Key Progress and Learning to Date

The project is nearing the end of the fieldwork phase and is on course to conclude this financial year as planned. The four areas participating in the Project are as follows: Letham in Perth; Irvine Fullarton in North Ayrshire; Levenmouth in Fife; and Wick in Highland. A summary of work in each area is summarised below. Further detail of work carried out in each community can be found on the Authority’s dedicated web page for this Project, alongside the findings from surveys and community conversations held at various stages during the fieldwork period in each of the communities.

Letham (Perth) – Fieldwork Completed

Work in the Letham area of Perth has fully concluded, with the final report for the area having been published in November 2023 in conjunction with holding final community-based conversations in Letham. Key findings for Letham include:

• A cohesive community, viewed positively by local people;
• Participation in community improvement activities is a challenge being seen by multiple local partners, both during the COVID period and post-COVID, and exacerbated by the cost-of-living crisis;
• Cross-agency issues such as antisocial behaviour, vandalism and littering, and housing/tenancy issues are cited as being problematic for the community, although low-level drug-dealing was also cited as a problem; and
• The tests of change implemented locally were not noticed by many local people, however people who had seen them largely viewed them positively, but felt that they needed more time (than three months) to embed and/or generate confidence among local people.

Irvine Fullarton (North Ayrshire) – Fieldwork Completed

Work in the Irvine Fullarton area of North Ayrshire has fully concluded, with the final report for the area having been published in February 2024 in conjunction with holding final community-based conversations in Irvine Fullarton. Summary of main findings for Irvine Fullarton:

• Seasonality plays a key role in influencing demand on policing, and feelings of safety among local people, due to the close proximity of Irvine Fullarton to a beach. Depending on the weather and the timing of school holidays/weekends, the beach has previously attracted an influx of young people from across Western Scotland to the locality and has resulted in alcohol-related antisocial behaviour;
• There is an appetite for improved local communications from the police and partners, as well as access to points of contact for direct reporting of issues, and greater clarity on who things should be reported to;
• Additional issues raised relate to the urban nature of Irvine-Fullarton: it is an area takes in part of the town centre and a large shopping mall. Some of these spaces are identified by local people as being intimidating places at certain times of the day due to the presence of people loitering and acting rowdily; and
• The tests of change implemented locally were, like Letham in Perth, not noticed by many local people. There was no indication among people who had awareness of some or all of the tests of change, that they had higher confidence or trust in the police, however the number of people participating in the evaluation stage of the Project in Irvine-Fullarton was insufficient to form a conclusive view.

Levenmouth (Fife) – Fieldwork Completed

Work in the Levenmouth area of Fife has fully concluded, with the final report for the area having been published in February 2024 in conjunction with holding final community-based conversations in Levenmouth. Summary of main findings for Levenmouth:

• The Levenmouth area has an active and widely-recognised community planning partnership in place, called the Improving Levenmouth Together (ILT) collaborative, which the Project was able to map onto with relative ease;
• Issues raised during the surveys and community conversations largely centred on aspects of antisocial behaviour, including quad bike/off-road moped misuse in public places, as well as other youth-related antisocial behaviour; and
• In common with Letham, it was found that people who had seen, or were aware, of certain tests of change viewed these as positive developments. Local examples included a local newsletter, presentations at the Levenmouth Academy, a drop-in surgery at a local community hub, and augmenting existing foot patrols through supervisors patrolling locally in uniform.

Wick (Highland) – Fieldwork Completing End of March 2024

Work in the Wick and Caithness area is nearing completion, with the fieldwork evaluation report and overall final report for the area expected to be published at the end of March, in conjunction with holding final community-based conversations.