We’re hiring a Senior Communications & External Affairs Officer!
This is a great step up for someone ready to lead on strategic communications in a purpose-driven, expert-led organisation.
Read the full job advert on our website: www.crestadvisory.com/post/we-re-h...
The disconnect is stark. Police officers told us they prioritise walking beats but community members say they rarely see officers.
Our research identifies what forces can do to better meet public expectations. Read out report here:
www.crestadvisory.com/neighbourhoo...
Between 2016 and 2024, neighbourhood officer numbers fell by 55%. The Government's plan to deliver an additional 13,000 neighbourhood officers, PCSOs and Special Constables is welcome, but implementation will determine success.
Communities want neighbourhood police who are visible and engage directly with local residents. This sounds straightforward, but our research reveals barriers to delivery.
This research suggests that VFR can provide a faster response to domestic abuse victims, while delivering similar levels of victim satisfaction as a business as usual response.
🔹Mostly positive safeguarding measures for VFR victims
🔹Mixed impact on arrest rate and time
🔹Victims would choose VFR again
📌 Key Findings:
🔹VFR can speed up response times for domestic abuse victims
🔹VFR may improve the quality of risk assessments
We are very pleased that our joint evaluation of video first response (VFR) to non-emergency domestic abuse calls with the College of Policing has been published.
www.college.police.uk/guidance/vio...
In our new blog, published alongside the report, we argue that it’s not incidents of crime and anti-social behaviour themselves that matter most but what they represent: that no one is in charge, that social norms are eroding and that the fabric of everyday life is under threat.
tinyurl.com/2hpfbr3y
This report calls for a neighbourhood-based approach to tackling crime and antisocial behaviour, grounded in evidence that strong community relationships — alongside enforcement — are essential to creating safer places. It sets out five areas of action to support this goal.
🔹Social cohesion and trust can act as protective factors, particularly in areas of disadvantage.
🔹Crime and ASB matter to communities — they act as wider signals of neighbourhood decline.
Key findings:
🔹Crime is heavily concentrated and persistent in areas of multiple disadvantage
🔹Disadvantage and instability reinforce each other, weakening community control.
🔹The built environment shapes both risk and resilience.
Crest Insights has published a new report, commissioned by @iconeighbours.bsky.social on why neighbourhoods must be at the heart of crime policy — both as spaces where crime is experienced and as sites of potential solutions.
www.crestadvisory.com/post/why-pla...
There’s still time to join the YJB’s Child First Day webinar at 2:30 today (20th August), where Jess will be sharing insights from our research on applying the Child First framework in youth justice services.
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/child-firs...
As part of our YJB commissioned research, we engaged children directly via a national survey to understand their experiences at their youth justice service, and to build evidence on how the tenets of the Child First framework translate into practice.
To mark the Youth Justice Board's Child First Day today, our new blog by our Senior Strategy and Insight Manager Jess Hull explores key insights from Crest’s recent research on how the Child First framework is applied in youth justice services.
www.crestadvisory.com/post/listeni...
In his foreword, Sir Stephen Kavanagh, former Executive Director of Police Services at INTERPOL, puts it plainly: “The criminal threats have moved on – and we haven’t.”
Key recommendations:
◆Launch a tech-driven offensive to disrupt full criminal operations
◆Impose cross-border sanctions on criminals and complicit financial institutions
◆Deploy coordinated international sting operations to cut supply chains
We propose a bold new strategy: a Five Eyes-style Serious Organised Crime Alliance, built to dismantle entire networks, not just chase individuals in a game of whack-a-mole.
Our research shows how serious organised crime has evolved from old-school mobsters to complex, multinational criminal enterprises that rival legitimate high-growth businesses.
New report out today: A New International Approach to Beating Serious and Organised Crime – a collaboration between Crest Advisory and The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.
Read the full paper here: institute.global/insights/pub...
How can the Crown Prosecution Service better support victims of crime?
Crest Analyst Helena Procopis reflects on our work helping the CPS deliver more timely, empathetic and effective support through the Victim Transformation Programme.
🧵Read more: www.crestadvisory.com/blog/helping...
Our partnership allows Police Now officers the opportunity to gain a broader understanding of the criminal justice system beyond operational policing - and it gives our staff the chance to learn valuable insights from frontline practice to enrich policy and strategy development.
In our latest blog, Police Now neighbourhood officer Carys reflects on her time at Crest and the government’s new Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.
Read the blog below: www.crestadvisory.com/post/neighbo...
🔹Shoplifting incidents have hit a 20 year high
🔹Fraud reports continue to rise - now making up nearly half of all crime
🔹There are small but consistent falls in violent crime - but overall figures remain high
🔹A new way of measuring VAWG highlights the scale of the issue
This week the Office for National Statistics published the crime statistics for the year ending March 2025. What key changes to crime do they show and what do they mean for policing?
Read our blog here: www.crestadvisory.com/post/the-lat...
On 10 July we hosted a webinar with the the Youth Justice Board to discuss our new report on applying the Child First framework across youth justice services in England and Wales. Thank you to everyone who joined.
If you missed it, you can watch the webinar here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rguu...
This aligns with work Crest has long championed. In our latest blog, we explore what needs to happen to make OOCRs work in practice — and why public confidence will be critical to their success.
While much of the early focus and debate has centred on proposals to restrict jury trials, some of Leveson’s other recommendations are just as radical. By emphasizing out-of-court resolutions (OOCRs), he could deliver faster, bigger relief for the system.
