A SSP is a formal agreement between a school (including Colleges and Universities) and the police to work together in order to keep young people safe, reduce crime and the fear of crime in schools and their communities. The underlying assumption is that by reducing bullying, truancy and exclusions from school, SSPs will impact indirectly on offending and antisocial behaviour.

An SSP is a positive way for the police and all schools to demonstrate their commitment to promoting a safe environment to learn and prevent crime. This will involve a police Safer Schools Officer regularly working at a school or across a number of schools on a full time or part time basis.