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The Community Safety Accreditation Scheme in Devon and Cornwall has grown in the last 20 years to show the benefit of policing designating limited powers to trained personnel working in community safety positions, such as street marshals, wardens and rangers.
The Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly has released a video sharing how the partners are making a big difference in small ways to improve safety in the south west. From locating missing people to confiscating alcohol and keeping the moorland safe, the impact of the Community Safety Accreditation Scheme (CSAS) is shown by shining a spotlight on the work 233 accredited people are carrying out across 37 schemes.
Much of this work is addressing low-level crime and anti-social behaviour, supporting frontline policing and enhancing the safety and wellbeing of local communities. In the last nine months, the CSAS-accredited street marshals carried out 11,732 hours of foot patrols in areas most affected by antisocial behaviour as part of the region’s hot spot policing approach.
“Tone is everything. It’s the way you speak to people. You don’t want to get people’s backs up, but you really want to get your message across when you speak to people,” says Tessa Marie, Environmental Education & Enforcement Officer at Falmouth Town Council who is featured in the video.
Ella Briens, Ranger at Dartmoor National Park Authority is also accredited by the scheme and is shown in the video. “We are always concerned about antisocial behaviour. People don’t always follow the backpack camping rules and associated with that there might be fires which you’re not allowed. People might be sitting around, becoming abusive, drinking. Being able to use CSAS and request names and addresses is key,” she explains.
“I am extremely proud of how the Community Safety Accreditation Scheme is used in so many ways across our two counties, and I believe it should be expanded and extended into every police force and every community.”
PCC Alison Hernandez.
She added that the force is an “exemplar in delegating powers from the Chief Constable to people outside of policing to help keep us safe on the streets.” Devon and Cornwall Police Chief Constable James Vaughan backed this up, adding that the scheme showed the “fantastic people” in action making a difference every day.
To find out more about the Community Safety Accreditation Scheme, visit:
dc.police.uk/CSAS or policecsas.com
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