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Conference Papers

Policing, communities and crime prevention - a co-operative approach

Commissioner Peter Ryan
New South Wales Police Service, New South Wales

Presented at
4th National Outlook Symposium on Crime in Australia: New Crimes or New Responses
21-22 June, 2001
Rydges Lakeside, Canberra

Abstract

Partnerships between police, other government agencies, private organisations and the community are vital if crime prevention strategies and initiatives are to succeed in making NSW a safer state for all its citizens. While this broad idea is not new, there are some exciting new ways in which partnership arrangements are having very positive effects. For example, the Safer by Design project brings together police, local councils, and business groups to ensure all development applications are assessed on the basis of their crime prevention potential. Other police sponsored activities such as the Police and Community Training program (PACT) and the Police and Community Youth Clubs network (PCYC) have provided forums for continuing dialogue at the local level between police and the communities they serve. A 'whole of government' approach is also being developed to ensure that people with special needs do not turn to crime out of desperation or lack of support. Measuring the success of crime prevention initiatives is difficult, but it seems clear that co-operative effort and endeavour is the only practicable way forward and an important part of the fight against crime.