Two ways to build safer, stronger neighbourhoods across Bermuda

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 12: The One Bermuda Alliance’s commitment to making neighbourhoods safe again extends beyond Operation Ceasefire, the anti-gang initiative that has proved successful in several major cities across the United States.

We will also introduce the concept of Crime Mapping and launch a programme called Cash Back for Communities.

Crime Mapping gives people the information they need to know exactly what is going on in their neighbourhoods through the posting of Police community crime maps on the Internet, while Cash Back for Communities will see the proceeds of crime invested back in the community to support programmes geared to at-risk youth.

Right now, crime statistics are made available by the Bermuda Police Service (BPS) on a quarterly basis. They are released to the media, and posted on the BPS web site.

But people need to know more than statistics – they want information about crimes happening in their neighbourhood, and they want that information to be accessible and up-to-date. Posting crime maps will do just that, answering questions that matter most: Will the police stop the drug dealing happening on the wall at the end of my street? What happened after a number of burglaries in my neighbourhood? What’s being done to reduce the presence of gang activity in my neighbourhood?

Crime Maps can help citizens to take appropriate steps for their personal safety.

We know that the Police Service intends to adopt crime mapping technology – it is part of their strategic plan for the years 2012-2015.

But it has no plans to share the maps with the public by posting them on the Internet. An OBA Government would share them because we know they will help residents take appropriate steps to keep their families safe.

Crime mapping has been used effectively in the United Kingdom and the United States. In the UK, the Home Office says its crime mapping website (www.police.uk) was developed to provide the public with access to key crime and policing information in a way that allows them to raise issues or take an active role in tackling crime and anti-social behaviour.

For example, the web site allows people to type in a postal code to find out what crime or anti-social behaviour has been committed in that neighbourhood. It also shows how a crime has been dealt with by the Police or the Courts.

Six months after its launch, the web site had already had 420 million hits, showing – and feeding – a huge appetite for information on crime and what happens to a perpetrator.

We encourage you to visit www.police.uk to see how fresh crime information can be made available in seconds. Imagine how helpful this can be for residents who fear the unknown.

Crime mapping will help all of us better know what’s going on around us. And, as Bermuda can appreciate, an engaged community is the key to public safety.

Cash Back for Communities is a programme that makes crime pay – for the communities affected by it.

Cash Back takes the proceeds of crime, recovered in the Courts, and invests them into community programmes and facilities, and young people who may be at risk of turning to crime and anti-social behaviour as a way of life.

The programme is self-sustaining, with the amount of money available based on the amount seized from the proceeds of criminal activity.

Scotland established its Cash Back for Communities programme in 2007. In the time since, more than 46 million pounds have been recovered from crime and invested in wide-ranging of activities such as:

• Life-changing intervention projects;

• Youth work projects;

• Sporting and community facilities;

• Early parenting programmes;

• Cultural activities and events, involving arts, music and dance.

An OBA Government, working with neighbourhoods, will tailor our Cash Back programme to fit community needs.

Together with Operation Ceasefire and Crime Mapping, the Cash Back programme is another example of how the One Bermuda Alliance will help make our neighbourhoods safe again.

We believe that a strong crime prevention partnership between an OBA Government, the Bermuda Police Service and communities across the Island is the framework within which Operation Ceasefire, crime mapping and Cash Back for Communities can make our streets and homes safer. Working together, sharing information, building relationships and reaching out to those who need help is the key to safe neighbourhoods, and the key to helping people feel safe, secure and confident once more.

• Jeff Baron is Shadow National Security Spokesperson on Public Safety and the OBA candidate for Constituency 21, Pembroke South East.