Northgate calls for integrated partnership to increase public confidence
Thursday, 06 May, 2010
An integrated partnership which focuses on the prevention of crime could promote public trust and release valuable resources for frontline policing, claims Northgate Public Services today.
Responding to the Northern Ireland Office's consultation Local Partnership Working on Policing and Community Safety, Northgate welcomes the plan to integrate two separate local partnerships - Community Safety Partnerships and District Policing Partnerships - into a single partnership, the Crime Reduction Partnership.
Northgate argues that local authorities working in conjunction with the police services are key to the new partnership's success. They will identify local issues of concern for the Crime Reduction Partnership. Northgate says that this will help to promote neighbourhood policing, making services more responsive and enhancing public trust in policing. The company also says that new powers from 2011 will mean that local authorities can ensure the partnerships' actions link effectively into community planning.
Northgate argues that the integration of the partnership will open up new opportunities for services to be redesigned around the needs of citizens and their local communities. The organisation says that by joining up back office functions, and reducing an overlap in services, the partnerships can ensure that more resources can be diverted to frontline services.
Ian Blackhurst, Managing Director of Public Safety at Northgate Public Services, said today: "Promoting public confidence is key to delivering continually improving neighbourhood policing in Northern Ireland. By integrating the two partnerships, citizens will gain from better services with less resources. At a time when public services are so hard pressed, these proposals are all about providing more effective and efficient policing that is truly accountable and responsive to the needs of the people of Northern Ireland."
