B83P 04 (BA5)Contribute to Developing Awareness and Community Action in Relation to Crime
Elements of competence
BA5.1 / Develop plans to promote awareness and community action in relation to crimeBA5.2 / Promote awareness and community action in relation to crime
BA5.3 / Contribute to the evaluation and improvement of awareness raising and community action in relation to crime
About this Unit
This standard is about contributing to community awareness and involvement in relation to crime and crime prevention. It includes raising people’s awareness of specific issues and helping them to identify their responses, and contribute to evaluation and improvement. It involves working directly with those who are the target group for the awareness raising or community action, or influencing them indirectly through others.
The term ‘community’ has been used to mean a set of people who are united either by a common geographical location or by a common interest or aspect, such as their work, gender or a disability.These might include groups and organisations, for example, business communities, young people, minority ethnic groups, lesbian and gay people.
It involves drawing upon a range of sources of information including your organisation’s records, other associations and self-help groups, the media, published crime prevention/crime and disorder data, and research evidence on effectiveness.
Target Group
This standard is applicable to those who have responsibility for contributing to developing awareness and community action in relation to crime.It is designed for non-specialist workers for whom awareness raising of this kind is not the primary focus of their work.It involves those whose provision of general information and advice is part of a wider role, by offering support including education and training, counselling and support, advocacy and representation, interpretation, quantitative and qualitative information, and accessing expertise.
Evidence Requirements for the Unit
It is essential that you adhere to the Evidence Requirements for this Unit — please see details overleaf.
Specific Evidence Requirements for this UnitSimulation:
Simulation is NOT permitted for this Unit.
The following forms of evidence ARE mandatory:
Direct Observation:Your assessor or expert witness must observe you in real work activities which provide a significant amount of the Performance Criteria for most of the Elements in this Unit. For example your assessor may observe your practice at meetings with the community during the consultation process to develop and agree a plan, the implementation of the plan, presenting your findings to them on progress and evaluation of the plan.
Reflective Account/professional discussion:These will be an explanation or a description of your practice in particular situations based on current working practices. For example an account of your practice in gathering information about the community and the action required raising awareness and addressing relevant issues, the actions taken by you to consult with the community at each stage of the process. You could include the process through which you selected the most appropriate method of gaining and disseminating information at each of the stagesie you may elect to hold a meeting rather than use a questionnaire because of the number of people involved etc. You could also include an explanation of how legislation, policies and procedures affect your practice.
Competence of performance and knowledge could also be demonstrated using a variety of evidence from the following:
Questioning/professional discussion: May be used to provide evidence of knowledge, legislation, policies and procedures which cannot be fully evidenced through direct observation or reflective accounts. In addition the assessor/expert witness may also ask questions to clarify aspects of your practice.
Expert Witness: A designated expert witness may provide direct observation of practice, questioning, undertaking a professional discussion or providing feedback on a reflective account.Working with Victims, Survivors and Witnesses can pose a number of challenges for direct observation of practice by assessors not based in the workplace and it is vital that expert witnesses are identified at the planning stage as they will be require to work closely with your assessor in the evidence gathering process.
Witness testimony:Can be a confirmation or authentication of the activities described in your evidence which your assessor has not seen. This could be provided by a work colleague or another key person. It is NOT appropriate to use witness testimony from any member of their family or circle of friends.
Products:These can be copies of materials/brochures used to raise awareness/encourage participation of the community, the written plan, the evaluation of the activities/plan and/or agency approved forms and records. Where Products have not been developed or compiled by the candidate you need to provide an explanation of the contribution you made to them or your reasoning for offering them to the service user(s) eg brochures and application forms.
Due to the nature of this Unit considerable care should be given to the inclusion of any anonymised records in your portfolio. They should remain where they are normally stored and checked for their authenticity by your assessor as well as occasionally by your Verifier. Where records are included great care should be taken to ensure they are anonymised to ensure confidentiality.
General guidance
Prior to commencing this unit you should agree and complete an assessment plan with your assessor which details the assessment methods (including potential products) and the tasks you will be undertaking to demonstrate your competence.
Evidence must be provided for ALL of the Performance Criteria, ALL of the knowledge and parts of the scope that are relevant to your job.
Candidates and assessors should ensure that knowledge evidence should be integrated into the reflective accounts, direct observations and if appropriate in professional discussions. Care should be taken to avoid assessment of knowledge through set or banks of questions as they generally do not reflect real work practice.
The evidence must reflect the policies and procedures of your workplace and be linked to the current legislation, values and principles of best practice within the Community Justice Sector and in particular those staff working with victims survivors and witnesses.
ALL evidence must relate to your own work practice.
Knowledge Specification for this Unit
Competent practice is a combination of the application of skills and knowledge informed by values and ethics. This specification details the knowledge and understanding required to carry out competent practice in the performance described in this Unit.
When using this specification it is important to read the knowledge requirements in relation to expectations and requirements of your job role.
You need to provide evidence for ALL knowledge points listed below. There are a variety of ways this can be achieved so it is essential that you read the ‘knowledge evidence’ section of the Assessment Guidance.
You need to show that you know, understand and can apply in practice: / Enter Evidence NumbersLegislative, regulatory and organisational requirements
1Legal and organisational requirements which relate to the provision of services to communities in relation to crime, and their impact for your area of operations.
2Legislation, policies and procedures relating to data protection, health and safety, diversity and their impact for your area of operations.
3The role of your organisation and the services which it provides in support of communities.
4The organisation’s policy and procedures regarding confidentiality of information and the disclosure of information to third parties, and the specific circumstances under which disclosure may be made.
5The limits of your authority and responsibility, and the actions to take if these are exceeded.
Working with communities and community members
6Methods and strategies of awareness raising which have been carried out by others and the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches.
7The impact of crime on victims and their need for protection, respect, recognition and information.
8The ways in which the physical, social, psychological and emotional development of individuals affects their behaviour and its associated patterns.
9The factors contributing to crime in the local community, including the types and rates of offending, the impact on victims and community-based services to address crime in the wider context of the criminal justice system.
10Holistic concepts and approaches to community safety and crime prevention.
11Evidence of effective practice in community safety, crime prevention and community justice programmes.
12Issues relating to community safety and healthy societies.
13Methods of identifying and establishing relationships with stakeholders who have an interest in community safety and crime prevention.
14The short and long term effects of awareness raising, including evaluating the effectiveness of any awareness raising activity.
BA5.1Develop plans to promote awareness and community action in relation to crime
Performance CriteriaDO / RA / EW / Q / P / WT
1Establish clearly with the community their role and responsibilities in the awareness raising and community action process.
2Identify those who have an interest in awareness raising and community action.
3Identify and access relevantsources of information about crime in the community.
4Identify the aims, objectives, methods and content of the awareness raising and consultation.
5Base your actions on evidence of effective practice in awareness raising and community action.
6Identify and explore the opportunities and constraints which will affect the feasibility of different forms of awareness raising and community action.
7Recommend options which are most likely to meet the identified aims and objectives and are sufficiently flexible to meet changing circumstances.
8Present reports in a way which is suitable for those who are to use them.
DO = Direct ObservationRA = Reflective AccountQ = Questions
EW = Expert Witness P = Product (Work)WT = Witness Testimony
BA5.2 Promote awareness and community action in relation to crime
Performance CriteriaDO / RA / EW / Q / P / WT
1Establish contact with relevant community members and target audiences, and arrange meetings at appropriate times and places.
2Explore with community members the aims, objectives, methods and target audiences for awareness raising and community action, and identify and address with sensitivity any differences or potential conflicts in requirements.
3Present to community members clear, accurate and relevant information about crime in the community, its effects on the community and on victims.
4Communicate with the target audience in a manner that promotes their interest and participation.
5Help members of the community to understand and use their capabilities in community safety, in the prevention of crime and in their work with individuals who have offended, as appropriate.
6Support members of the community in ways which are appropriate to the action they wish to take and encourage them to take ownership of their actions.
7Challenge attitudes and behaviour which are aggressive, abusive or discriminatory.
8Make explicit any conflicts of interest, and offer ideas as to how they can be dealt with.
9Provide people with the opportunity to ask questions and to confirm their understanding of the information provided.
10Refer those who need further information and advice to the appropriate sources.
DO = Direct ObservationRA = Reflective AccountQ = Questions
EW = Expert Witness P = Product (Work)WT = Witness Testimony
BA5.3Contribute to the evaluation and improvement of awareness raising and community action in relation to crime
Performance CriteriaDO / RA / EW / Q / P / WT
1Seek feedback from target groups and colleagues on the effectiveness of awareness raising and community action.
2Gather information on the process and outcomes of the awareness raising and community action, and collate it in a form which facilitates evaluation.
3Present an evaluation of the awareness raising and community action against its agreed aims, objectives, methods and content.
4Offer constructive feedback to others involved in the awareness raising and community action on their contributions.
5Make recommendations for improving future awareness raising and community action based on the available evidence.
6Maintain accurate and up-to-date records in line with your organisation’s requirements.
7Communicate information to people who are authorised to have it.
8Promote the outcomes of the evaluation in a manner which supports future awareness raising and community action and contributes to the continuing development of best practice .
DO = Direct ObservationRA = Reflective AccountQ = Questions
EW = Expert Witness P = Product (Work)WT = Witness Testimony
To be completed by the candidateI submit this as a complete Unit
Candidate’s name: ……………………………………………
Candidate’s signature: ………………………………………..
Date: …………………………………………………………..
To be completed by the assessor
It is a shared responsibility of both the candidate and assessor to claim evidence, however, it is the responsibility of the assessor to ensure the accuracy/validity of each evidence claim and make the final decision.
I certify that sufficient evidence has been produced to meet all the Elements, PCs and Knowledge of this Unit.
Assessor’s name: …………………………………………….
Assessor’s signature: ………………………………………….
Date: …………………………………………………………..
Assessor/internal verifier feedback
To be completed by the internal verifier if applicable.
This section only needs to be completed if the Unit is sampled by the internal verifier.
Internal verifier’s name: ……………………………………………
Internal verifier’s signature: ………………………………………..
Date: ……………………………………..…………………………..
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