Introduction

An inquiry into community policing in Scotland is to be undertaken by the Justice Committee of the Scottish Parliament.

The remit for the inquiry is:

To review the purpose and effectiveness of community policing in Scotland including consideration of the definition of community policing and the resources currently available for community policing.

Key questions to be addressed in this inquiry include—

• What do the police and other stakeholders (including the Scottish Government, local authorities and the general public) understand by the term ‘community policing’?

• What level of priority do the police and other stakeholders give community policing as compared with other elements of police work?

• Does more emphasis need to be placed on community policing (with more resources being directed to that area)?

• How do services other than police forces contribute to community policing?

• What examples are there of good practice in relation to community policing (both within Scotland and elsewhere)?

• What examples are there of good practice in relation to community warden schemes and other local initiatives which assist in the policing of communities?

• Do community policing initiatives face any common problems (e.g. it has been suggested that officers are likely to be extracted from community policing duties where staffing needs arise in other areas)?

• What impact have community policing initiatives had on: (a) community-police relations; (b) the prevention and detection of both crime and antisocial behaviour; and (c) perceptions of crime and antisocial behaviour within communities (e.g. the ‘fear of crime’)?

• What challenges face communities in articulating their policing needs and what are the views of communities about participating in policing? 

• What different mechanisms are used to engage local communities in policing and what is the perceived effectiveness of these mechanisms from both a police and community perspective?

How to submit written evidence

Please use the specific questions as the basis for your submission.  You may wish to respond to any or all of the specific questions.  Evidence should be reasonably brief and typewritten (normally no more than 4 sides of A4 in total).  Before submitting evidence, please read the section below on “what we will do with your evidence”.

The deadline for receipt of written submissions is 5 May 2008.  Owing to the timescale required for the processing and analysis of evidence, late submissions will only be accepted with the advance agreement of the Convener.

The Committee prefers to receive written submissions electronically. These should be sent to:

policeinquiry@scottish.parliament.uk

You may also make hard copy written submissions to:

Justice Committee

Scottish Parliament

Holyrood

Edinburgh

EH99 1SP

Before you submit evidence, please ensure that you have read our policy for handling information received in response to calls for evidence (pdf 15kb).

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Contact: For specific information on the inquiry, please contact Euan Donald, Assistant Clerk to the Committee, on 0131 348 5047 or email justice.committee@scottish.parliament.uk