Perpetuity: Researching your needs

October 2007

Knife crime in the UK: what does current research tell us and is this a fair reflection of the true scale of the problem?

There are very few reliable sources of information regarding knife crime in the UK and as such the true scale of the problem is unknown. In order to fill this gap, the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds has commissioned Perpetuity to undertake a review of available research on knife crime in the UK.

The main objective of this research is to independently critique existing research on knives and knife crime. As part of this review, Perpetuity will investigate what data currently exists, how reliable this data is and seek to unfold any limitations of these data sets.

Of significant importance to this piece of research will be to outline the implications of the research that is currently available in the public domain, giving consideration to media portrayals of knife crime and the hysteria this can cause.

Perpetuity will produce a succinct report for Royal Armouries with recommendations on how to take this agenda forward.

If you have any research or information that may inform this study we would like to hear from you.

For more information on this research or any other work undertaken by Perpetuity contact Michelle Duffin by email: m.duffin@perpetuitygroup.com or by phone 0116 222 5565.

Young Offenders are given a 'Last Chance'

A number of programmes have been implemented to tackle youth offending, one such programme is 'Last Chance' which has been developed at HM Youth Offending Institute (YOI) Glen Parva, the largest YOI and Rehabilitation Centre in Europe. The objective of the 'Last Chance' programme is to try and deter young people from escalating offending behaviour.

Nottinghamshire police commissioned Perpetuity to undertake an evaluation of the Last Chance programme in early 2007. Researchers consulted with local professionals, prison inmates and Last Chance attendees to inform the evaluation findings.

Last Chance provides an intervention to young people who are in danger of receiving a custodial sentence. This may be the result of repeat offending or because of a single serious offence for which they narrowly missed custody. The aim of each Last Chance session is to provide young people, aged 14 to 19 years old with a better understanding of a prison environment and a more realistic view of what custody entails therefore dispelling any misconceptions they may have had.

A succinct report has been produced for Nottinghamshire Police outlining the successes of the project as well as practical recommendations to improve the programme. Using these findings Nottinghamshire Police can continue to implement the Last Chance programme and improve on areas to maximise the impact it has on youth offending.

For more information on this project or any other work undertaken by Perpetuity contact Michelle Duffin by email: m.duffin@perpetuitygroup.com or by phone 0116 222 5565.

Gangs and Schools - is there a problem to be managed?

Official reports by Ofsted suggest that one fifth of England's Secondary Schools believe they have a problem with "gang culture". Despite this report highlighting the schools' concerns, Ofsted's official view was that gang related problems were "perceived" with little evidence to substantiate the claims.

In light of this, Perpetuity Research and Consultancy International (PRCI) have been commissioned by the NASUWT to undertake a piece of research to investigate the impact of gangs and street culture on schools. The study will involve a concise review of existing published and unpublished literature to summarise previous research on gangs, street culture and the potential impact this has on schools. The study will also seek to review interventions that have been implemented to manage the impact of gangs in schools.

The literature review will be supported by case study work. Perpetuity will select and work with four Secondary Schools across the country involving a mix of urban, suburban and rural schools and will consult with young people, teachers and local professionals to ascertain firstly whether a problem with gangs exists in those schools and secondly the potential impact this has on the school environment and on individuals e.g. teachers, school staff, pupils etc.

The results will feed into a workshop attended by 'experts' and representatives from the case study schools. The workshop will be used to verify the findings and will inform the development of a final report with recommendations for action if required.

If you would like more information on this study please contact Michelle Duffin by email: m.duffin@perpetuitygroup.com or by phone 0116 222 5565.

Secured Environments update

The University of Bristol is the first university to register to become a Secured Environment. The Security Services Manager said:

"The University of Bristol has always taken security seriously and is committed to making its staff, students and visitors feel as safe and secure as possible. The University sees the Secured Environments award as a way of independently verifying and objectively auditing its security and risk management strategy as well as making a positive statement to its staff and students as well as to the wider world".

Secured Environments was launched in April 2007 and is a police accreditation for any organisation based on six key principles. So what are they? Firstly, the organisation must show high level management commitment to creating a secure environment, without this no matter how much time or money is spent on security it is unlikely to be fully effective. The second principle calls for an understanding of the crime and disorder risks that the organisation is vulnerable to. Thirdly, security measures need to be in place which are appropriate, targeted and proportionate to the risks identified. The fourth and fifth principles look at the management and implementation of security measures and stress that all staff must know their roles and responsibilities with regard to security. Finally, all security measures need to be monitored and evaluated to determine their effectiveness.

The scheme allows you to show staff, clients and others that you take security seriously. It also allows you to streamline your security processes and can help you to avoid spending money on expensive security measures that might not be needed. For more information go to www.securedenvironments.com.

September 2007

Tackling crime and anti-social behaviour in a shopping precinct

Many retailers across the UK suffer from crime and anti-social behaviour in and around their store. This can often lead to intimidating situations for staff and customers, fear of crime and even impact upon trade and profits. Perpetuity were commissioned to evaluate the implementation of two Mosquito(TM) boxes in a shopping precinct in South East England.

The MosquitoTM is described as an 'ultrasonic teenage deterrent'. It emits a high pitch sound that is only audible to young people due to a medical condition known as presbycusis which begins after the age of 20. In light of this it is possible to generate a high frequency sound that is, in the main, only audible to teenagers. It is thought to be uncomfortable and irritating for young people to listen to and so the Mosquito(TM) is used to disperse unwanted gatherings of youths from areas where they are causing problems.

A small sample of young people (aged 12 to 21) were stopped and surveyed within the range of the Mosquito(TM) whilst it was sounding. Interestingly, when asked if they had heard the MosquitoTM emitting a high pitch sound less than half said they had. Once the sound was pointed out all of the sample said they could hear it.

Most of the teenagers said they were 'not bothered' by the sound because they were not at the precinct long enough for it to become an annoyance, and others felt that it was at a volume too low to present a concern. The point was made that young people could simply move beyond its range (15 to 20 metres). Overall the young people surveyed did not think it was an effective deterrent to stop young people congregating.

The Mosquito(TM) may be better suited to smaller areas than the precinct in which it was evaluated which has approximately 28 shops. Between the two boxes there was adequate space for young people to congregate whilst remaining outside of the Mosquito(TM) range. A more confined space would maximise the impact of Mosquito(TM) whilst limiting the resentment young people may feel against the technology for excluding them from large areas.

Community Justice Initiative

The Government has set out an agenda to tackle anti-social behaviour and the crime associated with it. Key to this is bringing justice closer to the community. This is particularly important as the places where anti-social behaviour is most common are often the ones where people feel excluded, let down by the Criminal Justice System and helpless to tackle the problems they face on a daily basis. The first community justice projects in North Liverpool and Salford were set up in autumn 2005 and following on from their success, are 10 projects developing in new areas across England and Wales. Perpetuity is supporting the Leicester Community Justice Initiative to engage and consult local people through the development of the project. Fundamentally, all community safety initiatives require community buy in to ensure success. If you want to learn more or need support to engage local communities please contact Kate Broadhurst on k.broadhurst@perpetuitygroup.com

August 2007

Secured Environments

Register for Secured Environments for just £250 + VAT

For a limited time only you can register for Secured Environments for just £250 plus VAT, a significant saving from the normal registration fee of at least £750 for SMEs and as much as £5,000 for larger organisations. Take advantage of the opportunity now and register for Secured Environments by calling 0116 222 5555 or emailing securedenvironments@perpetutygroup.com

Achieving the Secured Environments accreditation can bring you a multitude of benefits, it can help you to:

• Manage crime and disorder effectively.
  
• Manage and reduce the risks to staff, data, premises and equipment.
  
• Demonstrate to staff and clients that security is taken seriously.
  
• Stop you from wasting money on redundant, and potentially expensive, security measures.

As one client stated:

"We believe Secured Environments makes an important contribution to business success by helping to focus organisations on an essential area of business activity. We were relatively happy with our physical security arrangements, but the accreditation process forced us to think hard about issues such as the security of clients' information and staff safety and to review our systems for ensuring that we are thinking about these matters on a continuous basis."

If you require any more information go to www.securedenvironments.com. or call 0116 222 5564.

Gangs and Schools

Currently there is considerable concern in the public about ‘youth gangs’ and their impact on communities. An area of particular concern within communities is the impact gangs may have on schools. This view is reinforced by media stories and unfortunately some tragic deaths of both teachers and young people.

Recognising these risks NASUWT, the UK’s biggest school union, has commissioned Perpetuity to investigate the issues. NASUWT want Perpetuity to use their research and evaluation skills to identify the depth and breadth of the problem and then go on to judge how effective any solutions currently being implemented are.

The project’s aim is to explore the problem of street culture and gangs and how they manifest themselves in schools. Review the motivations and drivers behind that behaviour, whilst balancing this information against institutional views and those of young people at school not involved in gangs.

Then if the research suggests that gangs and street culture are impacting on schools we need to know what to do to mange the problem. The next phase of the work will consist of a comprehensive review of youth and schools intervention work. Such a review will focus on preventing behaviour emerging in schools by identifying what works and what does not and incorporating the positive results into a flexible toolkit.

Transport and Security Seminar

The role of public transport and transport interchanges, and their impact on people, are now becoming significant factors in the design and management of urban environments. Transport linked crime and the fear of crime has considerable influence on the decision of people to use these facilities. At a time when Government, both at national and local level, are promoting the use of public transport any measures that can be under taken that will encourage their use should be supported. It is in this context that Perpetuity would like to invite you to a free seminar that will discuss ‘cutting edge’ transport security research.

The Handbook of Security

The Handbook of Security is essential reading for all those engaged with the security world. This in-depth book collates the best research available for the security academic and professional. The book is divided into five parts. It begins with the study of security as a discipline, assessing the contribution made by different subject areas to the study of security. The second part looks at crime in organizations. The third part analyzes the various sub-sectors of security. A section on management issues precedes the final section looking at a range of issues that impact on security.

July 2007

Evaluating violent crime

The negative effects of violent crime on the night time economy cannot be ignored. The Home Office Tackling Violent Crime Programme (TVCP) has targeted the 32 Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) across England and Wales that have notable violent crime problems and a number of initiatives have been implemented. Earlier this year, one partnership in the North of England commissioned Perpetuity to evaluate the initiatives they had implemented in the town centre to tackle violent crime problems. Perpetuity set about achieving four main aims. These were:

• To identify how different violent crime reduction projects work in the town centre.
  
• To evaluate how effective individual projects are at addressing the problems of violent crime in the town centre.
  
• To evaluate the overall strategic response to violent crime and how individual projects fit into the strategy.
  
• To identify any aspects of the violent crime problem that were not being addressed.

Perpetuity involved local professionals (including licensees and taxi drivers) as well as town centre users to inform the evaluation. Not only did the evaluation highlight local good practice, it also identified gaps and areas for development that can be aligned with local priorities and funding arrangements. A succinct report has been produced for the partnership outlining practical recommendations to inform future action planning and strategy development.

Using these findings the partnership can continue to implement effective and innovative solutions to tackle violent crime and to create a safe and welcome town centre for residents, visitors, local businesses and professionals.

If you are embarking upon a project to tackle a specific problem or crime in your area then Perpetuity can help to guide your thinking. For more information on this project or any other work undertaken by Perpetuity contact Michelle Duffin by email: m.duffin@perpetuitygroup.com or by phone 0116 222 5565.

Findings from the TAC school security report

Perpetuity has been involved in a range of school related projects over recent years including the evaluation of the Safer Schools programme, IMAT (Incident and Mapping Assessment Tool) and Secured Environments. However more recently we have completed a study on school security which involved a survey of over 300 teachers and was supplemented with interviews with educational experts. This study was commissioned by the security company TAC UK in order to determine the level of violence, crime and safety within UK schools.

The study showed that two-thirds of the teachers had been physically or verbally assaulted by pupils in the past year whilst eighteen per cent of teachers had been threatened with a weapon on one or two occasions. Twenty-one per cent of teachers had been verbally or physically assaulted by a parent or guardian in the last year, and six percent by an intruder at the school.

Teachers were not the only victims. At least half of the teachers reported that pupils within their schools had been victimised once a week or more during the past year in the following ways: ‘kicked or tripped’, ‘pushed, shoved, slapped or grabbed’, ‘threatened’ or ‘bullied’.

Meanwhile the majority (57 per cent) of the teachers felt that the level of poor pupil behaviour in their school interfered with their ability to teach. More men (69 per cent) than women (49 per cent) argued that it affected their teaching. Furthermore a similar number (51 per cent) reported that pupils’ abilities to learn were affected by the level of crime and indiscipline in the school.

There were mixed feelings amongst the teachers as to whether they would consider leaving their profession because of violence and abuse; 37 per cent said they would leave, 41 per cent would not leave whilst 22 per cent reported that they may consider it.

Finally the survey revealed that the most common measures taken by schools to reduce crime and fear of crime were anti-bullying programmes, staff surveillance at lunch and break times and strategies to address student discipline. Furthermore less than half of the teachers reported that their schools recorded incidents of crime and disorder.

For more information about this study please contact Kate Broadhurst at k.broadhurst@perpetuitygroup.com or on 0116 222 5555.

Reducing re-offending

Crime can have a devastating effect on the lives of victims, offenders, families, and on communities. More than half of all crime is committed by people who have already been through the criminal justice system and costs society more than £11 billion a year.

Perpetuity Research has been working alongside NOMS and local partners in Leicestershire, Leicester City and Rutland to develop a National Reducing Re-offending Toolkit.

The toolkit provides information and practical guidance towards developing a local Civic Society Alliance to address re-offending. It is based on the journey of the 10 Local Authorities with other CJS partners over the last year who formed a National Demonstration Area for developing a local Civic Society Alliance and as such draws on experience of local practitioners.

With the move to focussing on People and Places, if you would like to know more about how we could help support your local authority tackle re-offending contact Kate Broadhurst: k.broadhurst@perpetuitygroup.com.

Secured Environments

The first ever secondary school was awarded the police approved Secured Environments accreditation. The PFI (Private Funding Initiative) school in Ealing, London was recently been redesigned and as part of that security has been a primary factor. When 23% of teachers believe their school building does not offer the right level of safety and security (Teacher Support Network) the Secured Environments accreditation is an excellent way to ensure that school leaders take the steps needed to ensure that school safety and security are taken seriously.

Arwel Jones, the Headmaster, stated:

‘Brentside High School is very proud to be the first secondary school in the country to have achieved the Secured Environments award. In challenging times it is reassuring for staff and students that they work in a safe and secure environment. We would be delighted to share our success in gaining the award in order to show other schools and institutions that this is an important aspect of our work.’

Crime Prevention Design Advisor Pat Cogan, Ealing Borough Police commented:

‘Brentside is thinking of crime and its consequences, as demonstrated by this essential award, and is putting in measures to minimise the crime risk. The schools management and the London Borough of Ealing’s Education Department should be applauded for taking up the Secured Environments challenge for the benefit of both pupils and staff.’

Secured Environments is a police accredited scheme developed in conjunction with the Association of Chief Police Officers CPI. The scheme is based on six principles which all organisations should meet in order to prevent crime and disorder affecting their staff and premises. To find out more about the scheme simply log onto www.securedenvironments.com.

New work in the South East

Perpetuity have recently embarked on a needs assessment of children and young people under the age of 18 in the South East of England who are members of specific groups particularly vulnerable to developing substance misuse problems. Running alongside this, a service gap analysis of key agencies abilities to meet the needs of vulnerable and diverse groups of young people is also being conducted.

Involving young people is paramount to this piece of work and a number of consultation events are being held to engage them in the process to find out their needs. Findings from both pieces of work will be used to inform future service planning and commissioning.

For more information on this or any other work undertaken by Perpetuity please contact Michelle Duffin by email m.duffin@perpetuitygroup.com or by telephone on 07793 755 762.

CCTV

The recent terrorist activities in London and Glasgow have once again highlighted the value of CCTV in providing identification and intelligence to any major investigation. It must also be recognised that it also assists the Police and other regulatory agencies on a daily basis throughout the country.

So it should be good news to know that we have more CCTV cameras per head of population than any other country in the world. Unfortunately, however, the bad news is that the vast majority of them are badly designed, poorly maintained, unmonitored, stand alone, record only, analogue systems that cannot produce the quality of evidential recordings required.

Many of these systems have grown ‘out of control’ over the years without any long term strategy or effective preventative maintenance agreement in place. They have been perceived as being successful because of the publics overwhelming support for CCTV and the success stories of the good systems that do produce results.

Very few of them have been properly evaluated and many that were funded by the CCTV Challenge Competition are now badly in need of updating to take account of the new technology available.

Therefore it is an ideal time for those in charge of CCTV systems to review their strategies, management systems and specifications. It is also an area where Perpetuity can provide expert advice and support.

Indeed not only can we improve what you have but we can, if appropriate, expand it. For example, we can help CCTV mangers explore the opportunities for partnering to take advantage of the potential economies of scale that can be achieved and to create a state of the art central monitoring station that can extend its monitoring service to include many other premises and services such as schools, leisure centres and NHS Trust properties.

Many of our clients are now taking the opportunity to review their options in relation to CCTV but also how they can integrate other services and identify potential revenue opportunities through effective partnerships. In fact we have just completed a project that did just that and we can provide details to interested parties should they contact us.

We are now entering a new and very exciting phase in the CCTV ‘world’ but to be successful in that ‘world’ CCTV must be very carefully planned and integrated to ensure continued success. For more information contact Peter Speight on p.speight@perpetuitygroup.com.

June 2007

Criminal Damage Evaluation

Criminal damage is often seen as a relatively minor crime, but neglected physical environments are unsafe, cause fear and undermine pride in the local community. It is also a very costly crime with estimated costs to a victim of criminal damage standing at £850. This has been recognised by Stevenage Community Safety Partnership (SCSP) who are implementing a major initiative to deal with the problem, as it is like many other local authorities, one of its highest 'volume' crimes. To ensure the project is a success SCSP have undertaken an evidence based approach and have used Perpetuity's because of our leading expertise in the area.

Perpetuity is providing an evaluation of the initiatives implemented to tackle criminal damage. The research team at Perpetuity provide recommendations and feedback to SCSP at regular intervals, as well as advising on issues such as sustainability, targeting and analysis. In addition, as the project has Home Office support, tracking of the projects ensures that the SCSP fulfils its funding requirements. We expect the work in Stevenage to tackle criminal damage will be used to inform good practice and be disseminated both regionally and nationally.

If you are embarking upon a project to tackle a specific problem or crime in your area then Perpetuity can help guide your strategy. We can help at any stage from designing and devising relevant initiatives, tracking and advising upon project implementation, through to an evaluation of its success and lessons learnt. Evaluation is often written into the funding criteria by funding agencies. Perpetuity's expertise in this area will guide you to ensure that you meet these requirements.

For more information contact Emmeline Taylor e.taylor@perpetuitygroup.com or 0116 222 5562.

The first ever Secured Environments awards

ACPO CPI and Perpetuity have made the first ever Secured Environments Awards under their new security accreditation scheme.

On Tuesday 5th June Church Hill Primary School in East Barnet, North London was the first school in the country to receive a Secured Environments award, while on Tuesday 19th of June the first Secured Environments award to a business was made to Media Outcomes in Kettering.

The Head of the School, Rebecca Mottershead commented: "Everyone at Church Hill Primary is extremely pleased about the award. The school's governors have been very concerned about security issues which they felt weren't taken seriously enough. Achieving this Secured Environments Award has made them feel security is being taken seriously. They have also realised security can be low key yet effective, building a fortress isn't always the best or most effective strategy."

Media Outcomes Senior Partner, Kevin Shapland said the company is delighted to be the first business in the country to achieve the important Secured Environments accreditation.

"The safety and security of our staff, our premises and our clients sits at the top of our list of priorities and it is gratifying to know that the policies and procedures we have in place to ensure this are up to scratch," said Mr Shapland.

"We believe Secured Environments makes an important contribution to business success by helping to focus organisations on an essential area of business activity."

Secured Environments is a quality assurance scheme that will assess organisations to see if they have made security an inherent part of how they are managed. If they pass the standard they will be certified as being secure by the ACPO and awarded the Police Secured Environments Certificate. The first phase of the scheme is aimed at schools and business. For more information go to www.securedenvironments.com or contact 0116 222 5555.

May 2007

Best Value for Business Campaign

The Best Value for Business Campaign emerges from the work of the Security Research Initiative, a three year programme of study focussing on research to improve understanding of the security sector. It is supported by the British Security Industry Association, ASIS International, and The Security Institute, and is sponsored by Advance Security; Case Security; HSBC; Mitie; Johnson Controls; KPMG; Norbain; OCS-Resolution; Spinnaker International; The Corps; Wilson James and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. The three supporting associations and Security Management Today have come together to launch the Best Value for Business Campaign. It has two main aims:

• To highlight the role of security sector professionals in enhancing value to the organisations they work for
  
• To improve the perception of the security sector as a business enhancing service rather than just as a cost on the bottom line.

In the coming year SMT will carry a range of articles. It starts in this issue with an article by Martin Gill, project leader of the SRI. He interviewed security managers in this country and abroad and his findings are striking, including:

• Some security Directors don’t feel that their peer group are up to the challenge of modern day security management.
  
• The focus on appointing former police and military means that business acumen is frequently lost.
  
• Security has the potential to influence all parts of the organisation but typically undervalues its contribution.
  
• Security represents one of the few remaining areas ripe for extracting additional value, yet this is mostly not being exploited.
  

In his report, Martin Gill and colleagues from Perpetuity call for an industry-wide strategy to raise the credibility of security within organisations and amongst society. As a preliminary step the strategy should encompass the key elements likely to provide the quickest wins in raising credibility focussing on education and training, influencing organisations, staffing issues, and creating appropriate industry structures not least to achieve Chartered Status.

For further information please contact Martin Gill on 0116 222 5566 or m.gill@perpetuitygroup.com.

Further details about the report can be found at http://www.perpetuitygroup.com/prci/publications.html#value.

www.securedenvironments.com goes live

The website for the Secured Environments scheme launched on the 12th April is now live. The website provides more information about the scheme and explains the six principles that organisations need to meet in order to be accredited. It also explains the audit process and how to register. There is a comprehensive frequently asked questions page and it also provides an indication of the cost of the audit.

The six principles enable businesses to protect their premises, staff and data by requiring organisations to:

1. Demonstrate commitment to creating a secure environment
   
2. Understand the risks to the organisation
   
3. Respond appropriately to the risks identified
   
4. Project manage responses
   
5. Implement security measures fully
   
6. Monitor and evaluate responses

Secured Environments goes beyond normal security audits and looks at the processes in place to understand the risks to the organisation and ensure that all staff are engaged in creating a secure environment. For more information go to www.securedenvironments.com or contact 0116 222 5555.

Managing graffiti

Currently graffiti and 'etching' are a major financial cost to local authorities, councils, retailers and transport operators. In addition they reduce the quality of the environment and frequently put the offenders at risk of their own lives. Understanding the factors which contribute to and can prevent graffiti is a critical step for building an effective response to manage it. Perpetuity’s knowledge of offender motivation coupled with our experience of both community safety and security management means we can help provide clients with a unique insight into graffiti solutions. Perpetuity has recently being working with a major transport operator to help them to do just that. We are developing with them an approach for tackling graffiti which builds on the successes of their current policies. The transport operator's current graffiti strategies were cross-referenced against our knowledge of graffiti motivation to identify the strengths and weaknesses. More specifically we showed :