Top award for borough crime team

5.31.37pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 23rd Jul 2009

• CRIME fighting efforts in the borough have yet again been recognised as the best in London, … …

. . after the Community and Police Partnership (CPP), a body made up of the local police, Richmond Council and the voluntary sector, scooped an award at the annual Metropolitan Police Authority conference. The award recognises the success of a home visit scheme in which Safer Neighbourhood Teams visit residents who are housebound, vulnerable or elderly to discuss any safety issues they might have.

Commenting on the award Cllr David Williams, Cabinet Member for Communities on Richmond Council, said: "This award recognises the importance we place on making sure that our entire community is involved in the fight against crime and that we are listening to the concerns of our residents. In many cases people might be housebound or have reservations about leaving the house, so to have Safer Neighbourhood Officers visit them at their homes to discuss any issues they might have can be extremely reassuring. Strong partnership work, between the council, the police and voluntary and community groups, is at the heart of what makes our borough the safest in London. I would encourage anybody interested in joining the CPP to do so, as it will strengthen our crime fighting efforts even further."

The home visit scheme, titled Compass Point North, is run by the CPP, together with the Metropolitan Police Authority, local Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNTs), Age Concern and Careline. It works in four stages:

1) Careline advertises this visiting service to all its clients, and sends them a letter from the CPP which explains that the SNT officers for their ward are available to visit them. It lets them know that their team would appreciate being able to discuss with them the policing issues that concern them and that they can help in designing an information pack.

2) A permission slip is attached, which residents can return to the CPP saying that they would like a visit.

3) On receipt of this slip, the CPP allocates them to the relevant Ward SNT.

4) A visit is arranged. Officers are instructed to follow the guidelines that set out the purpose of their visit, with a stress on community cohesion and asking the resident to help the police and vice versa.