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Community Safety Plan 2026 to 2029

Learn about the Somerset Community Safety Plan and the actions being taken to reduce violence, tackle anti-social behaviour, prevent exploitation and build safer communities

About the Community Safety Plan

The Community Safety Plan sets out how organisations across Somerset will work together to prevent crime, reduce harm and help people feel safe in their communities between 2026 and 2029.

Working through the Safer Somerset Partnership, local agencies will take coordinated action to address the issues that have the greatest impact on people’s safety and wellbeing. The plan focuses on five priorities:

  • Violence against women and girls
  • Anti-social behaviour
  • Serious violence
  • Alcohol and drug-related harm and exploitation
  • Community cohesion and inclusion

Together, these priorities aim to make Somerset a safer place to live, work and visit, while supporting victims, tackling the causes of crime and helping communities thrive.

Priority 1 – Violence against women and girls

We aim to prevent and reduce violence against women and girls by:

  • challenging harmful attitudes
  • strengthening early intervention
  • supporting survivors
  • ensuring coordinated multi‑agency action that holds perpetrators to account and builds safer communities

How we will measure success of Priority 1

  • Increase number of cases of NFS identified by the Somerset Domestic Abuse service from 2025 – 2026 baseline
  • Increase the number of police recorded rapes from 2025 – 2026 baseline
  • Increase number of perpetrators of domestic abuse and sexual violence referred into the domestic abuse service from 2025 – 2026 baseline
  • Increased police use of Domestic Violence Protection Notices or Orders from 2025 – 2026 baseline

Priority 2 – Anti social behaviour

We will reduce the prevalence and impact of anti‑social behaviour by:

  • delivering effective multi‑agency interventions that improve public confidence
  • creating safer neighbourhoods
  • ensuring swift, coordinated responses to community concerns

How we will measure success of Priority 2

  • Increased number of reports made to the council in relation to Community Safety related anti-social behaviour from 2025 – 2026 baseline
  • Countywide PSPO related to vehicle nuisance with a specific focus on Cheddar to be implemented in 2026
  • Agree a multi-agency plan to tackle entrenched street-based nuisance by September 2026

Priority 3 – Serious violence

For our third priority we aim to prevent and reduce serious violence through coordinated multi‑agency action. This will identify local drivers, addresses root causes, and delivers early, evidence‑led interventions to keep individuals and communities safe.

How we will measure success of Priority 3

  • Reduce number of police-recorded knife-enabled crimes from 2025 – 2026 baseline
  • Reduce number of police recorded incidents of violence with injury from 2025 – 2026 baseline
  • Number of police recorded homicides track with 2025 – 2026 baseline.

Priority 4 – Alcohol and drug-related harm and exploitation

We will tackle alcohol and drug-related harm and exploitation by:

  • enforcing the law
  • protecting public safety
  • supporting people into appropriate services
  • disrupting criminal, sexual and financial exploitation

Priority 5 – Community cohesion and inclusion

We will strengthen community cohesion and inclusion by:

  • fostering belonging
  • building trust between diverse groups
  • addressing inequalities
  • creating opportunities for all residents to participate confidently and safely in community life
  • ensuring pathways to support are understood and effective

How we will measure success of Priority 5

  • Maintain number and diversity of groups participating in Community Voices
  • Reduce total recorded hate crime for the whole of Somerset from 2025 – 2026 baseline
  • Reduce number of recorded disability hate crimes in Somerset from 2025 – 2026 baseline
  • Reduce number of recorded religion and belief-related hate crime in Somerset from 2025 – 2026 baseline

About the strategic framework

The Community Safety Plan is part of a strategic framework alongside the:

This plan also compliments the Police and Crime Plan 2024 – 2029.

Last updated: August 3, 2026

Next review due: February 3, 2027

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