Clear Roles and Responsibilities
Everybody works better together when they understand what their responsibilities are and the role that they are expected to play in the partership. It has already been outlined that there is added benefit in securing the active involvement of co-operating bodies and invitees in the partnership and that representation from the responsible authorities must be senior enough to commit resources and make decisions on behalf of their home organisation. Where partnering and cooperating bodies sit on on the partnership and county strategy group, these representatives would also benefit from the ability to make key decisions and commit resources.
While there is not space here to outline all the different contributions that could be made by the different agencies involved in partnerships, an example is given below in relation to Primary Care Trusts (in England) and Local Health Boards (in Wales).
Primary Care Trusts and Local Health Boards have an important role not only in reducing crime, including violent crime, domestic violence, theft and burglaries, but also in tackling the misuse of alcohol, drugs and other substances. Some crimes are closely linked to alcohol or drug use but even when this is not the case, Primary Care Trusts and Local Health Boards may work with others in the partnership, for example to support the victims of domestic violence. Even when no crime is committed, Primary Care Trusts and Local Health Boards arrange for the provision of health advice or treatment for people who put themselves or others at risk through their use of drugs or alcohol. They may also work with other local partners to help prevent problems occurring in the first place, for example by alerting the police to licensed premises where a lot of alcohol-related injuries occur.
Particular roles and responsibilities of the Primary Care Trust/Local Health Board representative on the partnership might, therefore, include:
- Sharing information about the scale of substance misuse, violent crime or domestic violence.
- Suggesting how agencies could work together to combat these issues, for example through considering the licensing of local premises or the provision of accommodation or jobs to substance misusers.
- Monitoring the effect of interventions on the uptake of health services as an indication of the effect on un-reported community safety issues.
