Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED that the notes of the meeting held on 21 March 2018 were an accurate record and that they be signed by the Chair.

1.      Shafick Peerbux (Head of Community Safety) explained that the Community Safety Agreement (CSA) had been updated at the start of the financial year as part of a planned refresh and that this had included the addition of a new priority of Preventing Extremism and Hate.  He advised that the focus of the CSA was bringing together key joint work on increasingly complex issues.  Mr Peerbux explained that the KCSP Working Group had been working on a refresh of the CSA action plan to address the priorities.   

2.      Shirley Brinson (Community Safety Team Leader) provided an overview of the refreshed action plan, as outlined in the paper, which covered the following priorities:

o   Domestic Abuse

o   Road Safety

o   Substance Misuse

o   Anti-social Behaviour

o   Serious and Organised Crime

o   Safeguarding Vulnerable People

o   Preventing Extremism and Hate

3.      Members discussed the update and asked questions regarding domestic abuse issues and Police crime recording.

RESOLVED that the update be noted.

1.      Ian Thomson (Kent Fire and Rescue Service – Assistant Director of Community Safety) provided an update on the Working Group activities.  Notably, that the Preventing Extremism and Hate Conference was in the preparation stage with 27 November as the provisional date for the conference.  The decision to deliver a partnership conference this year was determined on a needs basis and it was noted that a business case was going to be submitted to the Police and Crime Commissioner to access the tactical pot from this year’s Crime Reduction Grant.

2.      Mr Thomson explained that the PCC’s £40k grant to the KCSP was being well used, with support going to an update of the Kent and Medway Domestic Abuse Services website on a new platform that was more user-friendly.  As well as funding being used to support the Licence to Kill project (road safety); a Gangs Project (gangs awareness for frontline professionals and young people); Cybercrime and Online Safety Training (including train the trainer to cascade the information to communities); and a Financial Abuse Video (highlighting the harm to vulnerable adults through scams).

3.      The Partnership discussed the business case to the PCC to support the Preventing Extremism and Hate Conference, with suggestions that it include details on how the conference may highlight the Channel referral process.

4.      Mr Thomson advised the Partnership that the Kent Community Safety Team (KCST) had been delivering Community Safety Information Sessions throughout the year and partners were encouraged to contact the team to book places and also suggest topics.  He also updated the Partnership regarding the Kent Community Safety Newsletter which provided information and positive examples of joint working to tackle a range of community safety issues.  Mr Peerbux commented that the sign-up process and current contact lists had been updated in line with GDPR.

RESOLVED that the update be noted.

1.      Mr Peerbux advised the Partnership that the updated Terms of Reference (ToR) had incorporated all the KCSP related workstreams and that the ToRs for the subgroups had been reviewed.  This update followed a significant review conducted in 2017, so now only minor amendments were required.

RESOLVED that the updated Terms of Reference be agreed, that all KCSP member organisations sign up to the latest Kent & Medway Information Sharing Agreement and that the requirement for an annual review of the ToRs be noted.

1.      D/Supt Harper advised the Partnership that the Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence strategy was in development via the executive group.  Also, a toolkit for managing this important issue had recently been agreed by Chief Officers.

RESOLVED that the update be noted.

1.      Detective Superintendent Susie Harper, (Kent Police) introduced a presentation on the operation.  This outlined the key points that it was a multi-agency approach to considering repeat callers who may be at risk.  This involved better information sharing between the agencies, which had been a key recommendation from all previous reviews.  It had been identified that there was the potential for significant time and cost savings for having a more co-ordinated response and that this could be reinvested into other high vulnerability areas.

2.      D/Supt Harper explained that the proposed approach was being considered as a ‘community MARAC’ (Multi-agency Risk Assessment Conference), using the best practice processes already conducted via normal MARAC operations which focus on the high risk domestic abuse cases.  It was expected that this approach would improve communication between services, which had consistently been an area for improvement identified in various case reviews.  She advised that it was expected that all areas in Kent would adopt the model to ensure a consistent approach and shared benefit around delivering long term efficiencies and improving the service delivered to those the agencies were seeking to help.

3.      Partnership members commented that in some areas, this approach was already up and running, including the development and inclusion of vulnerability panels.

RESOLVED that the update be noted and that the positive approach be welcomed.

1.      Jess Mookherjee (KCC Public Health), provided a brief update, explaining that work was ongoing, however the commissioning programme had made good progress following successful market engagement and planned commissioning exercises.  The commissioning work had lessened the need for the proposed task and finish group at that stage.

RESOLVED that the update be noted and that a written report on the project be provided in future.

1.      Adrian Harper (Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner – Chief Executive) provided an update to the Partnership.  He highlighted that the number of Section 136 detentions under the Mental Health Act had risen and that this had been reviewed. It had been found that Officers were managing this appropriately in terms of the guidelines but that this presented challenges as once an individual was detained under Section 136 they could not be released until they had received a high level medical review.  Mr Harper explained that due to the changes under the recent Policing Act and the restrictions on where those detained under the Mental Health act could be held, Officer time was increasingly being spent at hospitals waiting for these detainees to be reviewed or processed.

2.      Mr Harper explained that work was taking place to review the legislation around mental health and that this was an important development.  He advised that the PCC was part of the review committee looking at this work and that a report was expected later in 2018.  Mr Harper also updated the Partnership on the PCC’s Mental Health and Policing Fund which had seen more than £107k being given to different organisations.

3.      Mr Harper advised the Partnership that Kent Police had continued the practice of having mental health professionals working in the Force Control Room to assist in managing relevant contact.  He updated the Partnership that the Street Triage Pilot had ended in June and that a review of the pilot was underway with recommendations expected later in the year.

4.      Mr Harper confirmed that processes were in place in Kent Police to monitor and risk assess high risk callers, where mental health is a known factor.  He also advised that work was ongoing regarding considering the impact of drugs on mental health issues but noted that more work was needed on this aspect.

RESOLVED that the update be noted.

1.      Mr Thomson introduced a presentation developed by KFRS to outline their Community Safety activities.  This included covering their Corporate Plan, Business Safety, Home visits, joint working, the Byrnes Family information campaign, volunteering, bike safety and water safety.

2.      Key highlights from the presentation involved the positive use of social media, the work of the Medway Water Safety Group and the success of communications and branding.  This linked to the plan to license the Byrnes family as a campaign, due to interest from other authorities.

3.      It was also highlighted that the excellent engagement from the public with the Byrnes Family campaign has suggested that this approach was worth exploring for other community safety issues.

RESOLVED that the update be noted.

The next meeting of the Kent Community Safety Partnership will be held on 10 October 2018, 10am, Darent Room, Sessions House, Maidstone. 

NOTED that the next meeting would be on 10 October 2018 in the Darent Room at County Hall.

1.         Please see the ACT (Action Counters Terrorism) Website for advice and guidance.

RESOLVED that the update be noted.

RESOLVED that the update be noted.

RESOLVED that the update be noted.

RESOLVED that KCSP meetings continue in the current format.