A Local Action Team is defined as:

“A group of people who live in a neighbourhood and who come together on a regular basis to help resolve crime, disorder, anti-social behaviour and safety problems that are of mutual concern”.

Essentially this is a group of community champions who can identify and analyse the causes to local problems and provide the basis for an effective local strategy which agrees on priorities and generates ideas. The group can then make it happen by the application of a simple action plan which commissions work of agencies such as the Police, local authority and other service providers and involves local people to resolve the problem”

The key points of this are;

• A small group of community champions and service providers as required or requested.

• Who identify crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour problems in their neighbourhood.

• Analyses the causes to local problems

• Agrees on priorities

• Generates ideas and appraises options

• Decides an action plan which commissions the work of other agencies, including the Police, to resolve the problem.

Local Priorities

The local priorities are decided at each Forum (LAT) meeting. The priorities should fall into the S.M.A.R.T. acronym.

S – Specific

M – Measurable

A – Achievable

R – Relevant

T – Time Based

This in turn means that the local priorities should be

Specific – Well defined and clear to anybody who looks at them

Measurable – How will we know when the priority has been achieved and what will be the agreed level of success?

Achievable – Is the desired outcome achievable by all involved?

Relevant – Does the priority reflect current problems in the Wish and Westbourne Neighbourhoods? Is this something that as a group we can have an impact on? Do we have the necessary skills and knowledge to tackle the priority?

Time Based – Is there enough time to achieve the desired outcome? When will we reach the desired outcome? Does the issue happen at certain times of the day/week?

Currently at each Local Action team meeting, 3 priorities are decided. These priorities as well as being minuted are also published on the Sussex Police Website under the local PCSO’s blog.

These priorities have to be updated on the Sussex Police website every month.

Forum Local Priorities.

Here are some possible examples;

“There are problems with underage youths drinking alcohol in the Park on a Friday night from 8pm onwards”.

This action plan could, as an example be;

The community, Brighton and Hove City Council and the Police would all be involved, thus commissioning the work of other agencies, including the Police, to resolve the problem.

“There are a number of untaxed cars ”

This priority falls within the S.M.A.R.T acronym as details above. An action plan could include;

This would be measurable through the number of CLE2/6 report forms issued, the number of vehicles that are clamped by the DVLA and the number of vehicles removed as abandoned.

How to decide the priorities.

The overall deciding factors on what a priority should be are:

Summary

In any case, a priority should not be carried over for more than 3 consecutive Local Action Team Meetings.

Bike train comes to Brighton

Lewes Road is one of the busiest roads in Brighton and Hove. In an effort to reduce the number of cars a procession of cyclists known as a bike train, will journey from The Level to Falmer during rush hour.

The Sussex Neighbourhood Watch Federation have recently made Liam Mandville, chair of Brunswick & Regency Neighbourhood Action, Coordinator for the Friends of Bedford square FoBSwatch, the area coordinator for Brighton West.
This will enable all the groups within the BN1/2/3 postcode area to email concerns or questions to the committee meetings held regularly and liaise with the NPT to spread  reports to members.