Summary
The findings from this report show that the actual incidence of crime, including serious crime, is not the principle factor determining how safe people feel. For the majority, it is their daily experience of antisocial behavior in their immediate neighborhood, on their street or what is happening locally. The key partnerships for addressing crime in England and Wales are the crime and disorder reduction partnerships (CDRPs) and community safety partnerships (CSPs). CDRPs have been targeting resources in problem neighborhoods, but they need to get better at evaluating whether their choice of action represents value for money. Recommendations presented in this report include: (1) CDRP partners should tackle crime and antisocial behavior at the neighborhood level; (2) local government and councils need to contribute to better neighborhood outcomes; (3) central government should support, encourage and enable local partners to tackle neighborhood crime and antisocial behavior; and (4) regulators need to support a neighborhood-focused and joined up approach to service delivery. By most measures, the general trend of crime in England and Wales has been falling nationally since 1995. However, this tends to go unrecognized by the public, whose lives have been affected by crime and antisocial behavior in their communities.