Oxfordshire Safer Communities Partnership

The Oxfordshire Safer Communities Partnership's focus is to make the county a safer place to live, work and visit.

Summary of the partnership's work

The Oxfordshire Safer Communities Partnership is one of a number of Thematic Partnerships, and is one of two statutory partnerships, the other being the Children's Trust.

The Partnership has recently undergone a review to ensure that it is in a strong position to meet the challenges ahead following the election in November 2012 of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley.

Further information about the impact of the Commissioner in Oxfordshire is available in the document towards the bottom of the page (Police and Crime Commissioners).

OSCP comprises two groups- an Officer Business Group which works to and with the OSCP Board, whose membership includes elected Councillors from Oxfordshire's five local district authorities and Oxfordshire County Council.

The chairman of the Business Group is David Etheridge, Chief Fire Officer, with responsibility for Community Safety, and the Chairman of the Board is Councillor Kieron Mallon, Cabinet Member for Police and Policy Coordination at Oxfordshire County Council. The Business Group meets every two months and the Board three times a year.

The aim of the Partnership is to work through its partners to tackle crime and disorder, anti-social behaviour and the fear of crime, to make the county safer still for residents, those who work in Oxfordshire and those who visit.

Partners include the county council, district councils, health services, Probation, the Police, the Police Authority and Fire and Rescue Services. These statutory partners work closely with the Oxfordshire Drug and Alcohol Action Team, the community, voluntary and faith sectors and a range of other partners who work to support vulnerable people and deal with perpetrators.

For more information on the Partnership, contact Carys Alty, Manager, Safer Communities Unit on 01865 815406.

Membership

Members of the Oxfordshire Safer Communities Partnership Board include strategic-level representatives of groups with a statutory responsibility for community safety, and groups key to shaping and delivering the community safety agenda. The partnership is chaired by Councilor Kieron Mallon, Oxfordshire County Council Cabinet member for Police and Policy Co-ordination.

Roles and responsibilities

In June 2008, the national YouGov survey highlighted 11 things that people said were important to them. 'Creating safer communities' came clearly and consistently top of the list. Here's how the Partnership is meeting that challenge:

It co-ordinates the work of the county's five community safety partnerships (CSPs) and five high-level priority groups dealing with issues around alcohol and drug misuse, prolific and priority offenders, young people, and domestic abuse, which affects one in four women and one in six men during their lifetime.

The partnership is also responsible for ensuring that partners work effectively together, in line with Home Office guidance. Many issues are cross-cutting, both within community safety and across other partnerships, and the Oxfordshire Safer Communities Partnership is keen to promote joint working wherever possible to deliver more efficient and effective services for local residents.

Constitution including terms of reference

• Oxfordshire Safer Communities Partnership's constitution (.pdf format, 37 Kb)
• Oxfordshire Safer Communities Partnership Board terms of reference (.pdf format, 39 Kb)
• Oxfordshire Safer Communities Partnership Business Group terms of reference (.pdf format, 30 Kb)

Oxfordshire Community Safety Agreement

OSCP members have approved the community safety agreement, whose aim is to consider how partners can work together more effectively to reduce crime and disorder and improve safety across the county. This will involve identifying areas for joint or coordinated working, exploring new ways of working and taking flexible approaches to tackling issues. View the Oxfordshire Community Safety Agreement.

OSCP Officer Group

This is an operational group made up of community safety managers, senior police and health service officers and the voluntary sector, whose members tackle community safety issues on a daily basis, and which reports to OSCP.Its purpose is to provide support for OSCP, provide an  annual Strategic Assessment of Community Safety to inform plans help identify risk and opportunities and provide performance information.The group meets monthly.

Police and Crime Commissioners

• October 11 update (.pdf format, 89 Kb)

Meetings

The Oxfordshire Safer Communities Partnership meets four times a year. View the dates of meetings, along with copies of the agendas, minutes and reports.

• Partnerships
• Oxfordshire Safer Communities Partnership
• Meetings
• News
• Oxfordshire Safer Communities Partnership
• Membership
• Terms of reference
• OSCP Officer Group

Oxfordshire Partnership website is hosted by:
Oxfordshire County Council, County Hall, New Road, OX1 1ND