changed we found
evidence to suggest that that no one in particular is taking up their
responsibilities fully aware of the existing network. Hence there is the
possibility is that links could be lost in the longer term. Finally, funding
structures and the remit of service providers continue to be constraining factors
in meeting the expectations and aspirations of the communities.
49
CHAPTER SEVEN
POLICING THE COMMUNITY.
Introduction
7.1 This chapter discusses the issues for policing in these two sub-divisions and
the implementation of new initiatives for tackling the inherent issues of youth
on-street disorder, alcohol-fuelled and gang-related crime and violence. It
examines the perceptions of the police in policing these communities, the
challenges they face in doing so, whilst also identifying best practice. It further
examines their perceptions of the role of policing, the role of the community
police officer, and community/police relations within these areas.
7.2
It also investigates the demand for policing, including meeting the expectations
of the local communities. Community attitudes towards the police are also
explored in relation to community perceptions of safety and well-being in their
neighbourhoods.
7.3
Both sub-divisions work on the principles of the PRM of policing but there was
some differentiation in how this model was interpreted. The EPP followed the
model very closely, whereas its use in relation to Dispersal Orders adopted a
more pragmatic approach. For example, BA sub-division do not draw up EPIC
templates in partnership with their community planning partners, but instead
develop specific strategic policing plans based on police intelligence that has
identified ‘hot spots’.
7.4
The ethos underpinning both the EPP and Dispersal Orders is determined by
police intelligence identifying problem areas. Thereafter, specific issues are
addressed and built into local action plans, based on early interventions
calculated to reduce the likelihood of alcohol-fuelled violence and disorder.
Young people start drinking anytime from 4pm onwards, therefore if the police
intervene early in the evening, by confiscating alcohol and dispersing those
groups of young people hanging around the streets, then there is likelihood
they can prevent violence and on-street disorder from occurring.
7.5
These initiatives were developed by Strathclyde Police in response to
expressions of concern for these communities from their own police officers,
the community itself and partner agencies such as GHA, GCSS and the
Violence Reduction Unit’s CIRV initiative. Partnership working therefore was
important in both initiatives, especially in relation to effective communications
50
and information exchange between the police, their partners, and the
communities they police.
7.6
The police were, and continue to be, committed to making the best possible use
of any judicial restrictions, by asking for bail to be denied to individuals who
are known trouble-makers to further enhance the outcomes of their initiatives.
7.7
They also claim that there is no significant cross-over or displacement of onstreet disorder or alcohol-fuelled gang violence due to the territorial nature of
these areas. The one exception they identified was Parkhead, due to the fact
that the divisional border runs through the middle of the area. They stressed
that the issue of displacement was really only relevant to police statistics, and
had little effect on the community, as the community did not recognise such
strategic boundaries.
7.8
The two initiatives, the EPP and Dispersal Orders, are examined in terms of
effect on the community and where possible this is supported by statistical
data21. It is also important to acknowledge that these two initiatives did not
operate in a vacuum, but within the wider policing and partnership working
plans, including the Gangs Task Force, and CIRV for example.
7.9
However, the police in both sub-divisions are adamant that it is important that
they continue to send a strong message demonstrating a Zero Tolerance
approach to violence even when things have quietened down. They stress that
if they were to back out during these quieter periods it is likely that violence
would begin to escalate.
Policing in B Division
7.10 Generally within the B division GCSS are identified as one of the partner
agencies who ‚bring to the table every time‛. However, the police also work
closely with Land and Environmental Services, Culture and Sport, GHA, CIRV,
the Gangs Task Force, private landlords, and the community and voluntary
sector. In general they have developed good partnership relations and tend to
work together where possible. One of the main issues identified by the police
in relation to this is funding. It would appear that despite the ethos of SOAs22,
21
All police statistical data was supplied by Glasgow Community and Safety Services Analysts. However, at
the time of writing only limited statistical evidence was available to support the considerable qualitative data
referred to in this report.
22
SOA – Single Outcome Agreements.
51
partnership working is somewhat compromised by current funding streams.
Officers commented that they spend too much valuable police time looking for
and writing bids for funding to enable the introduction of innovative
policing/partnership strategies. They argue this is not a ‚good use of police
time‛, ‚reduces the presence of police on the street‛ and in the words of one
sergeant, ‚I watch the shift go out on the street and I feel sad, sorry for them,
because I know they have an impossible job to do and over half of them are
abstracted, whether in court, filling in forms and reports, or writing up funding
bids. This is not right! They should be out there doing what they want to do.
They didn’t join the police to fill in forms and the public want them on the
streets.‛
7.11 Furthermore the police also identified their frustration with some of the local
communities and neighbourhoods within B division, where they are very
critical of policing but at the same time resistant to any form of engagement or
responsibility towards improving their community. For example, they
reiterate what the local community groups have said themselves - ‚it is
difficult to get 20-40 year olds involved‛ - whereas older members of the
community are very active.
7.12 In B Division the police are supported in their youth work by three Campus
officers; one police officer is assigned to each of the following secondary
schools - St Mungo’s, Smithycroft and Whitehill. Campus Officers are
recognised as an example of good practice for working with young people to
dispel once held negative impressions or experiences of the police. They are
also recognised as being a very good source of knowledge – they hear from
young people local intelligence about what is going on, and in some cases
members of the public will come to talk to them in the less formal setting of a
school, whereas these individuals would be less likely to go to a police station.
It is also recognised that the Campus Officer can be a valuable asset regarding
policing issues that may arise in a community: more arbitrator than enforcer.
For example, there was an incident that arose in one of the Primary schools in
BA sub-division: ‚a teacher had been accused of assault by a kid‛, a very
serious accusation. The local campus officer dealt with the situation by
‚talking to all the parties concerned, got them all together and by the
following day the situation had been resolved to everyone’s satisfaction
without any charges being pressed.‛
7.13 It would, however, be irresponsible to suggest that policing of the division is
relatively easy. The police report that one of the major issues for them in the
East End ‚is the out-and-out blatant anti-social behaviour…it’s just the
52
people that have absolutely no respect for their fellow man, be it neighbour,
associate or whatever…there’s just this level of…dare I say
it…ignorance…from a lot of the people that we deal with…they quite simply
don’t give a damn.‛ This attitude is described by the police as being ‚…a mind
set, it’s a culture…a longstanding culture as well‛ adopted by many of those
whom the police have to deal with, in order to source ‚whatever they need,
usually drink, drugs, whatever…‛.
Furthermore, this is not a new
phenomenon, but one that has ‚been around a long while‛ and it would appear
is ‚entrenched in families‛ which underlines it as a ‚generational‛ problem
associated with ‚well-known families that are well documented in the east
end‛.
7.14 Despite the reference to well-known families in the area being responsible for
much of the incivility faced by the police in the east end they are also keen to
dispel any suggestion that it is organised crime: ‚the majority of disorder and
crime that we deal with comes from your low-level alcoholic, drugusing…dare I say it…Ned.‛ It is also reported that much of this disorder is
sporadic and apparently motiveless but that drugs and in particular alcohol are
identified as being strongly associated with it: ‚the alcohol’s just one part of
the issue…there’s people with all these issues and the alcohol just lets it out‛;
while another group of officers indicate ‚that drugs is the single biggest issue
that we’ve got‛.
7.15 Lack of support from the community also hampers policing in the East End –
getting evidence is often the issue as ‚we already maybe know who it is‛ that
has committed the crime but ‚nobody saw anything…nobody speaks…and
even if they did, they wouldn’t tell us‛ because ‚nobody want to be seen as a
so-called grass or whatever …because that just brings them a whole pile of
issues‛.
7.16 They contrast this experience with the policing of a highly attended event in
one of Glasgow’s best known large parks – Glasgow Green. Proms in the Park is
run at this venue annually in September and unlike their experience of policing
other events – pop concerts, sectarian marches where ‚acts of violence follow‛
- there is very little trouble despite the fact that drink is not banned at this
event: ‚BBC Proms in the Park and you’ve got everybody quaffing their
champagne and eating their strawberries, and some of them get just as drunk,
but it’s perfectly alright to police [because you are dealing with] people who
generally like you…‛
‚I policed it this year…and we locked up four people
for being drunk and incapable‛ out of a population of 11,000 who attended the
53
event. The lack of violence is reported to be due to ‚social standing, social
class structure‛.
7.17 Furthermore, policing in such diverse and complex communities means that
you become ‚a great observer of life‛ which in reality is ‚your own self-defence
mechanisms‛ which allow you to see and hear situations developing; it’s like
‚radar signals‛.
7.18 Interestingly, the police highlight community expectations of them and the
problem of policing marital problems as significant issues for them. In
particular some claim that on occasions they are required to work beyond what
they perceive as the role of the police:
‚You’re not just here to guard, watch and patrol any more, you
know, you’re measured on so many different things. You go up
the road and they think you’re a social worker, you’re a
psychiatrist, you’re a welfare officer, you’re everything‛.
‚I think a lot of the time it’s a sympathetic ear they’re looking
for, and whether that needs to be a police officer is debatable.‛
‚…there’s
nothing
more
frustrating,
the
domestic
scenario…there’s individuals there at 30 and 40 incidences…and
we are dealing with the same thing again and again and again,
you’re saying to yourself - well unless there’s some kind of
intervention here and something’s made to change it is not going
to stop.‛
7.19 Attending to and dealing with these types of incidences, it is reported, reduce
the number of officers on the beat and available to assist in dealing with the onstreet disorder that is of concern to many in the community.
7.20 In relation to policing in the community they also identify partnership working
as maybe not so well integrated at the operational level as it is at the strategic
level. They also suggest that in some cases partner agencies are less pro-active
about partnership working than the police are. For example, they report that
there is an attitude that ‚the Police get things done…initially we went in with
partners [agencies]…we were left to deal with it, we set these things up…were
left to run them…manage them…and deliver things for other partner
54
agencies‛. However, they are also keen to stress that things are changing and
that ‚our partner agencies are taking more ownership of these things and they
are delivering and bringing results back to the table.‛
7.21 The police point out that they ‚have the infrastructure but [they] don’t have
the money‛. Consequently there is a degree of frustration amongst the
community police that they can’t do the job they want to do. They claim they
spend too much time trying to source funds and recognise that in the current
economic climate ‚one of the biggest things on [their] agenda is going to be
having the revenue to go and do these things in the community that we’re
wanting to do.‛ Pursuit of funds and writing up funding bids/applications,
they argue, should be the role of an administrator and not a police officer.
However, they are keen to stress that they are not abdicating responsibility for
policing, nor are they denying that they should be part of the process, but they
are arguing that there is a need for a support staff member whom they can go
to and say, ‚these are the issues, this is where we want to go in the next 12
months or whatever it might be, and that’s how much it ‘s going to cost, right;
can you go and try and get us that money from some place? Our focus needs
to be on policing‛.
7.22 Unlike the police in BD sub-division those in BA sub-division were less
positive on their experience and the outcomes for the community of the EPP.
There was a feeling that it had had little impact on on-street alcohol-related
gang violence but they did acknowledge that it did not get any worse.
Territorialism they felt was responsible for this as there is only one gang that
straddles the boundaries of both the sub-divisions – the Parkhead Rebels.
7.23 Along with the implementation of Dispersal Orders and the legacy of the EPP
the police also feel that they themselves are getting better at ‚identifying where
the crime trends are…what we’re doing is identifying from one week to the
next where the problems have been…and what we’re going to do about it. We
are a lot better at that. …the plans at the weekend don’t start at ten o’clock
at night, they start at two o’clock in the afternoon and that’s when we start
targeting people…and that has been a big, big change that I’ve seen recently. ’
7.24 Amongst the police in both divisions there was some discussion on what is
meant by and what it means to ‚flood the place with additional resources‛.
For the public it was understood as policing at the level they want – time and
time again community representatives had reported that they liked when the
police were about in numbers. However, for the police many of them felt that
55
it meant what ‚they were actually doing is …putting sufficient resources in‛.
The reality they found was that over time resources were always pared back.
7.25 Policing then becomes more difficult and they claim this leaves police officers
feeling vulnerable at peak times as they don’t have the back- up they would
like to have - ‚even 30 seconds is a long time if you’re having to wrestle with
somebody or they’re dancing on your head.‛ On the other hand when you
‚have sufficient numbers, people [police officers] are out walking about and
they were quite buoyant, confident, you know, they were enjoying doing what
they were doing, they were getting released from all the bureaucracy and all of
a sudden there’s plenty cops to deal with an issue, let’s get in about it and get
on with it, you know.‛
7.26 There was considerable discussion amongst police officers about the level of
abstractions and the changing nature of the job – less police on the beat and
more police going out in cars plus ‚bureaucracy…we’ve got so many
departments and we’re doing a much more complicated job…we’re doing too
many other jobs apart from what the public want us to do, out there on the
streets and be a visible presence for them…and that’s where we’re getting the
results from, because you’ve got the cops out there.‛ ‚Cops want to serve their
communities…the vast majority have a strong sense of duty…[but]…the way
everybody feels about the current situation is ‘frustration’.‛
7.27 This frustration is shared by many of the police in this study. The complexity
of the job, however, is challenged by some who feel that policing is not so
complex; ‚it’s all about making the public feel safe and those who have
something to fear from the police, giving them something to fear‛. This is
where the frustration stems from in that they feel they have been unable to do
this effectively because ‚we’ve been strapped with resources‛. This frustration
is poignantly expressed by one of the sergeants in this study: ‚I’ve seen me
standing at the window looking at the shift going out and there’s maybe six of
them, and there’s twice or three times that amount sitting doing so-called
departmental jobs. You say to yourself - when we’ve got to that stage
something’s wrong, it’s really needing reined in.‛
7.28 The police report that the increased presence on the streets was favourably
received by the public: ‚everybody would say…[like] the wee old woman, this
is great son, this is brilliant, I’m going to the shops now on a Saturday night
and I never did this before‛; thus the observations of the police are that
56
increased high visibility policing is a core practice in meeting the objective of
increasing public reassurance.
7.29 The frustration in policing in an ever-changing environment is evident in the
comments of those who are policing in a post-initiative period. While these
two initiatives have had an effect on the crime levels (discussed more fully in
the following chapter) the concern is what will happen over time. Both
initiatives have shown that there is a need to be able to continue with robust
policing plans in these pilot areas if the decrease in on-street disorder and
violence is to be maintained. Furthermore, there is concern that the public
perception is damaged: ‚although everything’s actually much better, the
public perception could be worse…they can actually feel worse that what it
was at the beginning, because all of a sudden it’s just taken away from them‛.
However, they are mindful that the effect of intensively policing an area can
have a longer term impact, possibly lasting for several months but slowly the
realisation that the resources have been removed or reduced has a negative
effect. This leads them to argue ‚you’ve got to have that saturation to start‛
and then the focus must be on maintaining any changes, ‚you do need to still
have that presence‛.
7.30 Dispersal Orders were discussed, and opinion from those who have had the
experience of policing in the BA sub-division for some time suggests that there
been a lasting effect on the community; but again over time the perception is
that things slowly begin to reverse: ‚Dennistoun … is slowly getting worse
again so they say, but it’s still not what it was pre our first dispersal, it did
have a lasting effect‛.
7.31 They are also an example of how the impact of intensive policing in itself
affects patterns of behaviour. Initially there were lots of people and problems
on the streets. Since the Dispersal Zone has been in place the police report that
there has been a significant drop in the number of people hanging around on
the streets. People ‚know what is going to happen to them, so they’re not
there [on the streets] and it is working‛. Consequently towards the end of the
dispersal period they report that they were dispersing fewer and fewer groups
of people.
7.32 The police also highlight that education is important; educating your public on
why and how you are policing. This approach was an aspect of both the EPP
and Dispersal Zones. The police were keen to stress that Dispersal legislation
was not about preventing people from congregating in groups but was about
57
addressing the anti-social behaviour associated with some groups – ‚it’s
important that a big part of the Police process is education…it’s important
that people, that youngsters are aware that they can congregate if they wish,
but if their presence is going to be menacing or is going to be anti-social they
will be dispersed. However, if they’re quietly minding their own business and
being, let’s face it, socially responsible individuals, then there won’t be any
issues, there won’t be any hassle from the Police.‛
7.33 Education is not limited to groups of young people. This is equally applied to
older people as well but coloured by the understanding that their perceptions
are skewed by an irresponsible media who send mixed messages about
Glasgow, violence and young people. Similarly, some of the schemes that lie
within these two sub-divisions have notorious reputations but the observations
of some of those policing these areas are that they can be quiet but when
something does ‚kick off‛ or ‚go…it’s usually quite serious…usually a murder
or something.‛
7.34 In particular, early intervention with young people has been found to be
extremely effective in reducing the number of youth-related issues the Police
have to deal with later in the evening.
Conclusion
7.35 This chapter has discussed the perceptions of and demands on police officers
in policing these high crime areas of youth on-street disorder, alcohol-fuelled
and gang-related crime and violence. It has identified examples of good
policing practice and examined the role of the community police officer in
fostering improved community/police relations. It shows that current policing
strategies are going some way towards meeting community aspirations for
safer, quieter communities and consequently it is reported that generally there
is a reduced fear of crime and violence in the areas.
58
CHAPTER EIGHT
THE EPP AND DISPERSAL ORDERS – THE
OUTCOMES,
CONCLUSIONS
AND
RECOMMENDATIONS.
Introduction
8.1 This chapter provides an assessment of the achievements of the EPP and
Dispersal Orders. It gives a brief comparative overview of the violence
statistics for the period from October to February by year immediately before
and after the year in which the EPP ran and reports on the available statistical
data for the Dispersal Orders which ran in the period September, 2009 to
January, 2010. It will then highlight the main outcomes from these initiatives,
before drawing conclusions and recommendations.
Statistical Overview The Enhanced Policing Plan
8.2
At the end of the EPP the statistics23 showed that in the BD sub-division there
was a significant decrease for the key crime and incident indicators:
Violent crime24 is at its lowest level for 5 years.
Anti-social behaviour related crime25 has decreased by 7%.
Anti-social behaviour incidents26 have decreased by 8%.
8.3
One year on police statistics27 suggest that the decrease in violence and antisocial behaviour has been sustained. Table 1 below shows that in the year
immediately following the EPP Vandalism was rising, but Violence and
Disorder both continued to decline. The projection for this year 2009/2010 28
shows that this trend is continuing but that there has been a slight increase in
disorder. This may not be due to an actual increase in disorder but to the
police being more proactive in tackling on-street disorder: earlier interventions
23
These statistics were drawn from the BD Enhanced Policing Plan Impact Analysis which used data derived
from the Strathclyde Police Corporate Crime and STORM Analyst databases.
24
Includes all crimes of violence, simple assault and weapon carrying.
25
Includes all crimes of vandalism, fire raising and malicious mischief, breach of the peace, drinking in a public
place, being drunk and incapable and urinating in a public place.
26
Includes complaints, disturbances, drinking in public, assault, property damage, and suspect persons reported
to the police.
27
The statistics presented here were provided by Glasgow Community and Safety Services (GCSS) and were
sourced by them from Strathclyde Police Corporate Crime Database. It should also be understood that they have
redefined their areas and therefore the figures presented here are slightly different from those in the original EPP
report but they nevertheless support the downward trend on violence in the area.
28
At the time of writing the GCSS were only able to provide predictions for 2009/2010 which were based on
their experience and patterns of crime evident in existing statistical data for these areas.
59
by the police in engaging young people, confiscating alcohol, and arresting
those who are breaching the peace, to prevent more serious violent events from
occurring.
Year
2007/08
No.
Violence
Vandalism
Disorder
Total
577
619
1072
2268
2008/09
2009/10
% Change
No.
% Change
No.
% Change
-2%
568
-2%
512
-10%
-18%
650
5%
420
-35%
10%
974
-9%
1054
8%
-2%
2192
-3%
1986
-9%
Source: Strathclyde Police Corporate Crime Database
Table 1: 3-year crime levels for EPP key indicators (October – February)
8.4
The table below highlights that overall levels of crime within the BD subdivision in the last 3 years have fallen by 16%. However on closer examination
it can be seen that the levels by area have dropped significantly with the
exception of Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) which have increased. In 2008/09
there was an increase in levels of crime in the Springboig/Greenfield/Barlanark
area which may be consistent with some of the respondents’ comments about
things getting worse for a while and then quietening down again. That fixed
penalty notices have continued to increase is consistent with the introduction
of new legislation. The more familiar and aware the police become with new
legislation the more likely they are to enforce it. The increased use of FPNs
could also be a reflection of a general trend towards a stronger enforcement
and less discretionary approach to policing of relatively low-level offending,
which may be a factor in early interventions.
60
overall
2007/08 2008/09 2009/10
%
29
Area
change
Shettleston/Tollcross
620
520
446
-28%
Springboig/Greenfield/Barlanark
412
443
310
-25%
Wellhouse
326
254
286
-12%
Easterhouse
297
267
220
-26%
Other - Fixed Penalty Notices
216
275
311
+31%
Grand Total
1871
1759
1573
-16%
Source: Strathclyde Police Corporate Crime Database
Table 2: Crime levels for All Crimes by Area (October – February) for the 3year Period 2007 - 2010
8.5
Table 3 below shows that even with the reconfiguration of the areas and
subsequent changes in the statistical data for the area of the EPP Anti-social
Behavioural Incidents have continued to fall generally, and in the October –
February period specifically by a further 7% in 2008/09 with a 9% projected
decrease for this year.
ASB incidents and % change
EPP Period Statistics
Annual Statistics
(October – February)
Year
Number % Change Number % Change
2006/07
14330
-----
5069
----
2007/08
13272
-7%
4834
-5%
2008/09
11999
-10%
4505
-7%
2009/10
12079
1%
4110
-9%
Source: Strathclyde Police STORM Analyst Database
Table 3: Comparative statistics on ASB incidents.
29
Parkhead area has not been included here as this area straddles both the BA and BD sub-divisions and was the
area in which Dispersal Orders were implemented. Therefore data for Parkhead has been included below in
analysis of the Dispersal Orders.
Note: A 5 year average forecast has been applied to March 2010 to allow calculations of annual figures.
61
8.6
Similarly, over the period since the EPP was run the number of incidents
reported to the police by the community has also continued to decrease as the
table of recorded incidents below shows. Year on year the recorded incidents
have continued to drop quite significantly in each of these geographical areas.
In the 3 year period 2007 – 2010 recorded crime has dropped by over a third
(35%) in Easterhouse and in Shettleston/Tollcross by just over a sixth (16%).
Shettleston/Tollcross is the only exception to falling rates of recorded crime – it
has remained static in the last year.
Overall
Area
2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 Grand Total % change
Wellhouse
577
489
480
1546
-17%
1255
1052
1053
3360
-16%
1059
1049
828
2936
-22%
Easterhouse
722
611
466
1799
-35%
Grand Total
3613
3201
2827
9641
-22%
Shettleston/Tollcross
Springboig/Greenfield/
Barlanark
Source: Strathclyde Police Corporate Crime Database
Table 4: Area levels of recorded incidents – period October to February - by year
for the last 3 years.
8.7
Table 5 highlights the changes in Violence, Vandalism and Disorder annually
and in the October to February period for the last 4 years. It shows that
annually Violence and Vandalism have decreased but Disorder would appear
to be rising again. However, in the crucial period of October to February the
trend has remained downward.
62
Levels of crime – October to
February by Year
Crime
Violence
%Change
Vandalism
%Change
Disorder
%Change
Total
%Change
2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10
No.
No.
No.
No.
589
577
568
512
---2%
-2%
-10%
757
619
650
420
---18%
5%
-35%
973
1072
974
1054
--10%
-9%
8%
2319
2268
2192
1986
3%
-2%
-3%
-9%
Levels of Crime (excluding police
generated Crimes) – October to
February by Year
2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10
No.
No.
No.
No.
450
442
488
447
---2%
10%
-8%
757
619
650
420
---18%
5%
-35%
664
693
612
576
--4%
-12%
-6%
1871
1754
1750
1443
3%
-6%
0%
-18%
Source: Strathclyde Police Corporate Crime Database
Table 5: Levels of crime for October to February for the 4-year period 2006-2010
8.8
It was argued at the time of the first evaluation of the EPP that pro-active
policing had impacted on the number of detected crimes as the overall change
in detected crime for Street Drinking, Urinating in a Public Place, Carrying of
Offensive Weapons was reported to have risen by 35%. Since then, as table 6
below shows, in 2008/2009 detected crime fell by 16% - whether as a result of
fewer of these crimes being committed or fewer being detected is unclear.
What the statistics are now showing is that detection of these crimes has risen
by 28%.
Crime Type
Urinating
Weapon
Carrying
Street Drinking
Total
%Change
2003
/ 04
27
141
2004
/ 05
17
116
2005
/ 06
34
139
2006
/ 07
19
139
2007
/ 08
45
135
2008
/ 09
60
80
2009
/ 10
68
65
Grand
Total
270
815
306
474
278
411
-13%
249
422
3%
261
419
-1%
296
476
14%
260
400
-16%
377
510
28%
2027
3112
Source: Strathclyde Police Corporate Crime Database
Table 6: Crime figures as a result of pro-active policing (Oct – Feb) 2003 - 2010.
63
Dispersal Orders
8.9
Immediately prior to the implementation of the Dispersal Orders in the
Parkhead area, which lies on the border of both BA and BD Sub-divisions,
there was an overall increase in the level of all crimes. The policing of
Dispersal Orders was overseen by the BA sub-division, in London Road. The
table below shows that while there was a downward trend for all crimes in the
Parkhead area it was significantly lower than the reduction in crime
experienced in the areas where the EPP had been running and in London Road
the trend was of increased levels of all crimes.
All Crimes
Area
1044
1022
Overall
Grand %
Total Change
-7%
3164
769
792
2177
+10%
1813
1814
5341
+6%
2007/08 2008/09 2009/10
Parkhead 1098
London
Road
616
Grand
Total
1714
Source: Strathclyde Police Corporate Crime Database
Table 7: Levels of crime by Area for the 5-year period 2003 - 2010
8.10 When the statistics for the period from October to February in which the EPP
ran are examined for the Parkhead area, what is evident is that levels of crime
in Parkhead have increased by 11% overall between 2006 and 2010.
Area
Parkhead
Grand
%
2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 Total Change
366
397
433
413
1609
+11%
Source: Strathclyde Police Corporate Crime Database
Table 8: Levels of crime by Area (October – February) for the
4-year period 2006 - 2010
Distinctions by local area here are not specific to the area in which the Dispersal Orders were implemented.
These Orders applied to a small zone within the Parkhead area (see appendix 7).
Note: 2009/10 figures are only complete up until 15 th March 2010.
64
8.11 Furthermore anti-social behaviour incidents have also been rising in the BA
sub-division, particularly in the London Road area. However, the table below
shows that there had been a decrease in these types of incidents in the
Parkhead area. This decrease may have been in part due to the influence of the
EPP. Nonetheless in the part of Parkhead that lies within the BA sub-division
there was concern about the levels of violence and anti-social behaviour, and
from their own divisional intelligence, the Parkhead area overall was of
particular concern.
Annual Recorded Incidents
All ASB Incidents
London Road
Parkhead
Total
2007 / 08
2008 / 09
2009 / 10
1123
2376
3499
1386
2087
3473
1504
1921
3425
Recorded Incidents (October
to February)
2007 / 08 2008 / 09 2009 / 10
408
813
1221
472
832
1404
608
675
1283
Source: Strathclyde Police Corporate Crime Database
Table 9: Levels of recorded incidents of Anti-social Behavioural Incidents 20072010 by area
8.12 Consequently they applied for and were granted permission to introduce
Dispersal Orders under the Anti-Social Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 in
the London Road, Dalmarnock Road, Westmuir Street and Shettleston Road
area of Parkhead. Their intelligence showed that between 4pm and 8pm
reported incidents and incidents of anti-social crime rose and then dropped off
towards midnight.
8.13 The table below shows that in the months following the implementation of
Dispersal Orders in the designated area, reported incidents of anti-social
behaviour fell quite significantly while the number of anti-social behaviour
crimes rose. This is entirely consistent with the increased policing activity of
the area and the consequent increase in the number of crimes detected.
65
ASB Reported Incidents30
ASB Crimes31
Month
2008
2009
% Change
2008
2009
% Change
September
196
227
+14%
86
157
+45%
October
169
168
-1%
63
114
+45%
November
202
157
-22%
89
102
+13%
December
175
138
-21%
96
74
+23%
Total
742
690
-7%
334
447
+26%
Table 10: Dispersal Orders: Reported and Crime Statistics for Anti-Social
Behaviour.
These encouraging statistics for both the EPP and Dispersal Orders were also
reflected in the qualitative data as discussed in more detail below:
Outcomes The EPP
8.14 The positive effects of the EPP were succinctly related below by one of the
police officers who had returned to work in an area he had policed earlier in
his career.
‚I didn’t work here during the Enhanced Policing Plan, but I was
most definitely here before it, and when I came back it was
surreal……..the levels of violence when I left were extremely high.
The level of youth disorder when I left was extremely high. I
came back…three or four months after the Enhanced Policing
Plan had finished, and I couldn’t believe how low the level of
anti-social activity was, and how low the levels of violence were.
We went through a period… [when we were] talking about car
crime as being our major problem in this part of the East End of
Glasgow, and that is unheard of.‛
30
31
Source - Strathclyde Police Storm Analyst Database: SQL Query:ASB Storm_Incidents
Source – Strathclyde Police Corporate Crime Database: crime types: ASB crimes and FPNs
66
8.15 His views were shared by other officers who also reported that by the end of
the financial year following the EPP ‛our serious assault figures were actually
down 15% on the year, which is a phenomenal number. 15% down on the year!
So it ended very, very well…I was quite stunned…I’d clearly missed a trick!
Aye, it worked damn well.‛
8.16 Furthermore there was discussion on how the nature of offending in the area is
changing, which was consistent with the community view. These changes
were described as moving from a period where violence was the most common
type of crime to low level crime as discussed above.
8.17 It was also reported that what made the EPP different from other policing
initiatives and contributed to its legacy was that ‚it’s proper partnership in
action…where we’re all getting buy-in to deal with the same problem…proper
linked up working. We were policing – high visibility policing with the
support of the GHA and GCSS‛. So anti-social families were being served
with ASBOs and consequently were in danger of losing the tenancy of their
houses if they didn’t conform to what constitutes acceptable behaviour – a
successful multi-agency approach to tackling violence and anti-social
behaviour issues.
8.18 This also fostered closer working relationships between individuals in the
various agencies – ‚you were picking up the phone and it’s a person on the
phone…not just talking to an agency…personal relationships were being
formed.‛ A further example of good practice from the EPP was: ‚the Jewish
cemetery over in Barlanark, there was anti-Semitic garbage just written on the
back wall of the Jewish cemetery there; very, very visible to anybody that
passed. We made a phone call and the same day it was removed…we also got
a camera stuck up there, a mobile camera, to watch the area, killed the
problem stone dead. So yeah, I mean, people are talking to each other and
things are getting done like that. Maybe that’s how it should always be?‛
8.19 However, the opinion was expressed that the Problem Solving Team Meetings
as they were called - or the Public Reassurance Network Meetings as they now
appear to be called - should not be specific only to the EPP, but that attention
should focus and remain on the experience of partnership working. The
nature of these partnership meetings has changed - over the last ‚few years,
I’ve seen an increased opportunity to work as a partner with the Police, and to
be seen by the Police as a partner in things is probably important as well.‛
67
8.20 Furthermore, there is an awareness amongst all of how the experience of the
EPP has changed working practices as evidenced in the comments from the
police: ‚A spin-off from the EPP…in the Shettleston/Tollcross kind of area
there was recently a wee operation, Operation Clean Sweep, which had the
police handing out leaflets about what youth activities there were in the area.
That’s inconceivable a few years ago, you know, I think probably kicked off
from the Enhanced Policing Plan, but there’s that kind of natural partnership
operation. It’s a way of working better.‛
Dispersal Orders
8.21 The Superintendent leading the most recent run-out of Dispersal Orders in the
Parkhead area of BA sub-division reported that other factors helped to impact
on the levels of violence; for example, during the summer (2009) there were
relatively low levels of crime recorded because the Calton Tongs (a local gang)
were all on curfew, which effectively kept them off the streets; and when one
or both key individuals associated with this gang and its violent activities, who
are well known to the police, have been arrested and convicted of crimes, there
is a marked decrease in the levels of violence.
8.22 Furthermore, in the BA sub-division there are a number of venues, for example
Glasgow Green32 and the Barrowlands33, which have the potential to attract
low-level ASB and violence; however, analysis of their reports demonstrates
that most violence recorded in the BA division is largely peripheral to events
held in these venues, that much of the violence and on-street disorder
associated with this area is caused by local residents. Therefore, the policing
practices were geared towards the prevention of violence from occurring: a
high police presence at the beginning and at the end of events - together with
frequent visits during - supported by a strict policy to issue FPN34 where
applicable, for example, for ‘urinating in the street’ .
8.23 Within Scotland there has been relatively little use of the Anti-social Behaviour
Act to implement Dispersal Orders (20) compared to England and Wales (600).
It is thought that this is largely due to a lack of knowledge and understanding
of dispersal powers and how this fits in with the unique youth justice system in
Scotland, coupled with an over-reliance on the Children’s Hearing system to
deal with youth disorder.
32
Glasgow Green – is a council owned park which hosts open air concerts and other events throughout the year.
Barrowlands – is a privately owned concert hall which hosts various pop concerts throughout the year.
34
FPN – Fixed Penalty Notices
33
68
8.24 The police first introduced Dispersal Orders in Dennistoun. Initially there was
considerable opposition to their introduction and therefore little support from
the community. However, perceptions have now changed and the community,
who have witnessed and experienced the benefits associated with the
enforcement of these orders, now support this initiative as do the community
elected representatives.
8.25 While partnership working was not central to the implementation of Dispersal
Orders it is increasingly recognised as good working practice within the police
and close working relations developed with GCSS meant that they could
deploy mobile CCTV vans and wardens and plan days of action to continue to
tackle on-street disorder; currently they aim to have 1 day of action every 2
months to target ASB in various locations within the sub division.
Improving Youth Facilities
8.26 Another example of a successful outcome emanating from the EPP is a project
run in Eastbank Academy on Friday nights in which there are ‚…basically ten
gangs on a Friday night and they’re all from this one location, no fighting,
playing football…the streets are calm, you know, while they’re there, so the
local people are getting a break from it. On the other level, these same kids are
getting introduced to other more positive aspects of life, with potential jobs at
the end of it – the big package!‛ While this project cannot be directly
associated with either the EPP or Dispersal Orders it is evidence of how new
initiatives are continuing to support the work of earlier initiatives and building
on positive outcomes already achieved in these communities.
8.27 Although there is considerable evidence of positive changes in these
communities, complacency should be avoided as there are still issues to be
addressed such as, for example, ‚the Saturday night gap‛. There is a need to
look at the way people work if this gap is to be plugged: ‚if we can change the
way people work…then that’s a kind of job done‛. ‚…employment contracts
need to be set up correctly in the first place. If you’re going to employ youth
workers, you should employ them on a contract which says when you want
them to work is evenings and weekends’. This is a significant issue for many
of the young people who took part in this study – having nothing to do at
weekends, especially in the evenings.
8.28 Funding also continues to be an issue for all partners including the police, who
protest that ‚You can’t provide services without employing staff‛ which
69
requires funding to support. An example of meeting local demand was given
by some of the partners of a jointly funded initiative – John Wheatley College,
GHA, Community Planning – which employed youth workers to ‚support
young people outside school hours…so we do need flexibility of contractual
arrangements for that. So we’ve got a combination of people on a fixed
number of hours and sessional work arrangements…it’s a better way to work,
we feel, and that’s what we’re trying to put across.‛ Although funding is an
issue in retaining staff ‚short term funding gives short term solutions…[and]
even before the funding is withdrawn, one will find that the focus of the staff
will be about perpetuating their employment…‛
8.29 Attempts to address youth issues was evident within the area: FUSE is a new
facility and The Connie – a re-housed youth group in new premises – allows
young people freedom to choose what they want to do including sitting
around ‚chatting and chilling‛. FARE have also received funding from the
Scottish Government to develop their youth work in the Easterhouse area of
the B Division.
Changing Communities and Partnership Working
8.30 Despite these positive outcomes it was also reported that evaluation of
initiatives needed to look beyond the initial findings and look at the longer
term outcomes including funding issues mentioned above. It is reported that a
Fire Reach programme which received £14,000 to educate the public on the
risks and costs of unnecessary call outs reputedly saved the Fire Brigade
around £600,000 as they were no longer being called out to small intentionally
lit fires in closes, bins and in back courts, etc. The suggestion here was for some
form of redistributive justice whereby a percentage of savings made by service
providers could be mainstreamed back into developing local community and
youth services.
8.31 One of the successes of closer partnership working from a police perspective is
identified as the sharing of information; for example, ‚one of the things about
the youth diversionary work is the buy in of the housing associations…on
Monday morning they can tell you where the problems are…the ball hitting
the gable end; what doors have been kicked in, etc…‛
8.32 The changing attitudes of young people towards the police and the policing of
their areas is clearly evident in the realisation that the police are doing a job
that aims to ensure the safety of the whole community and not just picking on
young people because they are young and on the streets. Furthermore it is
70
reported by the police that 70% of young people who took part in their public
consultations answered ‚yes‛ when asked, ‘Do you think that the Police should
have a role in supporting youth activities?’ Such a response has ‚got to be one of
the legacies of the EPP and Phoenix [and other policing initiatives], that young
people welcome the involvement of Police‛.
8.33 This evaluation has found that the outcomes from both the EPP and Dispersal
Orders are positive in that the majority of police, community representatives
and young people find the changing environments in which they are living
and working are improving. Young people on the whole are supportive of
these initiatives and identify that it is only those with something to hide who
have anything to fear from them. Community representatives generally report
their neighbourhoods to be quieter and are more positive about their future.
However, there is concern amongst the older participants that things could slip
if the police were to become complacent in relation to their achievement.
Partner agencies are very positive about the achievements of partnership
working.
Some words of caution
8.34 While strategic policing tactics may occasionally require to be implemented
without prior community engagement, it is also important that community
links are not eroded. Current informal partnership relations could slide as
they appear to be built on personalities and personal relationships, rather than
working practice. There is also a danger of alienation of young people and
communities, emanating from the variety and range of initiatives that have
recently run and those currently running, sending mixed messages regarding
engagement and enforcement.
Recommendations
8.35 Community engagement should be maintained and in particular the informal,
or at least youths’ perception of informal, engagement with the police (for
example at dance events, in schools and on the streets) should also be
maintained. This has been shown to improve community/police relations and
to dissuade young people from engaging in crime-related activities.
8.36 More police on the beat should be a priority in order to achieve the above
recommendation, but also for increasing public reassurance. Police on bikes
were found to be particularly welcomed by the community – young and old
alike. The older members of the community felt it increased police visibility
71
and frequency. One commented that you ‚saw then go past every hour‛. The
young people, the police report, are extremely interested in the bikes which
provide the opportunity for informal engagement with these young people.
8.37 Partnership working should be pursued and where possible formally
embedded into work roles and working relationships, rather than being based
on individuals and inter-personal relationships.
8.38 Funding issues need to be addressed. Police generally feel that pursuing
funding for youth initiatives should be an administrative role rather than the
responsibility of police officers.
8.39 Examination of the redistributive justice model is recommended as this may
help to inform and develop a policy whereby the relationship between savings
by statutory agencies from reduced crime levels could be redirected to deliver
much needed leisure and recreational services in the community. Big
organisations, it was felt, always had uses for any savings that were made, but
they very seldom reinvested in the community where the savings were made.
One suggestion proffered was ‚if you get funding and you make savings, a
percentage goes to the community…and the rest goes to the service/s that’s
delivered it.‛
8.40 Contractual arrangements need to be examined in order to meet the demand
for services. A 9 am to 5 pm provision is not meeting the demand for services,
particularly youth services, in these areas.
8.41 It should be recognised that young people need a variety of activities to engage
in. Whilst some are more interested in physical activities, another group
merely want somewhere safe to ‘chill-out’ with their friends that is ‘safe and
warm’. Therefore there is a need for a demand-led youth service.
8.42 Caution needs to be observed in relation to the variety of initiatives, to ensure
that that there is a consistency in the messages being sent to young people in
order to avoid confusion through mixed messages, which may alienate rather
than consolidate the considerable achievements made thus far. There is a
further need to continue to support and build upon good practice with youths,
partners and the wider community.
72
8.43 There is also a need for community and statutory partners to examine their role
in supporting changes in the community. While the two initiatives examined
here were police-led, partner agencies – statutory and voluntary - it was felt
needed to take the lead role in relation to addressing service provision, in order
to allow the police to do what they do best – police in the community.
8.44 Partner agencies also need to address the issue of community expectation in
relation to their ability to provide services – current community expectation
and aspirations are not in line with existing service provision. This disparity is
thought to be partly a result of high profile initiatives such as the EPP and
CIRV, but also reflects a lack of community understanding of what service
providers can and cannot be reasonably expected to deliver.
Conclusion
8.45 This chapter has highlighted the significant successes of the EPP and Dispersal
Orders in reducing levels of all crimes and in particular violent, on-street,
alcohol-fuelled disorder. It has highlighted the longer-term benefits of such
initiatives, the importance of partnership working and of the need for a variety
of policing initiatives to address continuing issues and support the
achievements and gains made thus far.
It has also highlighted the areas
where consideration needs to be given to ensuring that these achievements are
maintained and the barriers to continued community support - mainly lack of
funding - are addressed. Finally it has made specific recommendations for
community engagement, service provision, partnership working, community
policing and funding. The following chapter provides a summary of the
findings.
73
CHAPTER NINE
SUMMARY FINDINGS.
The EPP has been found to be successful in reducing the levels of violent crime
in the longer term, although the support of other policing policies and
initiatives are also recognised as supporting the sub-division in maintaining
this reduction.
Dispersal Orders are also found to be effective in encouraging young people
off the streets and in encouraging them to re-appraise what they are doing
and why.
Reported Crime for the targeted offences is down in both sub-divisions.
The EPP is found to be an example of good practice with regard to partnership
working.
Funding issues are still one of the main barriers in addressing community
needs and aspirations. There are a number of issues related to this that also
need to be examined. For example, the issue of who should pursue and lead
community-based initiatives needs to be addressed.
Addressing youth initiatives and activities is more than a policing concern and
needs the support of community, voluntary and statutory agencies working in
partnership to deliver the best outcomes.
The police stress that policing levels in difficult communities need to be
addressed. In particular there is a need to examine administrative and other
duties which abstract them from the beat so that they can effectively do the job
they joined the police force to do – police their community.
Partnership working should not be reliant on personal contacts alone.
KIN and community groups should continue to be encouraged to engage with
the police and to take responsibility in their own community and to engage in
partnership in the fight against crime. These groups were also found to be a
good source of information from the community to the police and vice versa –
they are a good communication route directly into the community.
Partnership agencies should continue to be pro-active in engaging with
communities in order to address concerns, and to help bridge the gap between
community expectations/aspirations and service providers’ ability to meet
them. Currently it would appear that communities have high expectations of
these agencies but little knowledge or understanding of what they can
reasonably expect from them.
74
Individuals in the community/ies need to take more responsibility for
reporting crime. The police can only tackle crime that they know of and their
job becomes difficult, if not almost impossible, without the support of the
community to successfully investigate crimes.
Leisure and recreational service provision, particularly that targeted at youths,
needs to be more flexible. These services need to plug the current gaps in
service – be open in the evenings, at weekends, during school holidays in the
day time. Therefore there is a need for more flexible contracts for youth
workers.
Some young people are receiving mixed messages with the range of policing
initiatives that are currently targeting them. Caution should be taken to
ensure that the overall outcome continues to be positive and there is no
negative impact on what can only be described as increasingly positive
police/youth relations.
There is still an issue amongst a hard core youth group who have little respect
for either the police or the community in which they live. This group should
continue to be targeted by future initiatives.
Within both the sub-divisional areas there is evidence from the young people
and community groups that public confidence in the police to police is rising
and therefore contributing towards Strathclyde Police’s increased public
reassurance.
In general it has been found that residents – young and old – report that their
communities are becoming quieter. However, there are one or two issues that
have emerged in this study regarding vandalism, the buy-to-let market and
specific gangs that should continue to be closely monitored.
There was little evidence to suggest that displacement was a factor in the
reduced levels of crime reported.
Gang violence, it is reported by young people, is reducing. However young
people still identify strongly with gangs, which is a territorial issue closely
associated with place. Furthermore there is a suggestion that gang allegiance
may have long term effects and impact on work prospects in the local areas.
75
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APPENDIX 1
Summary of Participants
A number of participants were included in this research. Participation was
drawn from a range of perspectives in the local community: some 50 young
people, 30 police officers, 14 community representatives, 12 CPP representatives,
7 Youth Leaders, and 3 Local Councillors. The split between focus groups and
interviews is outlined below.
Focus Groups:
10 with young people in various locations including youth groups and schools.
3 with police officers.
2 with local community groups.
1 with the Community Planning Partners.
Interviews:
5 with Senior Ranking Police Officers.
3 with Local Councillors.
7 with Youth Leaders.
7 with Community Planning Partners.
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APPENDIX 2
Core Interview Schedule
A core interview schedule (see below) was used for all focus groups and interviews
with emphasis placed on the areas most relevant to the different participant groups.
The core interview schedule focused on four main areas and was used with all
participants in this study. The first was concerned with the participants’ perceptions
of the community in which they lived and/or worked, while the second was
concerned with what they felt were the most significant problems that needed
addressed in the community to improve feelings of safety and well general wellbeing. The third focused on community relations with the police and their
community planning partners and the implementation of the initiatives. The last
was interested in hearing of any changes – positive or negative – that were perceived
as being attributable to the policing initiatives.
1.
Can you tell us what this area is like to live/work in?
perceptions of this community
perceptions of safety
behaviour most significant in contributing to feeling fearful
2.
What are the difficulties in addressing the needs of the community?
main problems/barriers
expectations/ aspirations for improving the area
police community relations
3.
How have these policing initiatives met community demands re public
reassurance and feelings of safety?
where there any advantages for the community
4.
Can you give examples of how things are changing?
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APPENDIX 3:
Participant Consent Forms
Focus Group
Participant Agreement
Purpose of Focus Group – EPP or Dispersal Orders.
Place and Date of Focus Group.
This research aims to evaluate the legacy of the EPP: in particular the sustainability in the
longer term of the community planning partnership working and KIN groups when the
implementation of the EPP (as was) is no longer the driver for change; and to establish
whether or not the reduction in the incidence of anti-social behaviour – including knife- and
alcohol-related crimes – and of fear of crime has been durable.
Or
This research aims to evaluate the implementation of the Dispersal Orders: in particular the
effect they have had on anti-social behaviour, in particular on-street youth disorder,
youth/police community relations, and in addressing issues of fear of crime.
I understand that my participation in this study is entirely voluntary, and that if I wish to
withdraw from the study or to leave, I may do so at any time, and that I do not need to give
any reason or explanation for doing so. If I do withdraw from the study, I understand that
this will have no effect on my relationship with the other participants, the Police or the
researcher.
I understand that all the information I give will be kept confidential to the extent permitted
by law, and that the names of all the people in the study will be kept confidential.
I understand that I will not receive direct benefit from participating in this study, but that
my participation may help with the development of future policy development.
The researcher has offered to answer any questions I may have about the study and what I
am expected to do.
I have read and understand this information and I agree to take part in the study.
Signature______________________________
Date__________________
Name (please print)_____________________________
If you have any concerns about this study please contact:
Dr. Liz Frondigoun: 0141 331 3994 or [email protected]
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APPENDIX 4
The Enhanced Policing Plan
The EPP aim was to assist Glasgow Community Planning Partnerships to
deliver a safer and more vibrant Glasgow by:
enhancing policing provision;
improving levels of citizen engagement;
building effective partnerships between key agencies; and
tackling crime and anti-social behaviour.
The plan’s objectives were to:
engage with local communities in order to provide locally dependable services and
develop local reassurance;
focus on the needs of the most vulnerable in the communities;
provide high visibility policing in areas and at times of greatest demand;
utilise complementary systems such as mobile CCTV;
identify offenders and potential offenders suitable for referring to other
partner agencies;
address and provide support in changing offending behaviour;
develop diversion and support programmes to establish and maintain
positive life-choices;
improve public spaces by making them cleaner, feel safer and more attractive
to use;
work in partnership with local voluntary organisations, employers’ networks
and training providers in order to provide pre-vocational learning.
The Enhanced Policing Plan therefore consisted of the following:
an additional intelligence-led police resource including full time officers and
officers on overtime to increase patrols at identified strategically significant
times: Friday and Saturday evenings;
mobile and static CCTV cameras that would be monitored in real time and
assist in intelligence gathering of activities in problematic areas;
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community engagement and feedback through the press, other media, and
KIN groups to inform local residents of the Enhanced Policing Plan and its
aims, objectives and outcomes;
engagement with partner agencies to provide youth diversionary activities;
for example the provision of an outdoor gym in partnership with Culture and
Sport and GCVS35 including training and development to address the
perceived lack of facilities for young people.
Delivery of the Plan was in partnership with the Joint Problem Solving Group of the
local CPP.
It was intelligence led following the model of the Public Reassurance Strategy for
delivery of policing in troublesome areas. Following this model the EPP fell into
three specific categories of Engagement, Enforcement and Enhancement and
included restorative justice measures; environmental improvements; mediation to
resolve neighbourhood disputes; programmes to reduce anti-social behaviour;
initiatives to encourage safe and responsible sale of alcohol; sessions on personal
safety. It also supported initiatives to encourage people to undertake pre-vocational
and vocational training; to increase the number of people in sporting activities and
coaching/skill training; and to improve communications with the local community
and increase community engagement.
35
GCVS - Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector is the main development agency and advocate for
voluntary and community organisations in Glasgow.
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APPENDIX 5:
Dispersal Order Leaflets
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85
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APPENDIX 6
Promotional Initiatives Undertaken
These initiatives included:
Signal Crime Interviews;
initial leaflet drop of 3,000 followed by 3 subsequent leaflet drops each of
3,000;
7 articles in the Gen36 which has a readership of around 30,000;
9 articles in the Glaswegian which has a readership of around 50,000;
3 articles in the Evening Times which has a readership of around 50,000;
3 articles in the Herald/Sunday Herald which has a readership of around
150,000;
1 article in The Glasgow East Outlook which had a readership of around
20,000;
the deployment of an Advertising Trailer across the EPP area; and
information about the EPP inserted in local housing providers’ leaflets.
36
The Gen, Glaswegian, Evening Times, Herald/Sunday Herald, Glasgow East Outlook are local Newspapers.
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APPENDIX 7
Dispersal Zone
The area highlighted in the map below identifies the covered by the Dispersal Orders
as being parts of London Road, Dalmarnock Road, Westmuir Street and Shettleston
Road.
Map 1: Profile Area
Source: Map supplied by GCSS.
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