The Community Impact Statement Christine Graham

1. The Community Impact Statement Christine Graham Kerry Clare, Welwyn Hatfield Community Housing Trust Lorraine Telford, Crown Prosecution Service

2. When should it be used? • In legal proceedings • to emphasise the impact of harm to the community • In case management • To support evidence based decision making based on harm caused to the community • To test for reasonableness and appropriateness of action • In partnership problem solving • To highlight the wider impact of ASB to partner agencies • To ensure accountable bodies are aware of the impact of the ASB • To encourage all partners to contribute to solutions

3. What does it include? • Summary of ASB • Key details of ASB • Background information • A short paragraph to identify who in the community has been affected by ASB and how the information has been gathered

4. What does it include? • Community profile • This seeks to describe the community that is being affected by ASB • Harm caused to the community • Capture the wider impact as opposed to individual impact which will be covered elsewhere • Give each community harm an appropriate title and focus on that particular harm – where possible, include the number of people affected by a particular harm

5. What does it include? • Impact on community resources • Make sure you also identify indirect harm such as: • Increased cost of service provision eg extra security • Impact on sustainable communities eg lettings problems, failed tenancies, neighbourhood decline • Additional resource requirements eg private security patrols • Include statistics such as costs, and perception survey results if they are available and relevant to the case

6. Examples of good Community Harm Statements • Use individual harm statements in each witnesses statement to the Court focusing on:- • the impact on themselves • their family • their health • everyday living, etc • Complement this with impact statement in each professional’s statement to the Court focusing on:- • impact on residents unwilling/unable to come to Court • reasons why they are unwilling/unable

7. Examples of good Community Harm Statement (cont’d) • on the community including overview of the community make-up • the service being provided • Resources If appropriate a separate impact statement providing more general information about the area, the impact on other agencies, the community including non-residential areas. This is particularly useful when there are limited witnesses.

8. When a Community Impact Statement would have been useful • Post-conviction ASBO pitfalls • Timing • Access to prosecutor • End of protracted proceedings • Content • Detailed Description of Behaviour schedule • Case summary • Community Impact Statement

9. When a Community Impact Statement would have been useful • Community Impact Statement – when and why? • Selling the ASBO • Minor offending • Beating the mitigation