Attempt to beat crime

Press, 13 March 1985, Page 8

Attempt to beat crime

Police moves to get staff working with the community in crime prevention have taken a further step this week with the Commissioner of Police, Mr Ken Thompson, ordering his district commanders to set up community crime-preven-tion groups. Under the scheme, frontline police staff are expected to be assigned suburbs in which they will set up community crime-

prevention groups. Mr Thompson has ordered that district commanders report every six months on progress.

The six-monthly reports, the first of which will be due on January 1 next year, will be expected to give the number of groups set up in a district, the number of people involved with the groups, the average time police officers spend with

each group, and the costeffectiveness of the programme.

Mr Thompson also wants district commanders to report on crime statistics for areas where groups are established, compared with crime statistics in areas without community crimeprevention groups and the reaction of police staff to the forming of the new groups.

The establishment of the neighbourhood groups is seen by police administrators as a main initiative in forming stronger bonds between the police and the community. Though police officers are expected to be involved in the establishment of the groups the new scheme calls for the police to be active only in an advisory role.