Some points of interest raised in civic offices (4)
I believe the answer is:
foci
'some points of interest' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'raised in civic offices' is the wordplay.
'raised' says the letters should be written in reverse (going up in a down clue).
'in' says the answer is hidden in the clue.
'icof' is hidden in the letters of 'civic offices'.
'icof' reversed gives 'FOCI'.
(Other definitions for foci that I've seen before include "targets" , "Centres" , "Central points (of the greatest activity)" , "fixed points" , "Points for attention" .)