Agenda item

This report provides an overview of the of LBHF’s new Gangs Violence and Exploitation Unit.

Gideon Springer (Strategic Lead Safer Street), gave a presentation on the work of the Gangs Violence and Exploitation Unit (GVEU). He showed slides that provided an overview of the Council’s progress with resourcing the team, the developing operating model and the work officers intended to undertake within the wider Council and strategic partnerships to reduce the harm caused to young people, who were at risk from gangs, violence and other forms of exploitation. It was noted that the Leader of the Council was instrumental in developing this ground-breaking agreement between the Council and the Metropolitan Police. This new dedicated unit would consist of 11 Council employed officers and 6 Metropolitan Police Officers. The total annual cost of the unit was £983,000. The performance measures which included key performance indicators and qualitive measures were also outlined and explained.

Councillor David Morton, referring to Appendix 1 of the report said that the figures for children and young people sentenced to custody and who were reoffending appeared higher in comparison to last year and asked for further clarification to be provided on these figures.Gideon Springer (Strategic Lead Safer Street) explained that having discussed these figures with the Youth Offending Team (YOT) these figures were based on a small cohort of individuals who were consistent offenders and had been resistant to the interventions put in by the YOT. Therefore, the GVEU was put into place to provide additional support and divert those young people away from crime.

Councillor David Morton asked if officers were working closely with the Prevent Team. Gideon Springer (Strategic Lead Safer Street) said that most of the crime was not counter terrorism related, however the GVEU had close links with the Prevent team to spread the message of the support and interventions that were available through the community group network.

Councillor Victoria Brocklebank-Fowler asked for further clarification to be provided on the funding arrangements for the formation of the GVEU. Gideon Springer (Strategic Lead Safer Street) noted that the finance had been secured through section 106 funding for the team.

Councillor Victoria Brocklebank- Fowler noted that the Metropolitan Police had ran a similar scheme in Camden Council which was very successful. The funding was provided by the Mayor’s Violence Unit in April 2019. She asked if this funding was also available to the Council based on the high numbers for crime related activities in the Borough.

Councillor Sue Fennimore (Deputy Leader) explained that this was an entirely bespoke programme set up in collaboration with the Metropolitan Police. In addition, the Police were making a significant investment towards the scheme. It was noted that the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) also released £50,000 towards the programme which was allocated to the Council on a criteria basis.

Mathew Hooper (Chief Officer - Safer Neighbourhood & Regulatory Services) said that the funding released by the VRU was not sufficient to form the GVEU, given the scale of the initiative launched in the Borough. Therefore, the Council financed the programme through section 106 funding.

Councillor Victoria Brocklebank- Fowler asked what funding was available to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster City Council. In response, Matt Hooper (Chief Officer - Safer Neighbourhood & Regulatory Services) confirmed that both these Boroughs received  upper tier funding, due to the way in which the VRU’s resource allocation formula was calculated. 

Matt Hooper (Chief Officer - Safer Neighbourhood & Regulatory Services) said that he was pleased with speed of which the Council was able to form the GVEU including the recruitment of Council and Police staff to work directly with venerable young people. He felt confident that this was an effective initiative and results demonstrating the work of the GVEU could be achieved within a year.

The Chair asked if the Council was working in collaboration with schools and educational establishments to help identify venerable young people. Gideon Springer (Strategic Lead Safer Street), said that officers were co-ordinating with Children’s Services, Housing and Mental Health Services. The Council was also keen to work with all organisations (statutory or non-statutory) to help support in proving referrals. Furthermore, the Council was engaging with local communities to ascertain how they could be supported to improve the lives of young people.

The Chair enquired how the approach taken by the Council for the GVEU, differed to other initiatives launched in the past. Gideon Springer (Strategic Lead Safer Street), explained that this was a non-statutory service provided by the Council to support young people based specifically on their individual needs to reduce the number of crimes committed in the Borough.

The Chair asked for further clarification to be provided on what early intervention measures had been identified by the Council to divert young people from getting involved in crime related activities. Gideon Springer (Strategic Lead Safer Street), said that officers would start early intervention work with young people starting from the age of 10 onwards and the siblings of those who were already involved in crime. By intervening with these children at an early stage, the GVEU would be able to work with them and third sector providers to divert them away from risky behaviour. It was envisaged that the team would operate alongside the Youth Offending Team and Family Assist to identify vulnerable young people who do not yet reach the threshold for statutory intervention but were nevertheless at risk from gangs, violence or exploitation.

Councillor Iain Cassidy thanked Gideon Springer and his team for the work that had been carried out to form the new GVEU. He asked if the lockdown had an impact on the nature of challenges faced by young people and how the work of the team was executed during this period. Gideon Springer (Strategic Lead Safer Street), provided an overview of how the work of the GVEU was delivered during lockdown. The Council had adjusted the way in which it worked with young people and utilised different modes to deliver services throughout lockdown. He noted that during the first lockdown in March 2020, there was a sharp decrease in the number of crime related activities across London. However, the numbers increased shortly after, following a behavioural shift in the way venerable young people were being victimised and exploited to engage in crime.

The Chair asked what measures were in place for worried parents, guardians or teachers to contact the GVEU directly to share their concerns around young people at risk. In response Gideon Springer (Strategic Lead Safer Street), said that the GVEU was regularly engaging with schools and community groups to ensure any intelligence was passed onto the team. The team was currenting drafting a newsletter and designing a webpage on the Council’s website for direct referrals. A contact number and an email address for the team would be available on these platforms. The team was also working alongside external comms to put together a comprehensive launch detailing the work of the GVEU.

Summing up the discussions, the Chair thanked officers for their contributions, and efforts that had gone into developing the GVEU.

RESOLVED:

That the Committee noted and commented on the report.