Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED that the notes of the meeting held on 10 October were an accurate record and that they be signed by the Chairman.

1.    Cynthia Allen, CRC addressed the issue of housing for ex-offenders and said that the issue had been escalated to the Kent Criminal Justice Board. The stance taken by the probation service was that it had a clear remit that did not include the provision of housing support for ex-offenders. Tracey Kadir (Head of National Probation Service, Kent) submitted a funding proposal to the Ministry of Justice, however, this was declined on the basis of affordability as it would have consumed a significant amount of the commissioning budget. Cynthia welcomed the prospect of a multi-agency discussion to find a collaborative solution and advised that she was meeting with KCC Commissioners following this meeting.

2.    The Chairman agreed that an update report on the Violence Reduction Challenge, be brought to the next meeting of the KCSP.

3.    The Chairman agreed that an update report on the Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Executive Group, be brought to the next meeting of the KCSP.

1.    Mr Peerbux (Head of Community Safety, Public Protection, KCC) introduced the report which provided Members with an update of the annual review of the Kent Community Safety Agreement (CSA) and highlighted the positive impact of the decision taken by the Kent Community Safety Partnership (KCSP) to make the CSA into a rolling document. Mr Peerbux paid tribute to the Kent Community Safety Team (KCST), the KCSP Working Group and Shirley Brinson for their work.

2.    Ms Brinson (Community Safety Team Leader, Public Protection, KCC) outlined the key community safety priorities for the county and the cross-cutting themes that supported the identified priorities. The CSA was a rolling document which was due to be reviewed and refreshed on an annual basis with relevant chapters and appendices updated as required.  The main updates in this year’s refresh related to the key achievements for 2018/19, the community safety landscape and the appendices.  Ms Brinson invited KCSP members to feedback any additional changes either during the meeting or via email following the meeting.

3.    Mr Peerbux informed Members that the next KCSP agenda would focus on the post-Brexit aspect of community safety and noted that emerging community safety issues relating to Brexit would be considered in-year as part of the supporting CSA action plan.

4.    The officers provided a response to comments and questions, including the following:

(a)  Ms Brinson said that due to the variation in legislation, Medway was required to have its own document, however, the priorities and cross-cutting themes identified by community safety partners across Kent and Medway were similar and consistent reflecting the legislative requirements and emerging issues.

(b)  Crime Data Integrity issues were due to be discussed at the April Police and Crime Panel and a more detailed report presented to the Scrutiny Committee to address the new commitments of the KCSP.

5.    The Chairman informed Members that he had written to the Chief Constable on behalf of Kent County Council to commend the police for their improved crime-recording arrangements.

6.    RESOLVED that the draft Community Safety Agreement be agreed and the achievements for 2018/19 be noted.

1.    Mr Thompson (Chief Inspector, Partnerships and Communities, Kent Police) presented a series of slides that set out Kent’s response to the EU exit and the work carried out by the Kent Resilience Forum to understand the impact on Kent and contingency capabilities.

2.    RESOLVED that the information set out in the presentation and given in response to comments and questions be noted.

1.    Mr Thompson (Chief Inspector, Partnerships and Communities, Kent Police) introduced the report which provided Members with an update on the key activities and projects (2018/19) that were being managed by the Working Group on behalf of the Kent Community Safety Partnership. Mr Thompson highlighted the success of the annual community safety conference and paid tribute to the speakers who addressed the topic of ‘Preventing Extremism and Hate’ from both a local and national perspective.

2.    Mr Peerbux (Head of Community Safety, Public Protection, KCC) explained that the funding criteria for 2019/20 had been refreshed and that one third of the funding would be allocated to a tactical pot to be spent in-year on emerging issues. The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) had requested greater focus be paid on reducing violence through the delivery of the Violence Reduction Challenge (VRC) and that a number of potential projects had been identified by the Working Group. A verbal update on the proposed projects for 2019/20 was presented to Members during the meeting and it was noted that the recommended projects would be submitted to the PCC for sign-off.

3.    Mr Peerbux informed the partnership that the Financial Abuse video was due to be launched in April 2019 and would be brought to the next meeting of the Kent Community Safety Partnership.

4.    Mr Thompson informed Members that a logo was going to be developed for the Kent Community Safety Team (KCST) which could be used on multi-agency documentation. It was suggested that a variation of the logo could be adapted and used to represent the KCSP, this would be similar to how the Kent Resilience Team and the Kent Resilience Forum logos are linked. The KCST was reviewing innovative information technology systems to increase partnership working and the required funding to support this.

5.    RESOLVED that the progress and actions undertaken by the Working Group and the work of the KCST be noted and that exploring the options for branding of the Partnership and its subgroups; and the possibility of a joint IT venture be endorsed.

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) were unable to attend to provide an update on Mental Health and this will be postponed until the next KCSP meeting. 

Kent Community Safety Partnership meetings to be held on the following dates at 10am in the Medway Room, Sessions House, County Hall:

-       17 July 2019

-       9 October 2019

-       18 March 2020

RESOLVED that the Members noted that the following dates had been reserved for its meetings in 2019/20:

17 July 2019

8    October 2019

18 March 2020

1.  Mr Peerbux (Head of Community Safety, Public Protection, KCC) provided an update on Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs).

2.  Mr Peerbux advised that a specific recommendation from one of the DHRs was to share the Kent and Medway Safeguarding Adults Boards (KMSAB) policy on Self Neglect with the Partnership and that this will be provided once the final version is available.

3.  RESOLVED that the update be noted and that the KMSAB Self Neglect Policy will be circulated to the Partnership in due course.

1. Nick Wilkinson (Prevent and Channel Strategic Manager, KCC) provided an update on Prevent Duty Delivery Board.

2.    Mr Wilkinson informed Members that the Home Office had released a Far-right terrorism fact sheet to tie in with the announcement of further funding (£1.6M) for the Places of Worship security Scheme:

https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2019/03/19/factsheet-right-wing-terrorism/

3.    RESOLVED that the update on the activity in regard of the Prevent Duty, be noted.

1.    Nick Wilkinson (Prevent and Channel Strategic Manager, KCC) provided an update on the Kent and Medway Risks, Threats and Vulnerabilities Group.

2.    RESOLVED that the verbal update be noted.

Andy Raby (Independent Chair for Domestic Homicide Reviews) was in attendance for this item.

RESOLVED that the information set out in the presentation and given in response to comments and questions be noted.