The Houslow Community Safety Partnership Board met to discuss a range of issues relating to community safety in the borough, including a presentation about the activities of the Perfectly Imperfect community organisation, a discussion about fear of crime in the borough, an update from the Probation Service and consideration of the Safer Communities Partnership end of year report.

Perfectly Imperfect

Siobhan Donoghue from the Perfectly Imperfect community organisation gave a presentation to the meeting about their work in the borough. The presentation explained that Perfectly Imperfect had been awarded a grant of £33,000 by the London Violence Reduction Unit as part of the VRU Capacity Building Grant scheme. The presentation explained that the money was to be used for engaging and supporting young people and families who have come into regular contact with police and statutory services in Feltham.

Fear of Crime Update

Chris Lyons, the Safer Communities Manager at the council gave a presentation to the meeting about the work of the Fear of Crime task and finish group, which had met for the first time in August 2024. The presentation reminded the board of the discrepancy between actual crime rates and the public perception of crime in the borough. It explained that while:

Hounslow is in the lower half when compared to other London boroughs on total crime rate

The borough's residents have a higher than average fear of crime. The presentation then listed six factors that could be affecting public perceptions of safety:

• The physical environment
• Actual crime levels
• Confidence in the police and local authority
• Social networks and community engagement
• Media coverage
• Past experiences of crime

The presentation went on to explain that the group had decided to focus on addressing areas of concern that had been raised by residents, including:

• Anti-social behaviour in public spaces associated with drugs and alcohol
• Anti-social behaviour associated with groups of teenagers gathering at night
• Feelings of safety outside after dark
• Crime levels in Feltham Town Centre and Hounslow High Street.

The presentation finished by listing some of the next steps for the group, including further meetings in August and September and a further update to the board in October.

Probation RESET and SDS40

Ayodeji Ogunyemi from the Probation Service gave a presentation providing an update on the Probation RESET and SDS40 schemes.

Probation Reset

The presentation explained that the Probation Reset scheme:

is a set of measures being introduced to... help alleviate workload pressures by focusing Probation Practitioners' time on where the evidence shows the most impact can be had

It explained that under the scheme contact appointments for People on Licence will cease in the final third of their sentence, unless they meet certain exemption criteria.

SDS40

The presentation explained that the SDS40 scheme would change the release point for people serving sentences eligible under the scheme from 50% of the way through their sentence to 40% of the way through their sentence.

It explained that the following offences are excluded from the scheme:

• Sentences with a 2/3 release point
• Sexual offences
• Violence offences over four years
• National Security offences
• Stalking offences
• Specific offences related to domestic abuse

The presentation explained that releases under the scheme would begin on 10 September 2024 for sentences shorter than 5 years and 22 October 2024 for all other sentences.

Safer Communities Partnership End of Year 3 Report

The meeting was scheduled to consider the draft Safer Communities Partnership End of Year report for 2021-24. The report describes the work that the partnership has been doing to address crime in the borough.

One of the key focuses of the report is the introduction of the Serious Violence Duty. This new duty requires councils and other agencies to work together to prevent serious violence, and was introduced in the wake of a series of high-profile incidents of violence in London and other parts of the country. The report explains how the partnership has been working to implement the duty.

The report also highlights the work that the partnership has been doing to address other crime types, including violence against women and girls, hate crime, and anti-social behaviour. The report includes a number of case studies that illustrate the work of the partnership. For example, the report describes how the partnership has been working to tackle the issue of cuckooing, where criminal gangs take over the homes of vulnerable people to use as a base for their operations. The report explains how the partnership has been working with the police and other agencies to identify and support victims of cuckooing, and to disrupt the activities of the criminal gangs involved.

The report also sets out the partnership’s priorities for the coming year. These include:

• Continuing to implement the Serious Violence Duty
• Working to reduce the number of victims of violence against women and girls
• Tackling hate crime and discrimination
• Reducing anti-social behaviour
• Protecting vulnerable people from exploitation

The report concludes by stating that the partnership is committed to working with communities to make Hounslow a safer place for everyone.