SCSN Publications are produced through research with our member organisations. They provide a snapshot of where community safety in Scotland is at and how the community safety sector is contributing to the national agenda and national drivers.

Joint Working Arrangements between Community Justice & Community Safety (2022)

Recent years have seen significant reform, legislation and policy changes that have impacted local community justice (CJ) and community safety (CS) practices in Scotland, in response to which, several local authority areas (‘areas’) have commenced the implementation of joint CJ and CS working arrangements.

These arrangements can range from a fully joint CJ and CS partnership to the occasional joint project. Aims and process of the research In a bid to learn more about these new ways of working, Community Justice Scotland (CJS) and the Scottish Community Safety Network (SCSN) have undertaken joint research to:

  • find out more about what the drivers have been for joint working arrangements between CJ and CS;
  • find out where and how these joint working arrangements are operating; and
  • produce case studies that feature some of the various ways in which joint working arrangements are being used by different areas across Scotland.

The impetus for this work was also the shared outcomes between the fields of CJ and CS and their common values, including a commitment to prevention, a focus on supporting people, and a belief in collaboration.

Download Supplementary Paper 1: Methodology

Download Supplementary Paper 2: Case Studies

Water Safety Signage Audit Report (2022)

This report, in partnership with Water Safety Scotland & the RNLI, outlines research carried out in 2022 into water safety signage across Scotland. The research is a ‘snapshot’ of the current signage in place across key areas of owned land in Scotland.

Causation Factors of Unintentional Harm in the Home (2021)

Every year there are 6000 deaths in the UK as a result of accidents in or around the home as well as 2.7 million people a year requiring a hospital visit. A UK government report published in 2018 stated that accidents at home are a leading cause of preventable death for children under five years and are a major cause of ill health and serious disability.

Children living in the most deprived areas are most at risk and there is a 38% greater risk of hospital admissions for a preventable injury. Older people are also at an increased risk of injury and death; and falls are the major reason of hospitalisation for older people.

Scottish Community Safety Network (SCSN) commissioned a rapid literature review which aimed to explore and understand contributory factors to unintentional harm in the home and the initiatives that help to reduce them.

View the data extraction table here.

Experiences & Perceptions of Community Safety (2020)

‘Experiences and Perceptions of Community Safety in Scotland’, produced by Robyn Bailey, Social Researcher for the Scottish Government, was commissioned by SCSN as part of the Scottish Government’s analytical exchange programme. The research was launched at a webinar on 1st December 2020 with practitioners from across the community safety sector in Scotland.

Community Safety Research: Main Street Consulting (2020)

final reports (including a summary report) for four research projects we commissioned from MainSt Consulting around Community Safety earlier this year. These projects built on previous research into the emerging landscape and future opportunities for Community Safety.

The four projects focussed on:

  • Describing the components of a modern and effective Community Safety Partnership (CSP), and the skills required to deliver it.
  • Identifying what makes a safe community mapping how the relationships across the partners can support safer communities.
  • Exploring the use of evidence in community safety and considering what evidence-informed planning might look like in Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) of the future.
  • Understanding what people with protected characteristics (or under-represented groups more generally) think about community safety in Scotland.

Covid 19 Surveys

SCSN identified key trends and emerging data pertaining to community safety issues in the early part of the Covid pandemic. We collated all of this and are used it to keep track of emerging issues for safer communities and how the pandemic was affecting people over time. We shared this information with community safety partners in case it was of use to their local planning and response processes too. You can read the first part of the Survey here.

We completed a second round of surveys with Community Safety Partnerships, Elected Members and Community Council Chairs. Download these surveys here:

The Scottish Picture of Antisocial Behaviour (ASB) 2020

The research looks at ASB in terms of how common it is, which types are most common, who is engaging in it and what is driving it. Produced by Robyn Bailey, Social Researcher for the Scottish Government was commissioned as part of our ongoing conversation around a ‘new dialogue’ on ASB in Scotland and facilitated as part of the Scottish Government’s Analytical Exchange Programme for third sector organisations.

Public Space CCTV in Scotland: Current landscape and future opportunities (2019)

In 2019 the Scottish Community Safety Network (SCSN) commissioned a piece of work to review Public Space Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) in Scotland.  The research project reviews the current landscape for Public Space CCTV across Scotland and identifies some future opportunities in terms of Community Safety outcomes.  COSLA, Scottish Government, Police Scotland and Neighbourhood Watch Scotland are all parties of interest in this work and comprise the project advisory board. Thanks also to the Perform Green team who undertook the research.

View the Perform Green Summary Report here.

Read the SCSN Executive Commentary here.

Developing a Community Safety Narrative for Scotland (2019)

SCSN were delighted to have Tricia Spacey seconded to work between SCSN and the Scottish Government from late 2018 into early 2019, during which time she produced this report.

The 2018 report ‘Community Safety – the emerging landscape and future opportunities’ outlined and discussed the current challenges facing community safety in Scotland, and recommended that the development a community safety narrative would help local and national organisationsand practitioners better understand the current community safety landscape.

This paper begins to develop this narrative following a series of discussions between October 2018 and March 2019 with national policy leads and local practitioners working in community safety and related policy areas.   The paper is intended to prompt further discussion and thinking around these issues to help support local community safety partners to enhance their understanding of current and emerging policy areas and work streams that are relevant to community safety, and increase awareness among those who are working within other policy areas of the importance of ‘thinking with community safety in mind’.

Community Safety – the emerging landscape and future opportunities (2018)

A joint report by SCSN, the Building Safer Communities Programme and COSLA considering the national and local context of Community Safety, setting out key Principles for a Community Safety Narrative, and identifying and exploring future opportunities.

Safer Communities and Lasting Legacies (2016)

SCSN has recently been working closely with Network Rail in the delivery of small grants that support cross cutting issues and have just produced a comprehensive report on the contributions these projects have made to national strategies and frameworks.

Community Safety and the National Agenda (2014)

The focus of this research was on identifying current local practices that contribute to the national agenda, in particular the Justice Strategy for Scotland.

A current view of Community Safety Partnerships in Scotland (2013)

This research sought to identify what impact public sector reform was having on community safety partnerships and focused in particular on funding, partner commitment and tasking and information sharing.

A Current View of Community Safety in Scotland (2012)

The purpose of this research was to build an up to date and comprehensive evidence base of current structures and existing practice in the community safety sector in Scotland in order to begin building an evidence base of what works and why.

History and Context of Community Safety in Scotland (2011)

This guidance note aims to provide a basic history and context of community safety in Scotland. It is not intended to be an in-depth guide but rather to provide the reader with an understanding of community safety in the Scottish context. A more in-depth account is detailed in the e-learning module which is available here.