The development of CDRPs stems from the 1991 Morgan Report, which concluded that the most effective way to improve crime prevention is to involve local government in developing local strategies with the police and other agencies. Although this recommendation was not embraced by the Conservative government then in power, Tony Blair's New Labour government committed itself to the full implementation of the Morgan Report recommendations, which was the basis for the creation of CDRPs. The "lead authorities" for a local CDRP consist of both the local authority and the police. The responsibilities of CDRPs, however, have not been left to the discretion of local agencies and communities. The central government has imposed service targets and performance indicators on local CDRPs, which has made it difficult for some services to commit completely to local strategic priorities unless they overlap with those identified by the central government. The National Policing Plan 2003 highlights the need for all police forces to address serious and organized crime that occurs across police agency boundaries; however, such a priority does not apparently reflect the characteristics of the majority of crimes at the local level. The central government's commitment to performance management and measurable targets is a continuing challenge to the efforts of the CDRPs in identifying local crime problems and implementing long-term crime-reduction strategies tailored to local crime assessments. Other problems for CDRPs include funding and local agency boundaries. Evidence suggests that the long-term success of CDRPs may depend on the extent to which local public services are released from centrally determined performance measures. 19 references