The Community Safety Partnership met on Wednesday 2 April 2025 to discuss strategies for tackling violence against women and girls, review statistics on public spaces protection orders, and receive updates on various community safety initiatives. Key decisions included noting the revised timeline for the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy and agreeing to a more detailed report on Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) enforcement for the next meeting.

Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy Update

The partnership received an update on the development of the new VAWG Strategy for 2025-2028. The strategy aims to be a public-facing document to increase awareness of VAWG, address community tolerances, and tackle emerging behaviours. The timeline for its publication has been revised to align with the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) consultation, with a target of summer 2025. This alignment is intended to ensure coherency with MOPAC's priorities and potential future funding opportunities.

The strategy's priorities include:

• Partnership Collaboration: Emphasising a collaborative approach among partners to respond swiftly to VAWG incidents.
• Addressing Root Causes: Focusing on tackling the underlying causes of VAWG and improving response mechanisms.
• Victim Support: Ensuring victims receive appropriate and timely support through services and interventions.
• Perpetrator Accountability: Working with partners to hold perpetrators accountable for their actions.

Engagement has taken place with the Women's Safety Forum to support these priorities and implement actions. Data has been collected to compare VAWG incidences between the COVID-19 period and the present, across social care, schools, and voluntary sector organisations. VAWG engagement sessions have also been organised with young women in the borough to gather their experiences and feelings. The partnership will continue to work with various community institutions to reinforce multi-agency practice benefits. The strategy is aimed for board review and final sign-off around September 2025.

Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) Statistics and Update

David Rhodes, covering for Qais Ghafar, presented the statistics on the renewed PSPOs that came into effect in November 2024. Since their introduction, enforcement actions have included:

• 17 Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) for street drinking.
• 19 FPNs for begging.
• 1 FPN for public urination.
• 3 FPNs for amplified noise.
• 79 verbal warnings for street drinking.
• 3,047 verbal warnings for begging.
• 5 Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) warnings for begging.

A request was made for a more detailed breakdown of enforcement activities by both the police and the local authority, as the current report does not specify this. Katie Jones noted that the number of verbal warnings should gradually decrease as individuals receive their first warnings. Councillor Ghani stressed the importance of increased joint patrols between the police and local authority in PSPO areas, particularly in new areas like Beacontree. Nathan Singleton confirmed that all officers have received training to issue FPNs, which should enhance enforcement effectiveness, although community safety officers sometimes face challenges in obtaining names and addresses without police assistance. Superintendent Rhodes highlighted the success of Community Behaviour Orders (CBOs) issued since November, with 14 issued to date, and noted the strategic approach involving impact statements from both the local authority and police as a template for excellence. Efforts are being made to incorporate positive requirements into CBOs, such as attending drug and alcohol testing appointments. Amolak Tatter mentioned the success of proactive involvement from CGL (Change Grow Live) with Project Adder, working with street drinkers and supporting them into services to prevent displacement of the problem.

It was agreed that a more detailed report, including a joint perspective from both the police and local authority, would be presented at the next meeting. This report will also cover the broader approach to tackling anti-social behaviour in town centres.

Partnership Delivery to VRU Serious Violence Plan

Katie Jones provided an update on the serious violence duty strategy, which was completed and published last year. The strategy outlines six priorities based on the borough's needs assessment and is currently undergoing a refresh, including a new strategic needs assessment to update crime types and the borough's needs. This will help identify gaps and tailor support and prioritisation. The first workshop for leads is scheduled for 28 April, focusing on recapping the serious violence duty, discussing the action plan, and setting a forward plan to meet the duty's requirements. The action plan includes aspirational actions, acknowledging resource constraints, and demonstrates how the borough is meeting the serious violence duty in practice. Funding is available for delivering the duty, including a roadshow to communicate priorities to communities and schoolchildren, covering topics such as vaping, exploitation, and knife crime. The serious violence duty is a statutory requirement for all partners, and their involvement in workshops is crucial for understanding its requirements. The partnership will continue to collaborate on a plan for delivering the duty, ensuring all partners are involved and that its needs are met.

Prevent Update

Adele Norman, the new Prevent lead for Barking and Dagenham, provided an update on the Prevent strategy. The terrorism threat level remains substantial. Barking and Dagenham are assessed against eight benchmarks, including having an effective multi-agency partnership board, a local risk assessment process, a Prevent partnership plan, a clear referral process for support, a Channel panel, a training programme, strategies to reduce permissive environments, and a communication and engagement strategy. The borough no longer receives dedicated Prevent funding due to being assessed as low risk, with minimal recent extremist activity or political activism noted. Data for 2024-2025 is awaited, but previous figures showed two arrests and two convictions, representing 2% of London's Prevent referrals. Despite low referral numbers, activity in neighbouring areas is considered, as individuals may travel to radicalise and commit offences. Historically, religious stalls caused local concerns, but this issue has diminished.

The improvement plan addresses the eight benchmarks to ensure Prevent assurance and Channel quality assurance. Actions include revising the situational risk assessment, Channel processes, and paperwork, working closely with Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs) and schools, and complying with Home Office planning. Adele is developing a one-hour briefing workshop on Prevent, which will be promoted across the partnership. Plans are underway to add Prevent-related pages to the council website, standardise training, and provide links to relevant tools and resources. Challenges have been encountered in obtaining information from mental health services, which has slowed the screening and triaging of referrals. Efforts are being made to improve this pathway with NELFT (North East London Foundation Trust). The first Prevent Steering Group meeting was held in February 2025, and work continues to establish terms of reference and ensure compliance with the Prevent Duty.

Combatting Drugs Partnership Review

Amolak Tatter provided an update on the supplementary grant for 2024-2025. Challenges were encountered in recruiting for a supporting commissioner role, leading to the engagement of a consultant to oversee specific work, including the development of a delivery plan for the Combatting Drugs Partnership (CDP), the drug market profile, and other commissioning tasks. The funding for the Drug and Alcohol Treatment and Recovery Improvement Grant (DATRIG) for 2025-2026 has been confirmed at the same level as the previous year, allowing for the continuation of current work. However, increases in National Insurance contributions and the cost of the living wage could impact service delivery, particularly from 2026-2027 onwards when providers may no longer be able to absorb these costs. Quarter four final returns will be submitted by the end of the month. Uncertainty remains regarding future funding beyond 2026-2027, which could affect the ability to sustain the current level of service delivery. A further update will be provided at the next CSP board meeting.

Multi-Agency Safeguarding Arrangements (MASA)

The Multi-Agency Safeguarding Arrangements (MASA) are being updated in line with the Working Together guidance from December 2023. The focus is on ensuring the arrangements are robust rather than rushing publication. The local authority, police, and Integrated Care Board (ICB) are the lead strategic partners. The role of the independent chair is being replaced by an independent scrutiny officer to provide critical oversight. The partnership has faced challenges due to leadership and management gaps over the past year, and the current focus is on establishing strong foundations and governance. This includes aligning with the Best Chance programme, emphasising the role of education as the fourth statutory partner, and strengthening links with community, voluntary, and sports sectors.

Successes include the establishment of the One Panel and the Learning from Practice group, and strengthened partnership decision-making. Challenges persist with leadership and management gaps and the need for wider partnership engagement. The new structure includes an annual meeting for strategic direction, an executive board chaired by Stuart Bell, a partnership board chaired by Charmaine Lawrenson, and three committees focusing on core business: Learning from Practice, One Panel, and Quality Assurance and Performance. Working groups will also be established to progress annual priorities, which currently focus on child exploitation, child sexual abuse, and neglect, with domestic abuse reporting included. Future priorities may encompass family help and whole-family working. Key learning points include the importance of information sharing, professional curiosity, whole-family working, identifying key issues, the quality of multi-agency meetings, transitions, the use of chronologies, elective home education, sudden infant death education, and the quality of multi-agency referrals. Next steps involve embedding the work of committees and working groups, strengthening links with other partnerships, establishing a practitioner forum, and enhancing communication through social media and newsletters.

In response to a question about safeguarding adults, it was noted that while statutory requirements differ for adults and children, terms of reference are being drafted by Yvonne Byrne to align with the CSP and adult safeguarding needs.

Schools Officers Update

A review initiated in April of the previous year has led to a restructuring of the schools officer role to bring them closer to neighbourhood teams, aiming for increased visibility and accessibility within the community while maintaining school partnerships. There will be no reduction in staffing numbers; the current 10 school officers will complement ward teams. Officers will divide their time between school-related duties and wider ward matters, and while schools will retain a dedicated contact, officers will no longer be permanently based on school premises. This integration aims to enhance safety during school journeys and within school environments. Officers will be assigned to specific wards based on threat and risk assessments, covering areas including Longbridge, Mayesbrook, Eastbury, Gorsbrook, Beam, Eastbrook and Rush Green, Heath, Whalebone, and Chadwell Heath. These changes will be implemented from early May, with head teachers briefed and further meetings scheduled. An escalation process is being developed for head teachers and safeguarding leads, and a governance board will review changes, identify best practices, and provide feedback.

Funding Update

CSP Funding: Projects funded by the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) and the London Crime Prevention Fund (LCPF) have been approved, with final project details being confirmed. There is a slight reduction due to the loss of the capacity building fund, but this is offset by the MyEnds offer for Barking.

Turnaround Funding: Angie Fuller reported a significant reduction in turnaround funding from the Ministry of Justice, impacting support for children arrested and released under investigation. This reduction has led to the loss of turnaround workers, and efforts are underway to support this work through the Youth At Risk Matrix (YARM) program.

Mayoral Funding: Nathan Singleton highlighted uncertainty regarding mayoral funding, which has significantly impacted the voluntary sector. Lifeline has lost three youth workers and may lose six more by the end of the year, reducing school mentoring programmes. This uncertainty could lead to a contraction of the voluntary sector. Amolak Tatter's earlier funding update was also referenced.

Katie Jones emphasised the importance of bringing funding issues to the board's attention, as reductions in one area can affect outputs and resource allocation in others. It was agreed that Katie Jones would discuss with Councillor Ghani the possibility of lobbying for funding prioritisation due to the borough's high levels of young people and poverty.

Forward Plan

The board reviewed the CSP forward plan and agreed on the items for the next CSP meeting, incorporating additional requests made during this meeting. An update on CCTV projects is to be added to the next meeting's agenda.

Any Other Business

Katie Jones flagged recent changes in the operational format for the prison and probation service, noting the appointment of Amy Reece as the interim permanent secretary for the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and Sarah Coccia as the interim Chief Operating Officer for prisons. This change has been formally noted, and an official letter will be logged with the minutes. Councillor Ghani and Katie Jones expressed their gratitude to David Rhodes for his contributions over the past two years, highlighting improvements in partnership and achievements during his tenure. David Rhodes thanked everyone for their support, acknowledging the strength of the partnership in facing challenges, particularly concerning funding and uncertainty.

Performance Report

The Community Safety Partnership Performance Report, focusing on police-recorded crime figures for the borough for the 12 months to January 2025, was presented for information only. Future reports will include data from other partner services. The report indicated a decrease in Total Notifiable Offences (TNOs) by 4.9% compared to the previous year. Specific crime types showed varied trends, with some increases in areas such as arson, sexual offences, and drug trafficking, while others like residential burglary and violence with injury saw decreases. Special flagged crime types, including domestic abuse, hate crime, and knife crime, generally saw a decrease, although increases were noted in gun crime, faith hate crime, Islamophobic hate crime, and overall knife crime.

Subgroup Update Reports

No specific updates were raised from the subgroup reports, with the exception of the Safer Neighbourhood Board and Safeguarding Boards updates, which were presented separately.

Safer Neighbourhood Board Update

Evan Hollows, Chair of the Safer Neighbourhood Board (SNB), reported on the board's quarterly meetings, which focus on project progress and local crime tackling by the police. The SNB has requested and received more detailed police data prior to meetings, which has been beneficial. The SNB successfully bid for MOPAC funding for several projects, including the Safe Havens scheme, which provides a practical way for businesses to offer temporary refuge and support to individuals in need. Training sessions for the Safe Havens scheme have been delivered, and consultations are ongoing with large businesses.

The LGBT+/LGBTQIA Engagement & Safety Promotion project, based at the Women's Museum, aims to connect with the LGBTQIA+ community in Barking and Dagenham. The project seeks to improve communication, support individuals with lived experience, provide safe meeting spaces, and develop a platform for community concerns. Attendance figures for social events were provided, indicating a consistent returning membership for Monday night get-togethers, with efforts underway to recruit new members. Networking activities with other groups are also taking place. VAWG Engagement Sessions are planned, involving local organisations to conduct workshops and gather survey data on women's safety perceptions. The SNB meetings also cover updates from various areas, including the Community Payback Scheme, Independent Advisory Group (IAG), Stop & Search, Neighbourhood Watch, and Ward Panels, alongside police presentations on local crime patterns and trends. A key challenge identified is the desire to better represent the voices of youth and the LGBTQIA+ community, with ongoing efforts to engage with relevant networks.

Safeguarding Boards Update Report

Yvonne Byrne provided an update on the work of the Safeguarding Adults Board (SAB) and the Safeguarding Children's Partnership (SCP). The SAB discussed the draft Safeguarding Adult Partnership Audit Tool (SAPAT) and an update on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection. A desktop exercise on online safety for vulnerable adults was undertaken, with a joint training plan being developed. The SAB also addressed significant delays in obtaining Section 135 warrants for mental health assessments and discussed the progress of the Safeguarding Adult Review and the Complex Cases Group.

The Safeguarding Children's Partnership (SCP) is updating its Multi-Agency Safeguarding Arrangements (MASA) in line with new guidance. The partnership structure is being strengthened, with an independent scrutiny officer replacing the independent chair. The focus is on establishing strong foundations and governance, aligning with the Best Chance programme and strengthening links with community, voluntary, and sports sectors. Key priorities for the BDSCP include child exploitation, child sexual abuse, and neglect, with domestic abuse reporting integrated. Future priorities may include family help and whole-family working. Learning from reviews and other activities will be embedded across the partnership and workforce. The BDSCP is also in the process of appointing an Independent Scrutineer.

Date of Next Meeting

The next Community Safety Partnership Board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, 2 July 2025, from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, to be held via Microsoft Teams. Councillor Ghani will chair the meeting.