RESEARCH FORMAT

The CCAR Project was initiated in the summer of 2021 by co-Sponsors Martyn Evans (Authority Chair) and DCC Will Kerr (Police Scotland Deputy Chief Constable for Local Policing).

Project Aims

Four main aims were identified:

• Enhance the policing system’s understanding of what drives public confidence in policing at a day-to-day community level.
• Improve relationships between the police and the public at a local level by improving understanding and awareness of modern policing demands and challenges.
• Develop insights into what communities consider to be confidence-building, small-scale, sustainable interventions that the police and partners can put into effect.
• To develop a model for engagement and positive action that Police Scotland could adapt and adopt as appropriate to improve confidence in local policing.

Establishment of a Project Steering Group

The Co-Sponsors established a Project Steering Group in 2021. The Project Steering Group met regularly throughout the lifetime of the Project (2021-24), usually on a quarterly basis.

The Project Steering Group provided advice and guidance to the Project Delivery Team (Project Delivery Team) regarding area identification and selection, framing of research questions, suggestions on organisations and agencies to reach out to, advice regarding Project evaluation, and advice regarding communication and engagement strategies for the Project (including post-Project closure) to maximise reach and impact.

The Project Steering Group has been represented by the following organisations:

• Scottish Police Authority
• Police Scotland
• The Improvement Service
• Scottish Community Safety Network
• University of Edinburgh
• COSLA
• SOLACE
• College of Policing
• Public Health Scotland
• Poverty Alliance
• Involve

Establishment of a Project Delivery Team

In conjunction with setting up the Project Steering Group, a Project Delivery Team was also established. The Project Delivery Team comprised specialist research and engagement staff from the Authority’s Strategy and Performance Team, and Police Scotland’s Partnerships, Prevention and Community Wellbeing (PPCW) department.

All staff supporting the Project did so on an in-kind, occasional basis, balancing other work commitments to accommodate the needs of the Project, although one staff member from the Authority allocated up to 0.5 working days per week on average to support and manage overall
Project delivery.

Project Budget

The Authority’s budget for the Project was intentionally small. This limitation meant that the CCAR Project had to work to make the largest contribution and impact possible using existing resources and minimal expenditure, to avoid producing a model and results that could not be adopted post-Project due to any unreasonable resource burden.

Over the three-year period, £1,650 was spent in total on local venue hire to support 17 community conversations, with light refreshments/catering included in this cost. A total of 25 locality visits took place in total, in support of the community conversations, but also to meet with local
community groups and stakeholders, and to carry out initial environmental audits. Travel and Project Delivery Team subsistence costs amounted to £4,700 over the three years. The fieldwork in Wick required overnight stays, given the travelling distance for the Project Delivery Team.

The overall spend for the Project was therefore £6,350 over the course of the three years.