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Building Safety Through Belonging: Lichfield’s New Approach to Community Safety


In a time when trust in institutions is fragile and the challenges of everyday life continue to evolve, Lichfield District has taken a bold, human-centred step to reimagine what community safety can truly mean. With support from Lichfield District Council, Staffordshire County Council, Bromford Housing, and the Staffordshire Police & Fire Commissioner, Impera Analytics led an ambitious project to create an evidence-based community safety strategy — not from the top down, but from the ground up. The result is a vision rooted in lived experience, shaped by local voices, and built on the belief that safety is not simply about enforcement, but about relationships, trust, and a sense of belonging.



Listening First: The Approach


Recognising that safety is as much about perception and trust as it is about policing, the team at Impera began by listening deeply. With support from the council’s community safety team, sixteen local residents were trained as community researchers through Impera’s Citizen-Led Impact (CLI) model. These researchers became co-creators of the strategy, holding conversations with over 100 neighbours — many of whom are often unheard in traditional consultations — across diverse geographies and demographics.

Their efforts were complemented by a district-wide online survey that captured insights from an additional 161 individuals. Responses came from across the district, including rural areas with historically lower engagement levels, ensuring that a broad cross-section of the community informed the strategy. In total, 250 residents contributed their voices to the process.


The research also drew on key local strategies and data sets, including Lichfield District 2050 and the Public Perception Survey. By triangulating data with lived experience, the team surfaced both perceived and structural challenges — and, just as importantly, opportunities for meaningful, locally informed action.



What We Heard: The 4Ps of Community Safety


What emerged were four powerful themes that now serve as the strategic pillars for action: People, Places, Policies, and Programmes.


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People came through as the foundation — safety begins with connection. Whether it’s a neighbour who checks in, a familiar face at the shop, or a mentor guiding a young person, relationships are the invisible infrastructure that support a community’s resilience. But where these ties are weak or have frayed — especially in areas experiencing rapid change or social isolation — safety can quickly feel out of reach.


Places, too, play a critical role. Safety isn’t just about crime statistics; it’s about how streets and parks feel. Well-lit, well-maintained, and actively used spaces foster confidence. When areas are neglected or empty, people withdraw, and fear takes root. In some wards, like Chasetown and Curborough, residents described spaces that felt abandoned. But even small improvements — a trimmed hedge, a community event, or fresh signage — made a noticeable difference, transforming anxiety into reassurance.


The third theme, Policies, focused on presence, clarity, and follow-through. Residents shared that they often felt left in the dark, unsure of who to contact or what would happen if they raised a concern. Trust was not about perfect answers — it was about honest communication and visible action. When people saw their input valued and acted upon, confidence grew. Where systems went silent, engagement faded. Communities want to be part of the solution, but only if they feel seen and respected.


Finally, Programmes brought these threads together by highlighting the value of consistency and local energy. From youth clubs to warm hubs, from food banks to informal coffee mornings, it was the ongoing presence of support — not one-off initiatives — that made people feel held. But many of these efforts are fragile, powered by overstretched volunteers and uncertain funding. Residents asked not for grand solutions, but for sustainability, visibility, and support to keep doing what already works.


This strategy isn’t about reinventing the wheel. It’s about listening more deeply, acting more consistently, and valuing the quiet, daily rhythms that allow people to feel safe, connected, and proud of where they live. It’s about building systems that don’t just respond to crises, but create the conditions that prevent them — through trust, belonging, and collaboration.

Lichfield District’s approach offers a new model: one where data meets local insight, where strategy is co-created, and where safety is understood as a collective achievement, not just a service. As this work moves from research into action, it stands as a reminder that the most powerful changes often begin with listening — and that real safety is built in partnership, not in isolation.

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