By Barry LovedayAs a recent Home Office White Paper ‘Building Communities, Beating Crime’ demonstrates, radical change now confronts the police service. Policing responsibilities and police budgets are being devolved to Basic Command Units. There will be radical internal changes in the make up and role of police and civilian staff in the service.

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An independent report has found that partnerships set up as part of the New Deal for Communities programme are providing models for neighbourhood renewal. The report says the programme is “proving effective” in engaging residents and changing attitudes towards local communities.The report is from the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research at Sheffield Hallam University, led by Professor Paul Lawless. It provides a national evaluation of the New Deal for Communities from 2001 to 2005. It concludes that the NDC programme has made progress through a wide range of projects, from major housing refurbishment initiatives to youth inclusion schemes and community crime teams.

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Police and anti-drugs campaigners have been warned against believing the stereotypical view of drug-dealing areas as being unpopular and socially-divided. Unique research carried out for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation shows drug dealers also thrive in neighbourhoods with a strong sense of community and, in some cases, operate as established ‘family’ businesses.A team from King’s College London conducted the largest British study to date of the relationship between illegal drug markets and communities. The research, published today, includes interviews with 68 dealers, 800 residents and more than 120 professionals from the police and other local agencies. The research focuses on four contrasting drug-dealing neighbourhoods in England. It finds widespread concern among local people who are particularly anxious about intimidation, violence and harm to the reputation of their area.

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