The greater emphasis on community safety work has resulted in our staff engaging with the local community to promote community safety. Collaborative and partnership working is key in developing effective ways to make the South Wales area a safer place in which to live. The promotion of this function has in turn led to our staff developing their management and engagement skills and maintaining effective local partnerships across the community as a whole.

The four main areas on which the community safety department concentrates its efforts are:

• Accidental Fires
• Deliberate Fires
• Road Traffic Collisions
• Partnership Working

However it is important to realise that they combine to give an integrated approach to providing information for the people we serve.

This approach is intended to bring about the following results:

• A reduction in the misery and loss caused by fire by increasing the fire safety skills and knowledge of the people of South Wales.
• The creation of a generation of fire safety conscious adults by introducing fire safety to pupils via the National Curriculum.
• The development of partnerships with a wide range of stakeholders to identify those most at risk from fire and make appropriate interventions.
• A reduction in the number and severity of deaths and injuries caused by road traffic collisions.

We will:

• continue to reduce arson and other waste (such as malicious false calls).
• increase our home fire safety checks.
• work with all our partners to improve community safety, especially through the newly developed Local Service Boards.
• work with young people on a range of strategies to improve their understanding and awareness.
• look for smarter ways to improve the safety of the public on our roads and motorways, and work with partners already operating in this field.