Community Incident Action Group

Dealing with problem individuals

The Community Incident Action Group (CIAG) is a multi-agency problem-solving group, which is accountable to the Safer Surrey Heath Partnership. It seeks to divert, assist or control individuals or families in the community who have been identified as having an adverse impact on the community. Members of the group deal with problems like truancy, anti-social behaviour and prolific offenders, seeking preventative and long-term solutions to reducing crime and disorder in the borough.

CIAGs will discuss and agree actions to reduce the negative impact that problem individuals and families have on the wider community through their anti-social behaviour. Using the expertise that exists on the group they will identify desirable outcomes and determine what interventions will be used to achieve this.

Examples of individuals dealt with at the CIAG include:

• Perpetrators of persistent anti-social behaviour
• Perpetrators of persistent alcohol related disorder
• Perpetrators of persistent drug related nuisance
• Know perpetrators of race/hate crime
• Persistent truants

CIAG interventions

During 2007, the Surrey County Council Youth Development Service has become increasingly involved in targeted interventions towards individuals on the CIAG agenda in Surrey Heath. All individual cases are addressed appropriately using the relevant partner agencies, with the need for early diversionary activities and intervention of foremost importance. During 2007/08, youth workers from Surrey County Council continued to work closely with named individuals on the CIAG agenda.

For example, one young person attended a motorcycle project at Frimley Green Youth Centre, and several young people were referred to the Fire Wise Scheme through the Partnership-funded Arson Task Force (Surrey Fire and Rescue Service). Five CIAG cases were closed during 2007/08, and one young person has found and retained gainful employment have previously been an issue to most of the CIAG agencies.