North Yorkshire Community Safety Partnership

June 2021

 

Community Safety Plan Delivery and Partnership Working

 

 


1.0       Purpose of this Report

1.1      To update on the partnership working around the priority areas agreed by North Yorkshire Community Safety Partnership. The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 places a statutory duty on local authorities to create multi-agency partnerships to tackle crime, and disorder and other behaviour adversely affecting the local environment and to reduce re-offending. The world of community safety continually changes, the need for partners to work effectively together is essential. In addition, Community Safety Partnerships also have a statutory duty to undertake domestic homicide reviews when the criteria are met.

 

1.2      North Yorkshire Community Safety Partnership has agreed the following priority areas for delivery;

·           Partnership development

·           Community Safety Hubs

·           Domestic abuse

·           Serious and Organised Crime (early intervention and prevention)

·           Hate crime and community cohesion.

 

1.3      The Safer Communities Team, NYCC, that support the delivery of the above also lead on the North Yorkshire partnership delivery of ‘Prevent’, identifying and supporting those individuals vulnerable to terrorism.

 

1.4       Membership, terms of reference and chairing arrangements have been reviewed. New chairing arrangements have been nominated and approved. Current arrangements for chair, Dr Justin Ives (chief executive, Hambleton District Council) and vice chair, Neil Irving (Assistant Director, North Yorkshire County Council) will be replaced. The new chair will be the incoming Assistance Chief Constable, North Yorkshire Police and vice-chair Jonathan Dyson (Director of Assurance, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Services).

 

2.0      Partnership Development

 

2.1      North Yorkshire Community Safety Partnership has continued to maintain effective relationships with other partnerships. Leads from the Safeguarding Adults Board, Local Safeguarding Children Partnership and Community Safety Partnership regularly meet and jointly deliver on;

·           Communications and engagement strategies

·           Actions from ‘learning reviews’

·           Strategic and operational matters e.g. multi-agency child exploitation arrangements.

 

2.2      The annual safeguarding week will be jointly delivered the week beginning the 21st June 2021, with a range of virtual events and webinars being made available for the multi-agency workforce.

 

3.0      Community Safety Hubs

 

3.1      Although there is a recognition that the nature of the work in each of the community safety hubs, across the districts, will differ. A consistent approach to recording cases and measuring the outcomes and impact is required. Over the last year, community safety leads have implemented, developed and consistently reviewed Orcuma FiRST (the case management system used by all of the Hubs, commissioned by the Office of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner). It is anticipated that this system will further enhance the evidence of the Hubs at operational and strategic levels.

 

4.0      Domestic Abuse

 

4.1      On the 29th April 2021, the Domestic Abuse Act came into force, it aims to make changes to better protect survivors of domestic abuse and strengthen measures to address the behaviours of perpetrators. We await further details on the timescales for implementation, statutory guidance to accompany the Act is to be published. (We do have some timescales in relation to statutory duties linked to safe accommodation.)

 

4.2      The Domestic Abuse Act will:

·           Create a statutory definition of domestic abuse, emphasising that domestic abuse is not just physical violence, but can also be emotional, coercive or controlling and economic abuse. As part of this definition, children will be explicitly recognised as victims if they see, hear or otherwise experience the effects of abuse

·           Create a new offence of non-fatal strangulation

·           Extend the controlling or coercive behaviour offence to cover post-separation abuse. Clarify the law to further deter claims of “rough sex gone wrong” in cases involving death or serious injury

·           Establish in law the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, to stand up for victims and survivors, raise public awareness, monitor the effectiveness of local authorities, the justice system and other statutory agencies and hold them to account in tackling domestic abuse

·           Place a duty on local authorities in England to provide support to victims of domestic abuse and their children in refuges and other safe accommodation

·           Prohibit GPs and other health professionals from charging a victims of domestic abuse for a letter to support an application for legal aid.

 

4.3      The Act will strengthen measures to tackle perpetrators by

·           Prohibiting perpetrators of abuse from cross-examining their victims in person in family and civil courts

·           Enabling domestic abuse offenders to be subject to polygraph testing as a condition of their licence following their release from custody

·           Providing for a new Domestic Abuse Protection Notice and Domestic Abuse Protection Order, which will prevent perpetrators from contacting their victims, as well as force them to take positive steps to change their behaviour e.g. seeking mental health support

·           Introducing a statutory duty on the secretary of State to publish a domestic abuse perpetrator strategy.

 

4.4      It is critical to provide life-saving safe accommodation and support for those victims and their children that need it following domestic abuse. Within the Act, local authorities are required to assess the need for support in their area for all victims of domestic abuse (including their children) who need to access safe accommodation.

 

4.5      IDAS is currently commissioned to deliver community based support for victims, refuges and dispersed accommodation across North Yorkshire and York. North Yorkshire County Council, City of York Council and the Office of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner jointly commission these arrangements. Most of the elements described in the definitions for accommodation and support, within the Act, are covered in current contract arrangements.

 

4.6      Additional grant funding has been received by Tier 1 authorities (North Yorkshire County Council and City of York Council) and Tier 2 authorities (all districts). Following the needs assessment a joint strategy regarding safe accommodation must be published by August 2021. Future reporting on spend and progress to central government will come from the Tier 1 authorities. The funding will be used to enhance current arrangements and ensure there is a range of options and support including dispersed properties and sanctuary schemes, to meet the wide range of needs.

 

4.7      There is no ‘local connection’ restriction for accommodation and referrals will be accepted from other local authority areas in the UK through the national Women’s Aid network and Mankind Initiative. It is recognised nationally that services need to allow for victims and survivors to travel the distance needed to be safe from their abusers; local provision may not be suitable. During 2020/ 21 36% of victims accessing accommodation services in North Yorkshire and York, were recorded as local, 56% came from out of area.

 

5.0      Serious and Organised Crime (Early Intervention and Prevention)

 

 

5.1      Working in partnership with other agencies, two task and finish groups have been established. One focussing on the training and information available for the multi-agency workforce, in identifying and supporting those vulnerable to serious and organised crime. A second group will focus on identifying, collating and developing the multi-agency interventions available to practitioners in supporting individuals and their families.

 

 

6.0      Hate Crime and Community Cohesion

 

6.1      A multi-agency Positive Communities project group has been established that offers to deliver a range of resources to education settings, to enhance young people’s understanding of positive and cohesive communities. This group is currently exploring the arrangements around train the trainers approaches (to gain a wider reach), use of peer to peer support and an accessible platform to share resources.

 

7.0       Recommendations

 

7.1      For Members to take note of the overarching activity being driven and developed, with strategic oversight from North Yorkshire Community Safety Partnership. Future updates will be provided and specific themed reports can be presented at future committees, if identified.

 

Report Author: Odette Robson, Head of Safer Communities

Presented By: Dr Justin Ives, North Yorkshire Chairman of Community Safety Partnership

24 May 2021