What is Galway Local Community Safety Partnership?
The Galway County Local Community Safety Partnership (LCSP) has been set up under the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024 as part of a national shift towards wider and more inclusive planning. It is a collaborative initiative that brings together community members, local councillors, statutory services, and the community and voluntary sector to improve safety and wellbeing across Galway. The 30 members of the partnership are made up of representatives from, Galway County Council, An Garda Síochána, the HSE. Tusla and local organisations representing youth, social inclusion, education, business and community groups.
Rooted in the belief that every community has the right to feel safe and thrive, the Safety Partnership works to identify local safety concerns, foster inclusive engagement, and coordinate multi-agency responses. Through community representation and the development of a Community Safety Plan, the Galway County LCSP ensures that community voices are heard and that services work in partnership to keep Galway a safe and welcoming place to work, live and visit.
How does the Local Community Safety Partnership work?
The concept of community safety is about people being safe and feeling safe in their communities, with the fundamental belief that every community has the right to be and feel safe, to flourish and thrive.
The Local Community Safety Partnership (LCSP) is a local collaborative forum that brings together community members, statutory services, and local councillors to work together to identify and address community safety concerns at a local level. Building on the work of the Joint Policing Committees, the Local Community Safety Partnerships brings all the relevant state services and the community together at local authority level to provide a holistic forum for discussion, decisions and action on local community priorities. Galway county LCSP will develop a three-year Local Community Safety Plan tailored to local needs. The LCSP will coordinate and deliver community safety projects and initiatives which promote a safer community because of joint planning among stakeholders/agencies and collaboration to bring about meaningful change.
Your Voice, Your Community, Your Safety
Partnership Approach
The Local Community Safety Partnership approach is based on the principle that policing is not the responsibility of An Garda Síochána alone and involves other agencies of government such as health and social services.
The partnership approach is built on two premises:
- That every community is different and has different problems and issues.
- That responding to those problems and issues requires a range of inputs from across Government, local services, voluntary sector and the community itself.
The response to the issues identified above requires the following elements:
- Community engagement in identifying what the needs of the community are.
- Commitment and buy-in from State, local and voluntary service providers to work together to address those needs.
The Local Community Safety Partnership approach aligns with similar approaches in related policy areas such as the existing Local Community Development Committees.
Galway County Local Community Safety Partnership Objectives
The primary objectives of Galway County Local Community Safety Partnership are to:
- Prioritise issues identified by the community as safety concerns.
- Ensure community engagement and representation on the Safety Partnership.
- Improve multi-agency collaboration.
Additionally, the Galway County Local Community Safety Partnership seeks to foster sustained community involvement in identifying needs and co-designing solutions, with a continual commitment from services in working together to address those needs.
Galway County Community Safety Plan
The Galway County Local Community Safety Partnership will develop a Community Safety Plan which meets the needs of the local community. It will set out the actions to be taken to improve community safety and allow communities to work together to create an implement a Community Safety Plan that is effective in bringing about meaningful change.
A Local Community Safety Plan is a strategic document developed by the Galway County LCSP outlining priorities, actions and goals to improve safety in County Galway. The Local Community Safety Plan must aim to achieve the national community safety objectives as well as local priorities. Members of the Galway County LCSP, public agencies and community stakeholders will collaborate to develop a plan and measure its effectiveness over time.
Galway County Council Local Community Safety Partnership team are available via email CommunitySafety@galwaycoco.ie
Address
Local Community Safety Partnership
Galway County Council
Co. Galway