Working with the Police

The Police approached R2 and asked to establish a Community Safety Working group. This is co-led by R2 and the local Inspector of Community Policing.

While still in its early days, it has helped local third sector organisations understand how the Police work and get information about local Policing strategies that address local concerns. Police officers are clear and consistent in their messages about minimising harm to those, particularly young people, who may have been exploited by organised criminals and the wider community. This helps third sector organisations know what to expect if they are working with a resident who needs to deal with the Police.

R2’s anti racism working group is starting some research to explore why people don’t report hate crimes in partnership with Police and University colleagues. We want to understand barriers to reporting and give public sector colleagues better data to inform how they plan their service delivery. We will use the findings from this work to develop our working relationships with Police colleagues and help them understand what local residents think needs to change to increase reporting rates.