Community safety

Together with Equalities, Health and Sustainability, Community Safety is one of the London Development Agency's (LDA) four cross-cutting themes.

A degraded and unsafe physical environment; high levels of anti-social behaviour; lack of social capital and cohesion; and crime and fear of crime all act as inhibitors to sustainable social, economic and environmental development.

Our regional strategic role, working with partners from the public, private and third sectors, helps to tackle economic and social disadvantage, which is a major contributory factor to the incidence of crime and disorder and has broad and positive impacts on community safety.

In March 2006 the LDA, at the invitation of the Mayor, voluntarily adopted Section 17 (S.17) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. 

In July 2006, following the review of the Mayor's powers, a recommendation was made and endorsed that the GLA Group members not currently having statutory duties with respect to S.17 (Greater London Authority, LDA, Transport for London) should statutorily adopt an enhanced S.17 as amended by the Police and Justice Act 2006.

This gives the LDA a statutory duty to observe "the need to do all that it reasonably can to prevent, (a) crime and disorder in its area (including anti-social and other behaviour adversely affecting the local environment); and (b) the misuse of drugs, alcohol and other substances in its area".

The Mayor's priority is to promote community safety and reduce crime and disorder. There is a symbiotic relationship between safer, stronger and more cohesive communities.

A range of agencies, including the central role played by the third sector, as well as the private and public sectors, have a major role to play in building economic capital as well as social capital and cohesion.

In order to maximise promotion of community safety, and stronger and more cohesive communities as part of sustainable social, economic and environmental development we aim to:

• embed community safety and the promotion of stronger and more cohesive communities in the mainstream of all our activity in line with the Mayor’s Economic Development Strategy four investment themes: Places and Infrastructure; Supporting People; Enterprise; Marketing and Promoting London.
• promote examples of best practice, particularly with regard to physical regeneration and the use of tools such as Secured By Design and the value added that can be achieved from promoting models of community asset-based regeneration.
• work closely in key areas of activity with our partners and stakeholders, particularly fellow members of the GLA Group (for example, Transport for London where infrastructure projects include transport routes and infrastructure; Metropolitan Police local borough command in order to link Safer Neighbourhoods teams with area regeneration projects).

In addition, the LDA has the lead role for Community Safety and Crime Reduction with the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice; and for the Voluntary and Community Sector with the Cabinet Office, Office of the Third Sector; for England’s Regional Development Agencies.