Summary
Since 1999 the Home Office has spent £927 million supporting the work of crime reduction partnerships in England and Wales. This report looks at how effectively Home Office has managed these initiatives. The NAO reports that work of the partnerships has contributed to a drop in crime as measured by the British Crime Survey. Partnerships could have a greater impact if the Home Office were to improve its management and oversight. Grant applications need to be simplified and streamlined and funding decisions need to be made in a much more timely fashion. The Home Office also needs to provide better support to partnerships by identifying and disseminating information about what works and what doesn't work to prevent various types of crime.