Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) are an important feature of the network of partnerships that help to tackle crime and reduce reoffending and were set up under Sections 5-7 of the Crime & Disorder Act 1998, which places a statutory duty on a number of responsible authorities to work in partnership to reduce crime and disorder. CSPs are made up of representatives from the responsible authorities, which are: the police; local authorities; fire and rescue authorities; the probation service; health – clinical commissioning groups (England) or local health boards (Wales). They work together to protect their local communities from crime, focusing on local issues and priorities. They reassess local crime priorities on a yearly basis and develop community safety plans in consultation with partners and the local community.
Although police and crime commissioners (PCCs) are not a responsible authority for the purpose of membership of the CSP, they must work together with their local CSP to develop local approaches to reduce and prevent crime.
Section 10 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 sets out a flexible framework for partnership working between CSPs and PCCs, allowing for the adoption of locally meaningful arrangements. They must have regard to each other’s priorities when developing their respective plans
