Working with the community safety sector, we have developed a range of toolkits and resources that will assist local planning and decision making. We also host some useful tool kits and resources from our partners in the Community Safety Sector.

If you would like assistance or more information on any of the toolkits, please contact us at info@scsn.org.uk

Community Safety Calendar 2023

We’ve produced a calendar of notable awareness days/weeks/months in Community Safety for 2023. The calendar also provides (where possible) links to webpages where you can find out more, including how to get involved!  

We’ve listed as many awareness days/weeks/months as currently possible – but will update the calendar as new listings are announced, so do check for updates throughout the year.

Download the Community Safety Calendar here.

Community Safety Partnership Resource Toolkit

We are delighted to share with you our 2021 Community Safety Partnership Resource Pack.

In the summer of 2021 the Scottish Community Safety Network (SCSN) contacted Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) across Scotland to request information on their governance, structure, membership and partnership arrangements.

From this request, we collected data from a sample of around a third of CSPs in Scotland, reviewed the key documents submitted from CSPs and conducted interviews to build a picture of the current arrangements in Scotland.

After analysis of the data, other research materials – and use of our own knowledge and expertise – we identified several key themes and areas which CSPs might benefit from exploring further.

Our pack discusses these findings and considerations, as well as offering guidance and resources and we hope it will prove a useful tool for CSPs in the continued development of their services.

Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have further questions on this work or any requests.

Download the pack here.

Home Safety Map

Developed in partnership with RoSPA, this map illustrates research into common, avoidable hazards in our homes. It highlights tragic causes of injury and death, specific to pre-school children and adults over 65. This resource is for everyone but should be of particular interest to parents and carers. We want all citizens in Scotland, young and old to be safe and aware at home.

Download the Map here.

Climate Change & Community Safety Zine

Following our online workshop titled, ‘Thinking about Climate Change & Community Safety’, we committed to utilising an experienced graphic designer to summarise the findings from our event in an engaging, easy to understand, illustrated format – and to share this widely throughout our network, including online.

Our Climate Change & Community Safety Zine summarises the findings and discussion from our event on five key impacts of climate change that we’d identified:

  • Rainfall & Flooding;
  • Heatwaves;
  • Coastal Erosion;
  • Pests and INNS;
  • and Extreme Weather

You can read or download our ‘Climate Change & Community Safety’ Zine here.

Measuring What Matters

In 2019, the Scottish Community Safety Network (SCSN) and Evaluation Support Scotland (ESS) brought together practitioners from across the sector to develop an evaluation framework to help those working in the field to have a better understanding about their outcomes and how to measure what matters in their work to prevent unintentional harm.

With valuable input from the working group, we produced a draft framework which sets out:

  • Suggested short- and medium-term outcomes which typically show the difference practitioners make
  • Example indicators that practitioners can realistically expect to achieve and measure
  • Steps to keep in mind when choosing or design evaluation methods

SCSN and ESS offered practitioners the opportunity to use the framework and get some support with this process. If you think your current evaluation approach doesn’t measure what matters or show the wider impact of your work, or want to know more about this – email us at info@scsn.org.uk

You may wish to check out previous Measuring What Matters Case Studies here.

View our instructional video here.

Evidencing Impact through Continuous Programme Review

In the current financial climate we now have to demonstrate the wider, often crosscutting, impact of our initiatives. The Evidencing Impact through Continuous Programme Review toolkit will guide users on telling the whole story through the use of quantitative (statistics), the cost benefits (financial) and the impact (wider benefits).

Download the toolkit here.

Preventative Spend Cost Benefit Toolkit

Our Cost Benefit toolkit is an excellent resource that enables officers to evidence not only the cost benefits of initiatives and projects, but also how they have contributed financially to preventing public sector spending. This toolkit is the first to draw on all the available data on the economic cost per unit of community safety data in Scotland and can be used to evaluate the cost-benefit of preventative spend investment.

For more information, click on the links below;

In addition, SCSN have pulled together some project examples which may be of interest:

Community Safety Partnership (CSP) Self-Assessment Toolkit

With the assistance of ‘Rocket Science’, SCSN have developed a toolkit designed specifically for CSP’s, but of value to all partnership groups. The resource facilitates partnerships to measure their strengths and weaknesses and identify potential areas for development across seven areas;

  • Focus and impact
  • Partnership working
  • Strategic coherence
  • Planning and delivery
  • Review, reflect and refine
  • Capturing performance
  • Personal roles

SCSN  will coordinate the whole process and provide an independent anonymised report based on partners responses. To find out more contact us at info@scsn.org.uk

Public Space CCTV Camera Assessment 

The National Strategy for Public CCTV in Scotland recommends that CCTV services should be periodically reviewed. This toolkit is based on the process which South Lanarkshire Council adopted to assess individual public space CCTV cameras, but can be easily adapted to suit local need and demand.

Public Space CCTV Appendices A,B and C (CCTV Camera Scoring Matrix, Example Evaluation Matrix and CCTV Camera Scoring Criteria)

Using and Handling Intelligence Data

Information sharing is key to the delivery of better, more efficient public services that are coordinated around the needs of communities and individuals. It is essential to direct early intervention and preventative work, and to effectively tackle local community safety issues and safeguard individuals.

This guidance document aims to support partnerships to ensure that data is shared, used and stored in compliance with existing legislation to support the above principles.

Information Sharing Protocol

Information sharing protocols form an agreement between agencies and partner organisations to  share appropriate data and information for a specific task or initiative. This template has been developed to support the production of local information sharing protocols and includes details on:

  • The principles underpinning information sharing
  • The general purposes for information sharing
  • The responsibilities and commitments of partners to this agreement
  • The arrangements for monitoring and review

Following the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May 2018, we have produced this useful Briefing Paper, specifically giving guidance on GDPR for community safety partnerships.