A number of strategic objectives have been established for PCSPs. These help ensure that the PCSPs are focusing on the issues that matter most within local communities.
Strategic Priority 1 – To ensure effective delivery in response to local need, and improve the visibility and recognition of the work of the PCSP through effective consultation, communication and engagement through:
- carrying out meaningful engagement in the district with the local community, relevant statutory partners / agencies, businesses and the community & voluntary sector in the development and implementation of PCSP Action Plans;
- ensuring ongoing two-way engagement in the district with the local community, relevant statutory partners / agencies, businesses and the community & voluntary sector to provide a problem-solving forum to identify effective solutions to local issues, ensuring sufficient flexibility to address issues as they emerge, and seeking relevant expertise from the designated organisations as appropriate;
- using a range of platforms, including multi-media, to communicate and promote the work of the PCSP; and
- increasing awareness of the work of the PCSP.
Strategic Priority 2 – To improve community safety by prioritising and addressing local community safety issues, tackling crime and anti-social behaviour through:
- utilising the partnership created by the statutory, elected and independent/ community membership of the PCSP to initiate and lead work to improve community safety and tackle ASB locally;
- working in partnership to develop outcome and locality focused interventions to address the most pressing crime types and behaviours impacting local community safety, as evidenced by local need, with appropriate targets and indicators so that impacts can be measured;
- drawing on best practice, promote early intervention and collaborating effectively to improve PCSP-supported projects and programmes that address the underlying causes of ASB, crime and the fear of crime in the community, including, where appropriate, a focus on changing behaviours;
- enhancing safety and feelings of safety, in particular for those who might be more vulnerable;
- engaging with partners in the district, to horizon scan in order to respond to and re-direct resources to respond to emerging local community safety issues;
- having cognisance of the Community Safety Framework in developing local plans, and providing a feedback loop to the Community Safety Board on local issues in order to inform community safety policy development – and vice versa; and
- providing comprehensive community input into decision making processes about tackling actual and perceived anti-social behaviour and giving feedback to the community on the effectiveness of interventions on meeting outcomes.
Strategic Priority 3 – To support confidence in policing, including through collaborative problem solving with communities through:
- ensuring local accountability through the Policing Committee’s role in monitoring police performance;
- identifying priorities from the PCSP Plan for consideration in the development of the local Policing Plan which are consistent with the Northern Ireland Policing Plan;
- providing views to the District Commander through the Policing Committee and supporting the PSNI to engage with the community to identify and address local problems;
- delivering initiatives that link to identified local problems that impact confidence in policing;
- carrying out meaningful local events aimed at increasing PSNI engagement with local communities to build and strengthen public confidence in policing;
- delivering PCSP initiatives in the hardest to reach communities;
- providing a platform for the PCSP and PSNI to engage with young people, including on the themes of upholding the rule of law, and of ways of increasing confidence in policing; and
- building community confidence in the rule of law by helping mitigate the harm caused to people and communities by paramilitarism, criminality and organised crime consistent with wider Programme for Government objectives and through use of co-design principles, where appropriate.