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Chairs of Local Community Safety Partnerships announced
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The Minister for Justice Helen McEntee announced the appointment of chairpersons to the first 7 Local Community Safety Partnerships being established across the country. These appointments follow expressions of interest conducted by each Local Authority, and the newly appointed Chairs will work to develop and manage Local Community Safety Partnerships (LCSPs) within their respective areas.
The appointment of new chairs is the first step in the development of a Community Safety Plan in every Local Authority Area. Each partnership will develop a plan which meets the needs of their community. It will set out the actions to be taken to improve community safety and allow communities to hold local services accountable for implementation of the plan.
Plans will focus on a range of measures from dealing with anti social behaviour and delivering youth justice measures to improving refuge collection, street lighting and access to services.
Partnerships will be able to apply for funding from the Community Safety Fund which was established by Minister McEntee and ensures that the proceeds of crime seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau are reinvested back into communities.
Speaking at the announcement, Minister McEntee said:
"Today the nationwide roll out of community safety partnerships will begin with the appointment of 7 new chairs. This is a radical new approach to community safety which will empower communities to implement new initiatives to improve local safety and to hold service providers to account on agreed actions. It will bring together the full range of stakeholders in each community, including residents, voluntary groups, public representatives and state agencies.
"At a national level we are taking the necessary measures to significantly grow the size of An Garda Síochána, increase the size of the Garda reserve, increase the use of CCTV, roll out body worn cameras nationwide and introduce facial recognition technology as part of the fight against crime.
“I look forward to the continued successful rollout of the remaining partnerships nationwide in the coming months.”
The Centre for Effective Services (CES) completed its final report evaluating the Local Community Safety Partnership (LCSP) pilot sites, concluding that the LCSP model fits well with the government’s vision for building stronger and safer communities and community safety as a whole of government responsibility with the community voice/involvement as a core feature.
Speaking at the announcement, the Minister also welcomed the publication of the fourth progress report on the Drogheda Implementation Plan:
“In publishing the Implementation Plan three years ago the government agreed to put a special focus on Drogheda. This progress report highlights the Drogheda Implementation Board’s continued success with driving initiatives that are improving community wellbeing and safety in Drogheda and its surrounds.
“I am pleased to say that the Drogheda Implementation Board will continue its work over the coming months as the new permanent Louth Local Community Safety Partnership is established.”