The Safer Sutton Partnership Service: Blueprint for the Future?

Abstract

The Safer Sutton Partnership Service (SSPS) is a unique partnership between the London Borough of Sutton and the Metropolitan Police Service. It brings staff together within a single structure and provides services in the field of community safety, and tackling drugs and alcohol abuse. This paper looks at the history of SSPS and its likely future in the light of the continued reduction in resources, the community safety fund no longer being ringfenced and the election of Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs). It concludes that this could lead to fundamental changes in police structures and behaviour, e.g. the possibility that some PCCs could be tempted to seek political popularity and reelection by giving lower priority to community safety partnerships, on the grounds that solving crime is more popular than preventing crime. Based upon SSPS’ success over many years, the paper aims to show that partnership services such as SSPS give extremely good value for money and their use should be extended rather than curtailed.