Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED that the notes of the meeting held on 14 March 2024 were correctly recorded.

1.    Ms S Brinson (Community Safety Team Leader, KCC) presented a report which included details of the refreshed Kent Community Safety Agreement (CSA) draft action plan for 2024/25.

2.    Ms Brinson explained that, while the Agreement’s eight priorities were unchanged following the refresh that was approved at the March Kent Community Safety Partnership (KCSP) meeting, the action plan had been updated by members of the KCSP Working Group, priority leads and other relevant partners to ensure that it appropriately reflected the contents within the CSA.

3.    The action plan includes key initiatives that are delivered by Community Safety partners across the county linking in with other multi-agency groups, including the Domestic and Sexual Abuse Executive Group, the Kent and Medway Safer Roads Partnership, the Substance Misuse Alliance, the Joint Exploitation Group, the Prevent Duty Delivery Board, Safeguarding Boards/Partnerships and the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) etc.

4.    The action plan will be updated to include the projects being funded by the KCSPs allocation of the Kent PCC’s Crime Reduction Grant (CRG) once approved for ongoing monitoring.

5.    The action plan is a rolling document and contains a number of ongoing actions linked to the work of the KCSP such as the delivery of the Domestic Homicide Reviews and Strategic Assessments.  In addition, a number of new actions have been added to the plan and include activities which were being delivered by partners in areas such as Domestic Abuse, Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) and Serious and Organised Crime.

6.    The priorities detailed in the action plan: Domestic Abuse; Road Safety; Substance Misuse; Preventing Neighbourhood Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour; Serious Violence and Organised Crime; Safeguarding Vulnerable People; Preventing Extremism and Hate; and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG); have all had their actions refreshed.

7.    In answer to a comment about utilising various sources to determine ASB issues and the role of local politicians to tackle anti-social behaviour, Mr S Peerbux (Head of Community Safety, KCC) agreed that there are already various sources such as My Community Voice, local Community Safety Partnerships have ASB data collection, and politicians’ regular engagement with their communities would also be important to help pinpoint local anti-social behaviour issues too. 

8.    Mr S Peerbux finished by thanking partners for their support with the production of the comprehensive written report and presentations for the recent Crime and Disorder Scrutiny Committee.

RESOLVED that Kent Community Safety Partnership members:

a. Note the refreshed action plan which supports delivery of the refreshed Community Safety Agreement.

b. Provide feedback on the content of the draft action plan via email to kentcommunitysafetyteam@kent.gov.uk (KCST) by 19th July 2024, or at any time in-year if new actions emerge.

1.  Mr M Powell (Director, Kent and Medway Violence Reduction Unit, KCC) clarified that he was speaking in his capacity as Chair of the KCSP Working Group.

2.  He outlined that the funding allocation to the KCSP from the Police and Crime Commissioners Crime Reduction Grant for 2024/25 had remained the same as in previous years (£39,661). In accordance with the grant conditions, a third of the funding (£13,221) had been allocated to a Tactical Pot for in-year spending, with the remaining two-thirds (£26,440) available for upfront project spend. The tactical pot would be accessible once all the upfront business case projects were approved.

3.  A total of nine project proposals were received from partners for consideration by the KCSP Working Group at their meeting on 29th April 2024. Based on a shortlisting exercise and partnership discussion, seven of the nine projects received a consensus of support and business cases were submitted to the PCC for approval.  These are:

·         Expert level training in ASB Case Reviews and ASB legislation

·         Neurodivergent intimate relationships Training for partners

·         Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) training sessions

·         Countering the Extreme Right-Wing Training

·         Partnership Workshop on New CSP Statutory Duties

·         Community Safety Learning

·         Hateful Extremism CPD Event.

4.  The Kent Community Safety Team (KCST) are in the process of liaising with the (office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) on the projects and await final approval.

5.  The KCSP Working Group have begun liaising with partners to explore potential projects for funding through the tactical pot and proposals will be discussed at the next KCSP Working Group meeting scheduled for 17th July 2024.

6.  Partner organisations were invited to submit suggestions for projects, funding opportunities, training and collaborative working to the KCST: kentcommunitysafetyteam@kent.gov.uk.

7.  The Vice-Chair of the KCSP Working Group, Mr Peerbux highlighted some activities being undertaken by the KCST, in particular the Community Safety Information Sessions which are proving very popular and receiving positive feedback. So far, 3 sessions have been held with the last session taking place on the 20^th June focused on ASB best practice and also AMPARO, a support service for those affected by suicide.

RESOLVED that the KCSP note the progress and actions undertaken by the Working Group and the work of the KCST.

1.  Mr S Peerbux advised that the KCSP terms of reference (ToR) were last updated and approved by the Partnership in July 2023 and are required to be reviewed and refreshed on an annual basis. Since the last review, there had been no legislative changes that would impact the governance arrangements of the Partnership.  The Home Office published the outcomes of a consultation in relation to Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) Review in November 2023, however, there have been no legislative changes or any guidance documents published for CSPs since this time.

2.  The ToR of the KCSP had remained largely unchanged aside from the ‘Membership’ section reflecting the name of ‘The Probation Service’ and the Kent and Medway Serious Violence Prevention Partnership Board had been added as a ‘co-operating and participating persons and bodies’ to support the new Serious Violence Duty introduced in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.

3.  The KCSP had two sub-groups: the KCSP Working Group and the Domestic Homicide Review (DHR) Steering Group. Each of them had their own ToRs.

4.  The DHR Steering Group had recently reviewed its own ToR and no changes have been made as it reflects current practice. The Home Office had launched a public consultation on an updated version of the statutory guidance for DHRs which closes at the end of July 2024. As such, the DHR Steering Group ToR would need to be reviewed and updated accordingly upon publication of the new national guidance.

5.  The KCSP Working Group also recently reviewed its ToR with most amendments in relation to the ‘Membership’ and ‘Responsibilities’ sections.

6.  The ‘Membership’ section was updated to reflect ‘The Probation Service’ but also to expand on the KCC representatives who attend the KCSP Working Group and the ‘Responsibilities’ section has been updated to clarify current practice.

RESOLVED that:

a. KCSP members agree the Terms of Reference for the Kent Community Safety Partnership and the two subgroups (KCSP Working Group and the DHR Steering Groups).

b. All KCSP member organisations shown in the Terms of Reference ensure that they are signed up to the latest version of the Kent and Medway Information Sharing Agreement.

c.KCSP members note that the Terms of Reference for the KCSP and its subgroups will be reviewed annually and included as an agenda item at least once a year.

1.  Supt P Steenhuis (Strategic Prevention, Kent Police) outlined the new National multi-agency initiative to ensure that vulnerable people experiencing a mental health crisis would receive the most appropriate support.  

2.  The Right Care Right Person was a national initiative between police forces and the NHS to ensure that, when there were concerns for a person’s welfare linked to mental health, medical or social care issues, the most appropriate person - with the right skills, training and experience - would be involved. 

3.  This was a collective national commitment from the Home Office, Department of Health & Social Care, the National Police Chiefs’ Council, Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, and NHS England. There had been several success stories and significant engagement from across the Partnership that would support this approach. As a result of this model, in May 2024 there had been 325 less calls to Kent Police; this meant that the additional resources could be deployed elsewhere. Supt Steenhuis reported that Kent Police was very pleased with the initial outcomes of this new approach.

RESOLVED that the KCSP note the update.

1.  Mr P Breckon (Eastern Regional Manager, Crimestoppers) delivered a presentation and explained that Crimestoppers was an independent charity which was established in the UK in 1988. It is not part of Crimewatch and operates an anonymous, free, 24/7 line for the reporting of crimes. The crimes reported to the organisation are normally passed to the Police within 4 hours.

2.  Mr Breckon outlined some of the recent campaigns that were launched by Crimestoppers. These included national campaigns to tackle modern slavery, violence against women and girls and acquisitive crime. Local campaigns in Kent included a successful one to discourage drink driving and some youth specific campaigns.

3.  The Community Ambassador Programme was designed to increase awareness of Crimestoppers through partnerships with businesses, public authorities, charities and other agencies. Staff from these organisations could become ‘Ambassadors’ and use their expertise and local knowledge to assist Crimestoppers and promote their work.

4.  In 2023-24, in Kent, Crimestoppers had received 3,737 online and 804 phone intelligence reports, which were then processed and passed to the relevant authorities with the legal responsibility to investigate crimes, make arrests and charge people in order to bring them to justice. 

RESOLVED that the KCSP note the update.

Thursday, 21 November 2024 at 10am

Tuesday, 25 March 2025 at 10am

Thursday, 3 July 2025 at 10am

RESOLVED that the KCSP note the dates of future meetings.

1.  Mr Peerbux provided an update on the Kent and Medway Domestic Homicide Review (DHR) cases and associated activities in relation to these including learning events and funding. 

2.   The published DHR cases  can be found on the Kent.gov website using the link below: https://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council/partnerships/kent-community-safety-partnership/domestic-homicide-reviews. 

RESOLVED that the Kent Community Safety Partnership:

a. Note the updates within the report and progress on all cases.

b. Note the plans for continued online learning events.

c. Note the risks to the current funding model and the likely increase in funding contributions required from all statutory responsible authorities in 2025/26.

1. Mr N Wilkinson (Assistant Director Contest and Serious Organised Crime, KCC) provided an update on the local and national context in relation to the Prevent Duty.

RESOLVED that the KCSP note the update.