Abstract

This paper presents findings from research into one of the Serious and Organised Crime Community Coordinator (SOC CC) pilots funded by the Home Office. Delivered in Birmingham UK between 2019 and 2021 by West Midlands Police, the SOC CC role included identifying community projects and building partnerships across statutory and voluntary sectors in high-need areas of the city. The research took a qualitative approach, interviewing 11 key stakeholders representing the programmes commissioned by the SOC CC, the Home Office, community partners, the West Midlands Violence Reduction Unit, local schools, and West Midlands Police. The study focused on the potential of the pilot to develop community resilience and address vulnerabilities through a whole-system approach and commissioning of resources from statutory, police, and third-party stakeholders.

The findings highlight successes and barriers to the role. The data revealed four sources of commitment necessary for success: the commitment of the CC (Internal), the commitment of the commissioned partners and the Police (Institutional), the commitment of the targeted communities and its concerned individuals (Community), and the commitment of funding and resources (Operational).  The findings presented here are applicable to post-pilot CCs and also to the scaffolding of similar initiatives, such as Violence Reduction Unit Community Navigators.