Community safety 

General definitions provided by the Home Office identify community safety as an aspect of the quality of life in which individuals and communities are protected from, equipped to cope with, and have increased capacity to resist crime and antisocial behaviour. 

The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 requires that local authorities, police forces, police authorities, probation committees and health authorities not only work together, but also work with the community and the voluntary sector to develop and implement strategies for reducing crime and disorder in their area. 

In order to comply with the Act, Community Safety Partnerships (or Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships) have been set up at a district level. 

The central idea is that crime and disorder is not simply a matter for the criminal justice system. There are many agencies that can contribute to crime reduction and helping people feel safer.

'Without prejudice to any other obligation imposed upon it, it shall be the duty of each local authority to exercise its various functions with due regard to the likely effect of the exercise of those functions on, and the need to do all that it reasonably can to prevent, crime and disorder in its area'.

Section 17 of the 1998 Crime and Disorder Act put a statutory duty on agencies to tackle crime and disorder as part of their core or 'mainstream' work. 

Section 17 requires local authorities, joint authorities, police, health and fire authorities to consider the impact of their services in reducing crime and disorder. 

The Authorities response will be subject to external audit and failure to comply could result in judicial review. The same legislation also provides new powers, which can be used by members of the public and other agencies to take legal action against individual service areas or authorities as a whole for failure to respond to this new duty.