Crewe and Nantwich Citizens' Assembly

They were asked to take part in three face-to-face workshops accompanied by two online workshops, where they explored their views and their expectations for local policing and crime in their area.

In addition to sharing their views on crime and policing, assembly members received information about the different types of local policing and the difficult decisions that have to be made when allocating police resources. This enabled the assemblies to have open and honest discussions.

Testimonials

Nantwich is lovely. It has everything, it’s beautiful but that’s during the daytime. Nantwich at night-time is a different town.
Crewe and Nantwich participant

If you walk from Asda to B&M [in Crewe], there’s no shops and a big gap so there’s no-one around. You feel unsafe.
Crewe and Nantwich participant

Initial priorities

During the first face-to-face workshop the assembly decided that the top local priorities for the area would be:

• More police on the street – perceptions were that the police were “invisible” and “inaccessible”. This was further fuelled by national stories of fewer officers on the streets, alongside assembly member’s own experiences of reporting crime and what they’ve seen in their area.

“You don’t see a presence. When I was younger, you’d see two in town. You don’t see them anymore. You’d see a cop car at least every so often.”

• Cracking down on low-level crime (e.g. anti-social behaviour, theft and drugs – the feeling was low-level crimes were rife across the area

“Where I live, there is a lot of shop theft, but the police never follow up with that kind of thing.”

• Less bureaucracy – seeing police time freed up to do more of the things that matter to the local community – e.g. responding to call outs quickly. Perception is that police are too tied up with paperwork.
• Prevention-focused policing through increased police presence – to deter crime and educate young people (those who were viewed to commit the most crime).

The journey

Learning more about the nature of crime and policing helped assembly members develop a deeper understanding of the challenges facing the police.

During the Crewe and Nantwich citizens’ assembly process, the participants developed a new appreciation of the challenges faced by the police and the opportunities available.

This has helped to reassure some participants’ initial concerns about a visible police presence and informed their deliberation when setting the final priorities for their area.

The following considerations were pivotal in informing the participants final priorities for policing:

• Appreciate the complexity of the local crime landscape
• Recognising the challenges involved in resourcing the police
• Hearing more about police working in partnership with other organisations
• Developing an understanding of why backroom functions (like paperwork) matter
• Seeing the value in longer-term solutions as opposed to quick fixes
• Deepening the understanding of the possible interventions that aid crime prevention

Participants felt:

• A greater appreciation of the complexity of the local crime landscape
• Greater empathy for the resourcing challenges faced
• Greater understanding of collaborative work with other organisations
• Appreciation of the importance of paperwork and how it feeds into ‘visible policing’
• Recognition that long-term solutions could address more pressing concerns
• Additional support for alternative interventions, rehabilitations and restorative prevention techniques

Final priorities

During the final assembly, the participants settled on the below three local priorities.

• An accessible and responsive police force – not just about police visibility (although still important), but to ensure the police have the skills and technology to combat complex time.

“If you start off by tackling the root causes of crime, but also have an accessible and responsive police force, you’re tackling it at both ends.”

• Investing in long-term solutions to challenges: intervention and tech – participants were compelled by different prevention initiatives and agreed this was an important priority to have.

“Prevention. Prevention. Prevention. You may solve more crimes by allocating budget to detection and response, but that will never reduce crime rates.”

• Cultural shift within policing e.g. displaying greater empathy to victims – to feel confident that their police force is equipped with both the hard and soft skills to engage with the public well and tackle crime effectively.

“We’re all from different walks of life and interactions [with police] aren’t always great… they should have that [interacting with the public] as part of their training.”