Data Sharing in Crime Prevention: Why and How

Criteria for the permissible exchange of relevant data within crime and disorder partnerships are to be found in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. Partnerships have experienced difficulties in reaching agreement about data-sharing. This paper proposes an approach which minimises formal data-sharing while maximising relevance to crime reduction. It should be read as a radical alternative to the approach advocated by Brookes et al (2003) and is based on the excellent work undertaken in the Government Office, East Midlands.