An informal survey of the operation and perceived effectiveness of some of these committees carried out by members of the Working Group which was responsible for preparing this manual are summarised below. Representation in crime prevention committees. The number of committee members ranged from 5 to 30 members, with most committees having between 10 and 20 members. Some committees invite other organisations to attend meetings.
Some committees also run open meetings where anyone can attend.
For a committee to be workable, it has been suggested that it should comprise no more than 12 core members. However, other members can be co-opted for specific periods of time depending on the matters being dealt with. Other research has highlighted that while it is important that committees have a broad representation, this can be difficult to achieve, particularly in regard to young people and people from non-English speaking backgrounds. In the case of young people, it has been suggested that they are more likely to be seen as the subject of the committee's attention rather than as appropriate members of it. Given that they are often perceived as part of the problem, it has been argued that they should be involved in making decisions about the solution.