The Sheffield Institute for Policy Studies
Showcasing Policy Research across Sheffield Hallam University
Following the outrage at the abduction and murder of Sarah Everard on the streets of London, the government has (finally) agreed to ask police forces to record crimes motivated by misogyny (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-56435550).
This blog is based on an article published in People, Place and Policy entitled: Anti-Social behaviour victims’ experiences of activating the ‘Community Trigger’ case review
The Community Trigger case review is supposed to act as a safety-net. Victims of anti-social behaviour (ASB) can activate the Community Trigger if they have not received a satisfactory response to their complaints, if the number of complaints meet a locally-defined threshold within a specified period of time. If the case meets these requirements, a formal multi-agency case review meeting is held with key stakeholders such as the police and local authority, with the purpose of creating an action plan to address the ASB in question. However, new research has shown that some victims experiences of utilising the Community Trigger have been far from satisfactory and embarking on the policy process resulted in additional suffering.
I am angry and tired of being angry. I am scared and tired of being scared. I am grieving for another lost woman, and tired of grieving for lost women. In the wake of the Sarah Everard case, women around the country have been expressing their collective grief, anger, pain and fear. She was just walking home. She followed all the ‘rules’ (it wasn’t late, she was appropriately dressed, etc. etc.).
The changes in the retail character of our town and city centres may be as sweeping and significant in their way as the effects of de-industrialisation in the 1970s and 1980s, and similarly irreversible.
The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Gambling Related Harm’s Final Report into the Online Gambling Sector, which was published earlier this month, presents a roadmap for government, the Gambling Commission and industry to develop a safer and fairer gambling environment, and limit gambling-related harm in Great Britain. Writing in 2014, I noted how the rise in online gambling had made gambling opportunities more readily available to large swathes of the population, whilst simultaneously undermining many of the restrictions, player protection measures and responsible gambling strategies typically found in land based establishments. Over the last decade, online gambling has been a key propellant of citizens’ gambling expenditure, industry profits and state taxation revenues, with citizens losing £5.3 billion gambling remotely in 2019 alone.
The importance of communication is never more apparent than at times of significant events. From the UK leaving the European Union, to Harry and Meghan stepping away from British monarchy, it is through communication that our realities materialise. Indeed, as scholar Daniel Nelson reflects, it is a truism that ‘wars start and end with words’. It is no surprise then that a deep-rooted concern with getting communications ‘right’ lays at the heart of the national response to the Covid-19 pandemic. From government messaging to public health advice, from media debate to conversations with our families, our awareness of the need for successful communications ripples through our consciousness as we try to overcome this disease.
