Agenda item

This report provides an overview of the of H&F’s new Gangs, Violence and Exploitation Unit. It outlines progress resourcing the team, the developing operating model and the work it intends to undertake within the wider council and strategic partnerships to reduce the harm caused to young people who are at risk from gangs, violence and other forms of exploitation.

Matthew Hooper introduced the report and noted that over the past 18 months the borough had seen an increase in serious youth violence, largely attributed to organised gang activity. In response to this, the Council made a decision in June 2020 to create a new gangs unit made up of gangs workers, anti-social behaviour coordinators, police officers, and analytical and research capacity.

Gideon Springer gave a presentation and the following key points were noted:

·       The priorities for the unit were to keep people safe, prevent young people from being victimised and exploited by organised criminals, and tackle the fear of crime.

·       H&F would fund Police Officers to work with specialist council staff to bring the full weight of criminal legislation to bear on gangs and gang leaders operating in the borough.

·       The unit would deliver initiatives to engage with and divert vulnerable young people away from gangs, violence and exploitation.

·       The unit consisted of 11 H&F employed officers and 6 Metropolitan Police Officers (17 FTEs). The total annual cost of the unit was £983,000.

Councillor Mark Loveday noted that the committee had held a meeting on serious youth violence in November 2018 and at that time members were told that the borough was ranked fairly low for serious youth violence in London. He asked if the picture had really changed so much in two years. Matthew Hooper explained that the killing of a young man in 2019 had led to a number of revenge attacks and killings between rival gangs.

Councillor Loveday asked what the 11 FTEs in the new gangs unit would be doing differently to what was being done before. Gideon Springer said it was more an issue of capacity. The Youth Offending team have had some challenges with the number of young people who are repeat offenders. The unit wanted to spend more time with them, work with them in a trauma informed way, and intervene earlier (at 11 or 12 years old).

Councillor Loveday asked officers to clarify if the gangs unit posts were entirely new posts or if they were posts transferred from the Youth Offending team. Matthew Hooper said the 11 new posts would be doing additional work over and above the statutory work of the Youth Offending team.

Councillor Loveday asked how the new posts were being funded. Matthew Hooper said funding for the team was from an aggregation of S106 funds allocated for community safety.

Councillor Loveday asked what the metrics for success were. Matthew Hooper said there were some metrics in 3.1 and 3.2 of the report. Councillor Loveday felt the targets were too broad and commented that without clear targets the Council couldn’t effectively monitor the unit’s performance.

Eleanor Allen asked how the Covid-19 pandemic had impacted the way they worked with young people. Gideon Springer said police statistics had shown that certain types of crimes had increased during the lockdown. Youth Offending Service and Children’s Services colleagues had changed their operating model due to the pandemic.

Councillor Asif Siddique asked if it would be more cost effective to work across boroughs. Gideon Springer said he was keen to work with police colleagues across the Central West Basic Command Unit (BCU). The unit had links with other teams across borough boundaries. Matthew Hooper added that they would be working closely with Met Police. The Met had placed their gangs unit into a council office with a larger team of council officers to work productively with young people – ‘a first for the borough’ and a ‘meaningful investment’.

Bev Sharpe said her team had worked closely with the unit too and she was positive about the impact it could have. The earlier we can intervene the better for their future. She added that while working during Covid-19 the Youth Offending service had maintained contact – with a mix of both in-person visits and remote check-ins.

Councillor Alexandra Sanderson said she was very pleased that the unit has been created – it was the Council’s duty to protect young people. She asked if there was a way for communities and ward councillors to assist the unit. Gideon Springer said a key part of their role was to work with communities and they intended to develop relationships to increase the offer for young people.

Councillor Larry Culhane (Cabinet Member for Children and Education) welcomed the creation of the Gangs, Violence & Exploitation and said the Council was committed to protecting the borough’s young people. He thanked everyone involved for their efforts setting the unit up.

Councillor Sue Fennimore, Deputy Leader, addressed the committee and made the following points:

·       The Council was proud to have Gideon Springer, who used to be Borough Commander, lead the unit.

·       The fundamental challenge was to tackle organised drug gangs that subjected the borough’s young people to coercion, grooming, and violence.

·       The Council was committed to working closely with the police and was hugely grateful for their support.

·       The primary goal was to make sure young people were kept safe – to do everything we can to divert them away from criminal activity and provide routes out of crime. The Council was also committed to going after the people who are responsible for the violence and exploitation.

Nandini Ganesh asked if the ‘safe place’ scheme was still in operation in the borough. Gideon Springer said he would speak to police colleagues and see if it was still in operation.

Summary

The Chair summarised the discussion and noted the following actions:

·       Gideon Springer to circulate the presentation slides

·       Gideon Springer to check whether the ‘safe place’ scheme was still in operation in the borough.

·       The Chair to meet with the new team’s leadership to discuss the recommendations and points raised at the public meeting in 2018.

·       The Committee requested a progress update on the work of the unit and the impact they were having on serious youth violence in the borough (to be scheduled).