Attendance 

Apologies

• Cllr. Laura Beddow, Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Authority
• Paul Dempsey, Dorset Council, Children's Services
• Steve Yeoman, Dorset Council, Community Safety, Place
• Graham Duggan, Dorset Council, Place Services

Item

No 1. Election of Vice Chair

1.1 Temporary Chief Superintendent Stewart Dipple was elected as Vice Chair. 

No 2. Minutes of Meeting held on 19 March 2024 and Matters Arising

2.1 2.3 John Newcombe to explore whether CCTV data can be contributed to the DiiS intelligence dashboard.

Action - John Newcombe

2.2 2.5 Andy Frost outlined the work taking place to increase visibility of community safety work within Dorset Council.

2.3 All other actions had either been completed or were on the agenda. 

No 3. Performance Report

3.1 Ian Denness presented progress against the performance framework for this quarter.

3.2 It was noted that performance measures provide a guide to performance and act as a benchmark for future target setting.

3.3 Of the 28 measures adopted by the Community Safety Partnership:

• 8 suggest a recent positive change in performance
• 4 either a negative trend or measures which may need to be refined, and
• 16 that require further work.

3.4 Observations included:

• crime recording definitions and counts are governed by the national standards set by the Home Office. If these change it impacts on our figures locally. 
• there remains potential to broaden performance measures to help build our understanding of local issues, for example, incorporating the use of Police stalking prevention orders and the use of licensing data to help build the picture.
• the focus of Community Safety Partnership performance measures should be based on the work of all members of the partnership, not just on the work of a single agency. 
• some measures will require revision to make them more suitable to demonstrate success or otherwise. 
• the use of wider partnership data in support of these performance measures should be explored.

3.5 Andy Frost explained the performance framework helped support partners’ understanding of local issues and guide them on the best action to take to address them.
 
3.5 It was agreed that further work would be undertaken to refine the performance framework via a task and finish group with key individuals across the partnership. An update would be provided at the next meeting.  

Action - Ian Denness 

No 4. Progress Against Local Priorities

4.1 John Newcome updated the group on partners’ work to tackle local priorities, which included a summary of the co-ordination, oversight and progress of specific local priorities identified at the area Partnership Co-ordinating Group (PCG) meetings.

4.2 Key headlines included:

• an increase in youth Anti Social Behaviour across the council area which was being addressed via partnership work. This included work with Children’s Services to identify key individuals and put in place interventions. John mentioned work by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner on the Immediate Justice Scheme and pointed out that partners were already using a similar project called the ‘Consequences Scheme’ so consideration would need to be given to how the two schemes would work together.
• an increase in shoplifting across the council area, which was being addressed by working with shop owners and business forums on preventative measures. 

4.3 David Webb explained that discussions were taking place between the Youth Justice Service and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) to look at how they might implement some of the approaches set out in the Immediate Justice Scheme, considering learning from where it is being used elsewhere in the UK. David advised that the focus is on where young people are causing most harm in the community. 

4.4 Rachel Young updated the group on funding available for the young people’s element of the Immediate Justice Scheme. Partners discussed potential uses and it was agreed Rachel would follow up with partners outside of the meeting.

Action - Rachel Young 

4.5 Rachel highlighted the difference between the perception of youth Anti Social Behaviour and what’s being reported to Dorset Police. She explained the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner is doing work to raise awareness within the community on how and where people can report concerns. 

No 5. Progress Against Strategic Priorities 

5.1 Andy Frost introduced the item explaining there was a separate report on the agenda covering partners’ work to tackle serious violence.

Domestic Abuse and Stalking

5.2 The number of victims of domestic abuse in Dorset was increasing, but there had been a reduction in the proportion who were repeat victims. The same situation was true for perpetrators of domestic abuse.

5.3 Increases in stalking were potentially linked to a change in reporting methods, as described in the performance update.

5.4 Whilst increases could be worrying, much of partners’ work is about increasing awareness of domestic abuse and stalking issues, the support available to victims and increasing victims’ confidence to report. Andy noted that current activity being delivered through the Community Safety Plan in this area included:

• working with perpetrators to reduce offending
• undertaking regular communication campaigns to raise awareness of issues and support services
• training for staff and professionals to help them identify and respond to issues

Sexual Offences

5.5 The number of sexual offences had reduced from the exceptionally high numbers in 2021/22 but the proportion of offences involving alcohol had gradually increased.

5.6 Although a reduction in the number of reported sexual offences could be seen as positive, it is a crime that is under-reported so partners must continue to raise awareness and increase confidence. Andy explained that the gradual increase in alcohol as a factor will be used to shape partners’ campaigns and initiatives.

5.7 Activities being delivered through partners’ Community Safety Plan included:

• working with partners in the criminal justice system and at the regional and national levels to take action to increase the positive outcome rate for sexual offences
• continuing awareness raising campaigns including in schools
• undertaking regular, targeted communication campaigns to raise awareness and understanding of the support available
• continuing to support projects and initiatives that aim to address issues of sexual offences related to the night time economy

5.8 It was noted that the intention, going forward, was to combine performance and activity reporting. 

5.9 Members of the group discussed the cross cutting theme of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) and the need to be able to clearly identify how partners were addressing this issue through their Community Safety Plan. It was agreed to bring a paper to the next meeting on this. 

Action - Andy Frost

No 6. Serious Violence Duty Progress Report

6.1 Di Evans updated the group on the implementation of the Serious Violence Duty. Partners were now in the second phase which concentrates on delivery. 

6.2 Activity being delivered through the Serious Violence Duty Delivery Plan included:

• developing and delivering approaches to tackle high-harm offending
• developing and championing activity that supports victims of serious violence
• ensuring children and young people better understand the risks and drivers for serious violence to prevent them from becoming drawn into crime
• taking action that tackles serious violence in the community, to improve the safety of our street
• robustly tackling organised crime, including county lines and rural organised crime.
• undertaking work to further develop our understanding of serious violence.

6.3 Di outlined how the funding associated with implementing the serious violence duty was being used and stressed the importance of partners developing and delivering interventions in line with the funding deadline of March 2025.

6.4 Community Safety Partnership members agreed the need to ensure any blockages were managed and that the funding was spent. 

No 7. Domestic Homicide Review Update

7.1 Di Evans gave an update the on the status of Domestic Homicide Review's including those that were marked complete, those currently with the Home Office Quality Assurance Panel, those that were ongoing, and those that did not meet the Domestic Homicide Review criteria or had been passed to other Community Safety Partnership's to deliver. 

7.2 Di drew the group’s attention to Domestic Homicide Review 14 which had been published and was now closed.

7.3 The Domestic Homicide Review Action Plan Review Group (APRG) will meet on 9 July 2024 to review outstanding actions from ongoing Domestic Homicide Reviews. This will include identifying shared learning themes and barriers to embedding learning.

7.4 Molly Rennie informed members of the group that learning from Domestic Homicide Reviews in relation to stalking would be shared at the October meeting of the Dorset Domestic Abuse Forum. 

7.5 Members of the group agreed to have an item at a future meeting on the work of the Action Plan Review Group and consider learning, progress against actions and any outstanding issues.

Action - Di Evans 

Resolved

Progress with current Domestic Homicide Review actions and ongoing reviews was noted.

No 8. DHR Guidance Consultation

8.1 Di Evans gave an overview of the Draft Statutory Guidance for Domestic Abuse Related Death Reviews (DARDR) (formerly Domestic Homicide Reviews). 

8.2 Key headlines from the draft guidance included closer alignment with the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 and domestic abuse strategies, inclusion of a toolkit that provides templates and examples, incorporation of learning since the last review in 2016, areas for improving reviews and involving stakeholders.

8.3 The focus of the revised guidance was to ensure that each domestic abuse-related death is treated as preventable, and learning is applied systematically. The inclusion of a toolkit and identification of areas for improvement demonstrate a commitment to enhancing the effectiveness of Domestic Homicide Reviews.

8.4 Key changes put forward in the draft guidance included the introduction of a new ‘Scoping Review’ process, information on conducting Domestic Homicide Reviews in instances of suicide or unexpected deaths, detail on the requirement to apply a trauma informed approach throughout the process, details on how and when perpetrator engagement should be conducted, a requirement that early learning is secured, recorded and acted upon, formal roles for the Domestic Abuse Commissioner (DAC) and Police and Crime Commissioners, and mandatory training for Domestic Homicide Review Chairs.

8.5 Things for consideration included referrals from family members, support agencies and local authorities rather than just the Police, the need for a Domestic Homicide Review to establish both a victim and perpetrator (Community Safety Partnership's must be confident a review can be commissioned on that basis), the need to take a victim centred approach and ensure the wider context around events is better understood.

8.6 The involvement of family, friends and community featured significantly in the draft guidance which states the testimony of the victim’s family, friends and community should be given equal weighting to evidence and testimony from services and professionals. 

8.7 Members of the group noted there were contradictions throughout the draft guidance and that it created a lack of clarity between the core purpose of reviews and the need for families to find answers and determine who was responsible.

8.8 A detailed and balanced response to the consultation had been submitted on behalf of the Community Safety Partnership in consultation with the Chair. The response had been informed by experience of delivering Domestic Homicide Reviews, conversations with various individual Domestic Homicide Review Panel members, and various interactions and conversations with other organisations and contributors to the Domestic Homicide Review process. 

8.9 All partners were also provided with the link and details of the consultation on the day it came out, to enable submissions from individual agency perspectives.

8.10 Members of the group discussed some of the challenges created by the contradictions in the guidance and the difficulties of naming a perpetrator in reviews where one hasn’t been determined through a criminal / coroner process. 

8.11 Members of the group also recognised the importance of retaining the primary role of Domestic Homicide Review's to look at how agencies can improve their practice, rather than determine who was at fault. 

8.12 It was recognised that once the guidance was finalised it would be important for partners to come together and update their local protocols.

Resolved 

Members of the Community Safety Partnership noted information on the public consultation of Domestic Abuse Related Death Reviews Statutory Guidance.

No 9. Prevent Annual Benchmarking Outcome

9.1 Ian Grant updated the group on the Council’s work in relation to preventing violent extremism (Prevent) following the most recent annual benchmarking exercise.

9.2 The exercise, which focuses on compliance with statutory duties, concluded that Dorset Council is compliant in all areas and exceeding in most. 

Summary of Assurance Outcomes 

9.3 As part of the process the following strengths were identified.  

• there is strong governance of the local Prevent delivery through regular reports into corporate and Member boards. Internal Prevent “champions” also meet regularly. 
• there is good co-operation and sharing of resources with Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council through the Pan-Dorset Prevent Board and task & finish groups.
• good partnership arrangements are in place to understand community tensions and respond to any issues arising. 

9.4 The benchmarking process also identified the following actions and recommendations to assist in improving the level of Prevent delivery: 

• building upon the delivery of the online week of action to spread the message about Prevent to targeted audiences within the community. 
• ensuring that the proposed training strategy is implemented across different staffing groups.

9.5 Ian explained that the Dorset CONTEST Board has overall responsibility for the local overview and monitoring of partners’ implementation of Channel and the wider Prevent duty. However, today’s update was to ensure the Community Safety Partnership was kept up to date with progress against local delivery. 

9.6 Temporary Chief Superintendent Stewart Dipple reinforced the point about the strength of local partnership working, using the response to the Bibby Stockholm as an example. 

No 10. Forward Plan

10.1 The following would be added to the forward plan:

• work to address Cross Cutting Themes.
• revised Domestic Homicide Review protocols. 

No 11. Any Other Business 

11.1 Katie Sorrel reminded Community Safety Partnership members about the duty for Probation to consult with Community Safety Partnership's on unpaid work and notification of placements. It was agreed Katie would send an updated list of placements to Community Safety Partnership members to raise awareness, seek feedback and consider future placements based on the wider partnership strategies.

Action - Katie Sorrel 

11.2 Temporary Chief Superintendent Stewart Dipple mentioned the letter that had been received by several partners regarding work to tackle Violence Against Women and Girls. A joint response was being drafted that confirmed partners’ approach to tackling issues through existing partnerships including the Community Safety Partnership's.

11.3 Stewart Dipple explained his ambition to deploy the tactic ‘Clear Hold Build’ in the Dorset County area which focused on drugs, serious organised crime and Anti Social Behaviour in high deprived areas (part of the Home Office Harm to Hope Strategy). 

11.4 Rachel Young informed the group that the commissioning process for the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) was coming to an end and an announcement would be made in September. Rachel also shared that the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner will shortly be running Market Engagement events for the high risk service. 

11.5 Molly Rennie highlighted the importance of including the voice of the survivor in partners’ work, following two powerful events she had attended recently in Dorset. 

Future Meeting Dates

• 2 October 2024 at 10.30am
• 19 December 2024 at 2pm
• 13 March 2025 at 2pm

All meetings will take place via Microsoft Teams