What is the Community Champion Scheme?

Community Champion Scheme

We are encouraging communities to help in the fight against antisocial behaviour by running a Community Champion scheme, Community Champions are members of the public who will work within their neighbourhoods, liaising with local agencies by raising awareness of local issues on behalf of other residents.

Neighbourhoods have changed over the last few decades. The community spirit can be lacking for many reasons. Communities need to be empowered to regain respect for people and places.
One way CABOT have identified, which may help, is the promotion of Community Champions, these could be groups or individuals who would liaise between Agencies such as the Police and Local Authority and the neighbourhood. This would lessen fear of reporting crime and also build bridges between agencies and the public, as CABOT have discovered, many members of a community feel happier talking to a peer, rather than a faceless authority figure.

The Role of a Community Champion
a) To liaise between agencies and the public in a broad range of situations.
b) To mentor members of the public in areas such as reporting crime and throughout the process. For example, CC’s could be utilised to put forward the wishes of a victim in a restorative justice setting.
c) To assist agencies in the promotion of new initiatives and be part of the “Think Tank” process in the developmental stages.
d) To help promote community meetings and aid in the facilitation of participation, especially in historic hard to reach groups.
e) To network with and refer clients to existing groups such as Neighbourhood Watch, Victim Support and other agencies.
f) To meet regularly with other Community Champions to discuss “what works” and share best practice.
g) To be actively involved in meeting officers from agencies, and keeping abreast of new policies and practices which affect the public.
I) To operate under the Respect ethos.