Agenda item

·  YARM is working well and delivering a range of workshops in schools. YARM developed a briefing document about their work which has been put forward as good practice through the VRU and are also presenting at the step up stay safe workshop.

·  The Resettlement panel is working well and is well attended and are now monitoring and planning for young people sentenced to custody and remanded to custody.

·  Violence against young people continues to be MET number 1 priority and performance is being measured against 2019 to take out year of covid to give truer comparison data

·  London: 31% reduction in gun discharge and 42% knife Injury for under 25 although London has seen a spike in youth homicide particularly around young black men.

·  LBBD: 2 active gangs G-Block and Academy Way/Harts Lane. Op Wordwell arrested and charged 15 men, 14 remain in custody. Safer Neighbourhood teams continue to engage with communities and Spark2Life have provided mentoring and support with gang exit. There has been a drop in intelligence on GBlock suggesting the gang is less active.

·  Crime numbers from 01 April 2021 – 31^st May 2021: 1 lethal barrel discharge, 1 knife injury under 25 years, offenders charged and remanded. In comparison to this time two years ago LBBD had 7 knife victims under 25, reducing of 6 and 51 knife crimes, reduced to 20.

·  Across the BCU, we are recording the best detection rate (charging 1 in 3) which is the highest in MET and stop and search sits at 19% positive outcome rate (on MET ave)

·  There is a reinvigorate focus on weapons to meet MET priorities, the focus of drugs supply targeting cannabis factories continues and yielding good results

·  The Violence suppression unit continue to focus on Barking Town Centre, Barking Station and Gascoigne and other hotspots tasked through TTCG. External central assets such as Violent Crime Task Force and VIPER have been in borough alongside a preventative response from the firearms response unit.

Stephen Thompson noted reduction in knife crime could be linked to the closure of the night-time economy and the reopening could impact crime data. Stop & search is predominately drug related and questioned the impact of the commissioner advising stop and search cannot be driven by suspicions on drugs alone. MPS leads advised the primary focus is to remove weapons from the streets and noted the link between drugs supply and violence. Stop and search focus is on drug supply and weapons. Councillor Worby noted the data is positive however we need to maintain crime trends when lockdown ends. Child exploitation continues to increase and when restrictions are no longer in place, we need to step up intervention programmes quickly. The MET are focusing on CSE and county lines and a clear plan across the BCU is being developed incorporating more officers and increased presence.

·  Community Safety and Enforcement have been leading joint action days at Barking Station using tactics of drugs dogs, weapon sweeps, ASB early waning tickets, supported by outreach provision to reduce serious violence and ASB. The Council can and do use Community Protection Warnings and Notices to manage behaviours which can lead to fines and court. Some of the work has been replicated in the Heathway but we aim to replicate across the borough. The IVOLT monitors the activity and allocate resources.

·  Victim Support are reviewing how to work with community and grassroots organisations to increase referrals. The service remains accessible through phone, online and referrals. Victim support will take forward working with the MPS and BTP to increase referrals particularly those that involve violent crime or the use of a bladed article.

·  £76,000 has been awarded across 4 contracts under the London Crime Prevention Fund (LCPF) until March 2022. The funding delivers across CSP priority areas and delivers elements of mentoring, resettlement, training around domestic abuse and trauma.