Section 17 Crime and Disorder Act 1998: A Missed Opportunity for Public Leadership?

This chapter examines one of the critical conditions for the emergence of effective public leadership — namely the need to engage in both shared and distributed leadership. It suggests that the enactment a decade ago of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (hereinafter referred to as CDA) but specifically section 17 of that Act, provided an excellent opportunity to put this type of leadership into practice and to conjoin national and local public leaders to improve the quality of life for citizens. The legislation placed an obligation on local authorities and the police (amongst others) to cooperate in the development and implementation of a strategy for tackling crime and disorder. Section 17 fits well with the modernisation of public institutions in that it requires local authorities and police authorities to consider crime and disorder implications within their decision-making. However, what this chapter will demonstrate is that the implementation of these legal provisions has been at best, lukewarm and at worst, nonexistent. The chapter also explores the potential that this legislation offered for public leaders to openly display their collaborative efforts in improving responses to and strategies for tackling crime and disorder at the local level. It also assesses the implications of the legislation for specific local authority departments and police forces, both legally and strategically, and outlines some of the possible reasons for the inaction of public leaders — at all levels — in relation to the important task of improving community wellbeing.