Agenda and minutes

Please note that this meeting may be filmed or recorded by the Council for live or subsequent broadcast via the Council’s internet site or by anyone attending the meeting using any communication method. Although we ask members of the public recording, filming or reporting on the meeting not to include the public seating areas, members of the public attending the meeting should be aware that we cannot guarantee that they will not be filmed or recorded by others attending the meeting. Members of the public participating in the meeting (e.g. making deputations, asking questions, making oral protests) should be aware that they are likely to be filmed, recorded or reported on. 

By entering the meeting room and using the public seating area, you are consenting to being filmed and to the possible use of those images and sound recordings.

The chair of the meeting has the discretion to terminate or suspend filming or recording, if in his or her opinion continuation of the filming, recording or reporting would disrupt or prejudice the proceedings, infringe the rights of any individual or may lead to the breach of a legal obligation by the Council.

The Chair referred Members present to agenda Item 1 as shown on the agenda in respect of filming at this meeting, and Members noted the information contained therein.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Ogiehor. Dr Will Maimaris also sent apologies and Chantelle Fatania was in attendance as substitute.

Apologies for lateness were received from Tracie Downie.

The Chair will consider the admission of any items of Urgent Business. (Late items of Urgent Business will be considered where they appear. New items of Urgent Business will be considered under Item 14 below).

There were no items of urgent business.

There were no declarations of interest.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 3^rd June– as a correct record.

To note the minutes of joint meeting of the CSP and Health & Wellbeing Board on 21^st September 2020.

RESOLVED

     I.        That the minutes of the meeting held on 3^rd June were agreed as a correct record.

    II.        That the minutes of joint meeting of the CSP and Health & Wellbeing Board on 21^st September 2020 were noted.

Noted.

The Partnership received a report and an accompanying presentation which provided an overview of  Haringey’s performance against the Mayor’s (MOPAC) Police and Crime Plan key priorities, including personal robbery and violence. The presentation was given by Sandeep Broca, Intelligence Analysis Manager as set out in the agenda pack at pages 21-32. It was noted that during the period March to September there had been a 14% reduction in overall recorded crime in Haringey, since the corresponding period in 2019. The following points were raised in discussion of the report:

a.    The Partnership sought clarification, in light of the domestic abuse figures, whether there had been any change in the level of homicides related to domestic abuse, given the lockdown and a concern that victims would likely be at greater risk.  In response, officers advised that they had not seen any figures to suggest  that there had been a particular spike in cases either in London or nationally but would need to look into this further to provide a more comprehensive answer. (Action: Sandeep Broca).

b.    The Partnership sought clarification around the increase in knife crime offences in the vicinity of Highgate Wood that was highlighted in the presentation. In response, officers set out that this was related to a small cluster of offences taking place between May and July relating to robberies and attempted robberies. It was emphasised that the baseline for this type of offence in that location was low, and therefore the increase highlighted in the slides related to a relatively small number of instances.

c.    The Chair highlighted that figures for robbery were significantly higher last year and that thanks to the hard work of partners through multi-agency working and the formation of a robbery focus group, figures for this crime type had been brought down sharply. The Chair thanked partners for their involvement in this and cautioned that ongoing work was needed to keep these figures on a downward trajectory.

RESOLVED

     I.        That the Board noted the content of the Crime Performance Overview report and presentation, which highlighted the changes to crime performance since March 2020.

The Partnership received a report which provided an update on the Young People at Risk Strategy 2019-29, which was approved by Cabinet in March 2019. The report set out progress in the delivery of commitments made in the strategy and the Young People at Risk Action Plan, as well as progress made in relation to the Strategy’s governance arrangements. The report was introduced by Hugh Smith, Policy & Equalities Officer as set out at pages 39-100 of the agenda pack.  The following arose from the discussion of the report:

1. Alexa Loukas from Crimestoppers commented that she would like to have a conversation with relevant officers about how the Young People at Risk Strategy could link in with Crimestoppers, and the Fearless campaign in particular which was aimed at young people. Hugh Smith agreed to contact Crimestoppers outside of the meeting and take this forward. (Action: Hugh Smith).
2. The Cabinet Member for Communities emphasised the disproportionate impact of the criminal justice system on young people at risk and the need for the strategy to capture the voice of young BAME people. Young people and their families were at risk of being criminally exploited and it was important that they were treated as children, rather than institutions pushing them down a pathway to criminality.
3. The Borough Commander acknowledged these comments and suggested that there was a conversation to be had between herself, Stuart Smiley and Hugh around new funding streams that may available. (Action: Hugh Smith). The example of Operation Alliance was noted in which funding for outreach workers was secured to work in the Wood Green custody suite to work with 10-18 year olds to provide teachable moments.
4. The Borough Commander agreed to provide an updated introduction to the Young People at Risk Strategy (Treena Fleming).
5. The AD Commissioning emphasised the point made by the Cabinet Member around the need to include the voice of young people in the strategy and also set out the need to build in community views and participation in a staged process when refreshing the action plan. It was suggested that the refresh process provided opportunities to get a strong community voice into what they thought worked and where the gaps were.
6. The Director of Children’s Services advised that the strategy was based around a whole systems approach and that it was important that each part of the system was involved in the refresh and to think about what had been done and what more needed to be done. It was suggested that the voice of the child was a crucial part of this but that there was also a need to consider the impact and outcomes on parents and to provide support to parents. There was a new exploitation team in place who were working with parents and children based at what was the Octagon. The Chair reiterated the need for all of the relevant partners to be a part of the refresh process.
7. The Partnership was advised of the need for the refresh to be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The Partnership received a report which provided a progress update on the Haringey Community Gold Programme and invited comments on the mid-programme review taking place in December 2020. The report was introduced by Eduardo Araujo, Interim Senior Tottenham Community Safety Manager as set out in the agenda pack at pages 101-116. Bradley Goddard, the Director of My Training Plan - one of the Haringey Community Gold delivery partners, was also present for this item.

The Partnership were introduced to a case study which demonstrated some of the work being undertaken as part of the Haringey Community Gold programme. The case study related to a Year 10 pupil who was attending the Octagon in Wood Green and had demonstrated anger problems and who could be aggressive. The young person in question was also involved in gangs. In response, a fitness session was organised with a training plan and during the session it became apparent that the young person had problems communicating how he felt and was frustrated with not being able to articulate himself properly, which led to a feeling that his teachers were not listening to him. Over a number of sessions, the trainer was able to listen to the young person and develop a relationship with him to the point of being able to offer advice and steer that young person to a process of self-reflection. Following some personal mentoring, that person was now back in a mainstream school and doing well. The Partnership was advised the key reflection from this case study was the importance of listening to the voice of that young person.

The following arose in discussion of this agenda item:

1. The Cabinet Member for Communities advised that he would like to see a lot more of the type of interventions illustrated by the case study and he welcomed the use of mentoring for pupils in alternative provision. The Partnership were advised that some funding had been secured from the Mayor’s office for this purpose. The Cabinet Member set out that it was important that the Partnership was able to demonstrate a way forward for young people that kept them away from criminality. 
2. The Partnership were advised that the strategic advisory group needed to be a corporate priority for the Council going forwards and that that this needed to include NHS & Police colleagues as it did in Waltham Forest. The Cabinet Member raised concerns that youth engagement could become more disparate going forward, particularly in light of budgetary pressures.
3. The Director of Children’s Services invited partners to watch the video link for Haringey Community Gold, including the video of the case study.
4. In response to a question around continued support for young people and building ongoing relationships, the Partnership was advised that this was something the programme offered and that the outreach worker team was in place, providing a channel for young people to engage with a trusted adult figure on an ongoing basis.
5. In response to a question around working with young women and girls,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Verbal update

The Partnership received a verbal update from Hugh Smith on a recovery and renewal session held by partners on 23^rd September, which looked at what the priorities should be for the Council and partners coming out of COVID-19 and how they could work together to deliver services differently. It was noted that one of the key topics was around how partners engaged with residents and communities, as well as how to tackle systemic racial disproportionality and inequalities. In terms of next steps, the Council was launching a consultation platform called commonplace which would allow residents to access the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy and engage around key priorities. Hugh advised that he would circulate the link to the commonplace platform when it was live. (Action: Hugh Smith).

Partners agreed to share the link through their individual networks and platforms to ensure a wide spread of responses. (Action: All).

In response to a question, Hugh advised that he would feedback to the Chair on future recovery and renewal sessions and the dates for these. (Action: Hugh Smith).

The Cabinet Member for Communities commented that it was great to hear about the platform and commented that this information needed to be communicated to Members more widely. The Cabinet Member also welcomed the development of the Citizens Panel and requested that a briefing be prepared for Members on this. (Action: Hugh Smith).

The Chair enquired whether there was an action plan in place to pull together this work and demonstrate progress. In response, officers advised that this was something to be discussed with the wider Policy team and would be fed back to the Partnership outside of the meeting. (Action: Hugh Smith).

RESOLVED

1. That the update was noted.

Verbal update

The Partnership received a verbal presentation around the Council’s community resilience and enablement work to ensure that the views of community organisations and young people were picked up and incorporated into the policy making process. The update was provided by Charlotte Pomery, AD Commissioning. The key points were noted as:

a.    There was a significant funding shortfall from central government to the response to COVID-19, which resulted in a budget shortfall for 2021-2022. Part of this process was about engaging with residents about how the Council might be able to do things differently.

b.    Part of doing things differently was around implementing a vision for locality working, as well as having the correct enabling structures in place.

c.    There were three key cross cutting projects involved in this work: Efficiency and automation; community resilience and enablement  - how the Council could adopt a more joined up approach to early intervention and targeting interventions; and property – how the Council’s property portfolio could be used to drive community benefit.

d.    A key element of the resilience work stream was around ensuring a stable and viable voluntary sector and how this could be supported, including long term funding options.

The following was raised in discussion of this update:

a.    The Partnership set out that access was a key consideration and that residents need to know where to go the access information and that services needed to be properly signposted.

b.    It was commented that there was an onus for public bodies to be able to put themselves in the shoes of the people they were supposed to represent. Concerns were set out around the risk of multi-agency work leading to areas of work slipping between the gaps. It was important that this was built in to the process. In response to an example given around hate crime, the Chair acknowledged the need for a multi-agency response on this issue and commented that this tended to be under-reported.

c.    The Bridge Renewal Trust commented that the sector recognised that it was going to be a difficult time and that the process for agreeing priorities going forward was crucial. It was important that voluntary sector organisations had a voice and felt they were involved in this process.

RESOLVED

That the update was noted.

This Partnership received a report which provided information about the launch of Haringey’s Framework for responding to speakers promoting messages of hate and intolerance in venues. This framework was going to be used to guide local decision making on venues and events where concerns had been raised due to alleged hate

speech. The report and accompanying framework were introduced by Karina Kaur, Strategic Lead for Communities as set out in the agenda pack at pages 117-141. The following arose during the discussion of this item:

1. The Partnership emphasised the need for a multi-agency approach and that there needed to be a zero tolerance approach across the whole borough, rather than just Council managed venues.
2. The Partnership sought clarification about whether there was a route for following up on meeting that had initially been given the go-ahead but subsequently turned out to include hate speech. In response, the Strategic Lead for Communities acknowledged that the framework was primarily focused on the initial process of agreeing to meetings going ahead. The Strategic Lead for Communities agreed to build into the framework decision making for hate speech taking place after the meeting or event had been given the go-ahead. (Action: Karina Kaur).
3. The Chair enquired what support was needed at the partnership level in implementing the framework. In response, officers advised that additional contacts and buy-in from the voluntary & community sectors and cascading the framework through their networks would be helpful in pushing for a whole borough approach. The Bridge Renewal Trust advised that they were on board with the framework and would help to promote and cascade it through their networks.
4. In response to a question around training, officers advised that this had not started yet but would start to be rolled out once the framework had been finalised and agreed.
5. The Chair advised that she would like some of her police officers to be given training around the framework and requested that the Strategic Lead on Communities contact her to implement some training, when this was in place. (Action: Karina Kaur).
6. The Chair requested that all partners make contact with Karina offline to push forward with the framework and widen the network so that it could be a whole borough approach. (Action: All).

RESOLVED

That the Partnership agreed to support and promote the implementation

of the framework and use it to inform decisions throughout their individual

workstreams.

Verbal update

The Partnership received a verbal presentation on the Crimestoppers charity. The update was given by Alexa Loukas, the Crimestoppers representative for London. Crimestoppers is an independent charity established in the wake of the Broadwater Farm riots in 1985, which provides an entirely anonymous forum for anyone to report a crime, via a free phone number or a dedicated website. The Partnership was advised that Crimestoppers was not part of any law enforcement agency  but worked closely with the police.

·         Telephone numbers were scrambled and IP addresses were encrypted, to ensure that the person reporting a crime was anonymous and any information that could potentially identify the person reporting the crime was removed from the report, before being sent to the relevant police force.

·         Crimestoppers had never breached anonymity in the 32 years it had been in existence.

·         Free translation services were offered.

·         Cash rewards were also offered by the charity, but less than 1% of those were ever claimed.

·         In 2019 crimestoppers received around 500k contacts from the public, with police taking action in 122k cases and which resulted in over 25,000 successful outcomes.

·          The youth branch of Crimestoppers was called Fearless who had their own anonymous reporting service for youth crime, as well as offering an advice and education service for young people. Fearless had a youth outreach worker for London and the borough of Barking & Dagenham has also commissioned a part-time outreach worker to work in that borough. Fearless also worked closely with schools and provided training services to professionals working with young people.

·         Fearless had been working closely with the community safety partnership in both Enfield and Haringey to deliver a targeted information and reporting campaign to young people who could information on gangs. This resulted in  a 75% increase in information on County Lines operations. Crime stoppers had also provided communications materials to custody suites, as well as key community locations such as libraries.

The Chair thanked Alexa for coming and speaking to the CSP and highlighted the key role that Crimestoppers played in being able to safeguard young people in the borough and in helping the police to undertake a targeted, intelligence led response. The Partnership were urged to help raise awareness of Crimestoppers and its role within their individual networks.

The Chair agreed to set up a meeting between Crimestoppers and the Director of Children’s Services to discuss links with young people in the borough. (Action: Chair/Alexa Loukas).  

To consider any new items of Urgent Business admitted under Item 3 above.

N/A

None.

To note the dates of future meetings set out below:

·         16 December 2020

·         24 February 2021

Noted as:

·         16 December 2020

·         24 February 2021