Safe Havens -
- There are 30 trained
and registered Safe Haven’s across the borough. This is due
to increase with Studio3Arts providing a second round of training
for interested venues.
- A dedicated website
to provide a link for businesses to sign-up, online training
package and map showing locations of Safe Havens has been
developed: https://www.lbbd.gov.uk/safe-havens
- A photo op with
trained Safe Havens took place on the 6th March 2023 and
this has been used as a part of the comms campaign launching the
Safe Haven scheme.
Personal Safety
Alarm –
- To date 142 personal
safety alarms have been collected as of the end of February 2023 by
council staff to combat fears of unsafety around London Road car
park.
Community Voluntary
Sector –
- Applications for the
CVS grant fund closed on the 20th February 2023, whereby
one pot of £20,000 was awarded to Studio3Arts for the
delivery of educational and trauma-informed safety
sessions.
- These sessions will
inform and empower residents on how to stay safe by simplifying
statutory organisation information into bite-sized knowledge that
is accessible to all residents.
Womens Safety Data
–
- Every quarter, the
Womens Safety Group is delivered a summary of data of Violence
Against Women and Girls crimes.
- 326 domestic abuse
offences & 62 sexual offences in January 2023 in Barking and
Dagenham.
- According to Home Office figures (12 months to
September) there has been an increase in controlling &
coercive behaviour, stalking and modern slavery and a decrease in
harassment and malicious communications.
Communication Safety
Enforcement –
- Community Safety
currently have static security presence outside Barking station and
this will be replaced by patrols/ pulse patrols in coordination
with police when further Community Safety officers are
recruited.
- There were 10 joint
patrols in November 2022, 6 in Barking Town Centre and 4 in
Dagenham Heathway
- So far identified two
additional locations for public space CCTV and continue to assess
Barking town centre (including recommendations from EVA) for re
purposing/ extra public space surveillance.
- CCTV is receiving
further investment and part of this will be focused on Barking town
centre including new wireless CCTV.
Comms –
- Comms completed a
first round of women's safety comms campaign to include advice and
top tips for staying safe (20.01.2023), as well as directing comms
towards perpetrators too. A second round of comms is due to go
out.
- Womens Safety Online
Meeting with residents took place on 21st February 6-7pm –
with over 40 residents having attended as well as staff
- The Safe Haven Scheme
was officially launched at the Womens Safety Online Meeting as well
as the council and police showcasing the work they are producing to
tackle violence against women and girls.
- General comms through
social media will continue as normal.
David Lingard expanded that
there is a new Community safety enforcement team of 10 officers at
covering shifts so at anyone time there could be 2 in terms of
joint patrolling. The SNT team, the neighbourhood teams are doing
an absolutely excellent job of embracing partnership
working.
Cllr Worby noted that one of
the commitments we gave at that women's safety online meeting was
that we would set up a regular forum. It was agreed that the forum
would mean quarterly to give women the opportunity to come forward and
talk about safety and initiatives we're doing. It was also agreed
to set up this forum in a hybrid setting.
April Bald commented that the
Make Safe operation that police undertake with hotels within the
borough whereby hotels are to identify exploitative situations,
particularly in regards to women. It would be useful to link up
with Tony Cox in order to make sure that this training is done in
all hotels across the borough. There is also a young womens worker
in in the Youth Offending Service who works with a small number of
young women but it would be useful to have their voices embedded
into the Womens Safety Action Plan.
Cllr Ghani explained that the
boroughs new Superintendent will work together with David Lingard
to tackle issues of safety amongst women and girls and the
community as a whole especially in the Barking Town Centre area.
Cllr Ghani questioned David Lingard on how many hours a week had
been agreed by the Town Centre Team to patrol Barking Town
Centre.
David Lingard answered that the
Town Centre Team were only accommodating 2 hours a week in Barking
Town Centre and expressed that this was not a sufficient number of
hours a week to be patrolling the town centre and would not make
women and girls commuting or living in the area feel
safe.
David Rhodes assured David
Lingard and Cllr Ghani that he has heard the feedback regarding the
lacklustre number of hours the Town Centre Team are offering and
that this issue is on his radar and will be a part of the priority
going forward.
ACTION – CSP
to provide update on progression of Womens Safety Forum at June
2023 CSP.