Gordon Brown has recently spoken about the importance of tackling antisocial behaviour in Britain. Beyond the impact on the Prime Minister’s own political career, this is something which I think is a very important issue in its own right. There have been a few stories in the news about this subject recently, but one that comes to mind is a scheme developed by Kent Police that involved implementing new neighbourhood task teams. These teams work specifically on quickly tackling issues and instances of anti-social behaviour (vandalism, noise, theft etc) that are flagged up by the community. The results show that this innovative intervention by Kent police has led to a fall in criminal offences of almost 20% – an impressive result.
This kind of community-based approach reminded me of, the perhaps old-fashioned sounding, concept of ‘civic virtues’ – the coming together of characteristics like responsibility, tolerance and altruism that promote group and social harmony. These civic virtues or ‘citizenship behaviours’ are out there in most societies, but sometimes get overshadowed by more negative examples of antisocial behaviour and civil unrest. In the past, broadly speaking, communities have helped people find meaning in their lives. Being part of something larger than themselves provided positivity and support for many and this may now be something we miss in a society where it is common for people to know nothing of those who they live alongside – let alone share values with them. Dennis Charney, an American psychologist, refers to one’s personal moral compass – what are your unbreakable beliefs and values that nothing can shatter? The idea is that people who have something to hang on to and fall back upon in times of difficulty are more resilient than those who do not.
So do we have the basis of a win-win situation here? Could being part of a community help to reduce crime while also improving the way we and our neighbours feel? I think the Kent Police example raises something worth exploring much further. Many researchers are busy looking at these very things in terms of the impact that citizenship, community and resilience can have on organisations and their staff. A resilient individual with a strong personal moral compass adapts better to change, copes more effectively with adversity and persists when things go wrong. On top of this, organisations that promote civic virtues are much more likely to be enjoyable, productive places to work – leading to higher retention and lower sickness absence. So maybe it’s time to lift our heads, to connect with the people and the wider community around us – both at home and at work – the results might be surprising!
To read more about Kent Police’s scheme go to: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/sep/21/kent-police-crime-neighbourhood-teams
This makes such good sense. Going right back to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, a sense of belonging is a pretty strong need and it seems that in the society which has evolved it’s the one thing most employees don’t feel. It’s been bred out of them. I watched the large blue chip company I used to work for deteriorate in terms of a sense of community over the 16 years I stayed. The heart went out of it as the work was outsourced to any cheaper country who would take it on, and with it all the pride in doing a good job went too. Again keeping the shareholders happy was considered most important, along with nearly obscene higher management bonuses. The employees? “They were the “assets to be squeezed” and no more. Time for a radical change.