New partnerships target anti-social behaviour and drug dealing 

Under the bill, community safety is not just the job of An Garda Síochána and other statutory bodies have a legal obligation in this area. Picture: Dan Linehan

New interventions tackling antisocial behaviour and street-level drug dealing are among the programmes that pilot local partnerships have introduced, according to an independent evaluation.

A survey of Local Community Safety Partnerships (LCSP) found midway through a two-year pilot that “a growing” number of members believed the project was improving community awareness of local safety activities and in identifying local safety issues.

The interim evaluation report said there was a consistent view among LCSP members that the new structure — recommended by the 2018 Policing Commission — was “a marathon not a sprint” and that the pilot was about embedding it in the three pilot communities.

The three pilots — Dublin North Inner City, Waterford and Longford — will inform a national rollout of the scheme, which will be legislated for in the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill, currently going through the Oireachtas.

Under the bill, community safety is not just the job of An Garda Síochána and other statutory bodies — such as local authorities, the HSE and Tusla — have a legal obligation in this area.

The interim evaluation, conducted by the Centre for Effective Services at University of Limerick, highlighted community safety interventions implemented so far:

• Antisocial behaviour (ASB) and arson — co-ordinating four agencies to “stem ASB and fire starting” targeting teenagers in two suburban housing estates;
• ASB on street drug dealing — five agencies involved in targeting local residents and individuals involved in ASB and on-street drug dealing in a local authority complex, which included the erection of a wall to prevent access to residential areas;
• Halloween-related ASB and bonfires — six agencies targeted young people and families in a ‘Safer Halloween’ campaign providing alternatives to bonfires in local estates and activities to prevent ASB.

There were calls from members for “ringfenced funding” for LCSPs, as well as a whole-of-Government commitment to the project.

Some members said agencies should be “obliged” to engage and not just simply invited to participate.

The report said: “There is a need for additional dedicated resources and competency to meet the administrative, research, data gathering and monitoring tasks of the LCSP.”

It said the role of co-ordinator was “pivotal” in driving and doing the work of the LCSP, but added: “The results point to overload in this role, and this requires attention.”