Co-Production & Anti-Social Behaviour

1. Co-Production & Anti-Social Behaviour “The Woolwich Model”

2. What’s the Woolwich Model? • First aid founded in Woolwich in 1878 • Within a decade it was established around the world • Today, it is a great example of “co-production” • Skills based • Often specialist professional skills • Can be taught to different levels • Anyone can master basic skills quickly • Appeals to a range of motivations • Supported by government and employers

3. Coproduction of public services • Draws together service users, communities and professionals, making use of their pooled resources, expertise and willingness. • Recognising people as assets, equal partners in the design and delivery of services, not passive recipients. • Building on people’s existing capabilities. • Facilitating rather than delivering services. • Empowers communities.

4. What’s the problem? • Anti-social behaviour has fallen • From 17% to 15% seeing it as a problem. • But it remains an issue • Especially in poor communities • Especially for younger people • ASB can do great harm to its victims. • “Signal crime” analysis shows it shapes broader perceptions of crime and safety and trust in police and other services.

5. Why? Decline in community policing and informal social control • For a long time we took the view that police have better things to do with their time • This less true than it was • 51% now say police are dealing with local ASB and crime, up from 47% 2 years ago • But most policing is done beyond the police - societies rely on a high degree of informal self-policing • Perhaps the public and local public service workers and authority figures feel less able to intervene?

6. Unwillingness to intervene is certainly seen to be an issue • We have become a walk-on-by nation Louise Casey, 2008 • We need to generate an environment in which people are able to have the confidence to intervene. The more we are able to generate that confidence, the more people will feel confident about intervening with kids on the street corner Theresa May, April 2010 • Only 30% of Britons would feel confident intervening to stop 14 year olds vandalising a bus stop compared to 60% of Germans

7. Why are people reluctant to intervene? • Changing culture of public service workforce? • Fewer authority figures? • Targets, contracting out, etc? • Decline in local social capital and shared identities? • Increasing uncertainty about when it is appropriate to intervene - embarrassment • “The state won’t support me if I intervene” • “In 2007 Wendy Challis-Jones, a former traffic warden, was arrested on suspicion of assault after she chased and caught a suspected bicycle thief in York. She was held in a police cell for 10 hours before being released without charge” BBC • “I could get hurt” • On the night in 1997 that Mr Newlove was fatally attacked he had walked out of his home to speak to a gang of youths who he believed had been vandalising his wife Helen's car BBC

8. Perhaps Woolwich-style training could help Three skills • How to read a situation and assess risk • How to deal with a potentially violent or violent situation • How to get out • How to defend oneself or others • How to mediate and defuse - “conflict resolution”

9. DFuse • A young charity set up to teach community safety skills: • in schools, the workplace and the community • using qualified police trainers and hostage negotiators • www.dfuse.org.uk

10. At whom would training be aimed? • Public service workforce - especially public realm workforce • Other authority figures - shop keepers, publicans, etc • Local residents - civilian patrols (egStreetwatch) • Children and young people • A range of motives could prompt people to gain skills • Desire to protect oneself and family • Public spirit • Career enhancement • Recall that people are relatively willing to get involved in supporting community safety services (Ipsos-Mori)

11. What would need to be in place to make it a success? • Locally agreed, clearly articulated expectations • Supportive police and local services

12. What is to be said for it? • It could help deal with ASB and lessen concern about it • It is cheap • In the spirit of the times - Big Society in action. • It could help support a broader culture of mediation and restoration. • Part of the first aid family, but also part of the Community justice and Restorative Justice family

13. Next Steps • Dfuseworking with Victim Support further to pilot training in defusing skills • RSA is working with Dfuse to promote and evaluate evaluate this appraoch • In New Cross as part of the RSA‟s connected communities project • In Peterborough and elsewhere in Partnership with “Streetwatch” scheme. • These skills to be part of core offer of new “Citizens’ Universities” pioneered by Young Foundation

14. Presentation by Ben Rogers in partnership with RSA given at Creating Safer and Stronger Communities in the Big Society Conference on Wednesday 23rd March 2011 at The Charring Cross Hotel London. Based on “The Woolwich Model: Can Citizens tackle Anti-Social Behaviour?” by Ben Rogers For Further information on the Woolwich Model Visit :http://rogersben.co.uk for information regarding the RSA please visit http://www.thersa.org