Children, Culture and Communities Scrutiny Committee	5 March 2024
Report of the Corporate Director of Place

Safer York Partnership Bi-annual Report

Summary

1. This report is the bi-annual report for Safer York Partnership and covers the priorities contained within the Community Safety Strategy for the period 2023-2026. The Community Safety Strategy was developed and approved by Safer York Partnership in 2023 and reflects the community safety priorities identified through data analysis of crime patterns, the statutory duties for which the partnership has governance responsibility and community safety issues which impact most significantly on communities and quality of life.

i. Safer York Partnership is the Statutory Community Safety Partnership created under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 covering the City of York. It is comprised of senior representatives from City of York Council, North Yorkshire Police, North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue, Probation, Office of the Police Fire and Crime Commissioner, NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, Job Centre Plus, York CVS, Make It York and York BID. It is currently chaired by Supt. Fran Naughton, North Yorkshire Police, with City of York Council Director Pauline Stuchfield as Deputy Chair. Its role is to facilitate partnership working to deliver the priorities set out in the three year Community Safety Strategy. The terms of reference are attached at Annex A.

ii. The Priorities within the Community Safety Strategy 2023-26 (attached at Annex B) are:

a) Keeping the City Centre Safe;

b) Counter Terrorism: Protect, Prepare, Prevent;

c) Domestic Abuse;

d) Safe and Supported Communities;

e) Serious Organised Crime: County Lines, Modern Slavery, Exploitation;

f) Serious Violence.

2. Keeping the City Centre Safe

i. During the lifespan of the previous strategy, the UK was affected by the COVID 19 pandemic. This impacted hugely on the community safety issues relating to the city centre but more significantly changes in shopping behaviour and its impact on the retail trade within York. As the face of the High Street has changed, so York has had to adapt to continue to offer a range of services, retail outlets and hospitality that continues to place York high in popularity as a major tourist destination for both international and domestic visitors.

ii. York has a complex mix of residential, commercial and licensed premises which often results in conflict between different user groups. Despite the impact that this has on perception of safety in the City, York remains one of the safest places in the UK. Much of this is attributable to the close partnership working that takes place between the Local Authority, the police, York BID and other key stakeholders in the City.

iii. York is currently going through the process of assessment to retain its Purple Flag status. Responsibility for the delivery of Purple Flag has been passed to York BID and the community safety element of the assessment process is managed through the BID’s Safe Partnership. 

iv. Close work continues between City of York Council and North Yorkshire Police Licensing teams to engage with businesses and ensure that antisocial behaviour linked to alcohol is tackled. The City has a Public Space Protection Order in place which allows the police to seize alcohol and for fixed penalty fines to be issued where antisocial behaviour linked to alcohol is taking place.

v. York Business Against Crime relaunched as Safer York Business Partnership in October 2023 and membership of both the retail (daytime) economy and Pubwatch (night time economy) continues to grow. This enables communication and information sharing to take place between business premises and the police in relation to any crime or antisocial behaviour impacted on venues across the city.

3. Counter Terrorism: Protect, Prepare, Prevent

i. Protect and Prepare

        The York Protect and Prepare Group meets quarterly and delivers an action plan aimed at increasing awareness and vigilance and putting in place measures to assess risks and put in place measures to mitigate those risks. York’s work has been highlighted nationally and regionally by Counter Terrorism Policing as an example of good practice in bringing together stakeholders and developing processes and plans to work together to tackle.

ii. The Government is in the final stages of legislating for a stronger response to terrorist threat through the Protect Duty (Martyn’s Law), which comes into force this year. The duty includes lessons learnt from the Manchester Arena attack and a requirement for venues to be able to demonstrate that they have taken proportionate steps to protect against a terrorist attack. It will follow a tiered model linked to activity that takes place at a location and its capacity aimed to prevent undue burden on businesses.

iii. Further consultation, running until the end of March, is currently underway to gather views on further tweaks to the legislation to reduce the burden on venues who fall within the Standard Tier. However, the Protect and Prepare Group has continued to develop its package of support available to venues when the legislation comes into force. The group has also divided the city into five areas of interest to ensure that every part of the city, where large crowds gather, is risk assessed and measures put in place to mitigate those risks. This also includes continuing to work closely with the Safety Advisory Group to ensure that Event Organisers are considering the implications of a terrorist attack within their safety planning processes for the largest events hosted in the city.

iv. Prevent

The Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015 contains a duty on specified authorities to safeguard individuals from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. This is managed strategically through a Prevent Partnership Board that operates across York and North Yorkshire with an action plan executed at local level by the York Local Prevent Delivery Group. The process is supported by a Channel Panel within top tier (Unitary and County) Authorities whereby referrals are made when individuals are highlighted to the police as potentially at risk of being radicalised. The Prevent Partnership Board also reports to the North Yorkshire Police CONTEST Board.

v. York’s Channel Panel meets monthly. Referrals have been steady with around 1-2 cases live to the panel at any given time.  Referrals to Prevent have increased although this does not necessarily translate into cases progressing to Channel.

vi. The Prevent Local Delivery Group meets monthly and is made up of a range of services from across the Local Authority, Fire and Rescue, Police, Higher Education Providers, the Armed Forces, Probation and Health. The group meets quarterly and has responsibility for undertaking a Prevent Risk Assessment for the City based on the Counter Terrorism Local Profile (CTLP) produced by North Yorkshire Police. The group also has an action plan which is made up of actions to address recommendations made in the CTLP and also to ensure that partners are working to mitigate the risks associated with the radicalisation of individuals.

vii.  Channel Panel held a training session in November 2023 led by the Home Office Regional Prevent Co-ordinator. This training demonstrated that Yorks panel is working well and enabled some slight changes to be made to the minute taking process and management of the meetings to ensure that the panel is working to good practice guidance.

4. Domestic Abuse

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 places a statutory duty on tier one local authorities for the delivery of support to victims of domestic abuse and their children in safe accommodation and provides clarity over governance and accountability. Strategic responsibility for Domestic Abuse within City of York Council is held by the Public Health Team and delivery is through the York Domestic Abuse Board reporting to Safer York Partnership.

i. Prevention is a significant element of the Domestic Abuse programme, ensuring that there is a close working relationship with schools, colleges and young people to focus on developing healthy relationships and raising awareness of unhealthy behaviours.

ii. Domestic abuse specialist services are in place to both support victims of domestic abuse and to work with the perpetrators requiring support in changing their behaviour.

iii. The statutory duty also includes the management and oversight of the Domestic Homicide Review process.

iv. The Domestic Abuse Partnership Board Action Plan is attached at Annex C. Key points to note are as follows:

· Prevention and Early Identification

DA engagement officers now in post and have started to raise awareness of what constitutes DA through dissemination of previous developed materials and delivering awareness sessions for professional and other relevant partners.

School survey results currently being analysed which will inform development of offer of support to schools which will include advice on RSE curriculum around healthy relationship work.

· Authentic & Inclusive Support for All

Existing providers will be continuing with the new contract and mobilisation work has commenced. DAHA (Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance) coordinator now in post and has commenced DAHA 'healthcheck' and needs assessment on housing provision.

· Drive Change Together

Continuing to build with our existing partnership approach.

· Accountability

Continuing to work with services to develop pathways and interventions to work with perpetrators.

5. Safe and Supported Communities

          This priority acknowledges the impact that crime and antisocial behaviour have on communities and quality of life. It includes ensuring that the safeguarding needs of victims are met through the inclusion of a range of support services and community connectors in the problem solving process.

i. Anti-social behaviour is addressed through an escalating approach using education and support to promote behaviour change, with enforcement as the last resort for the most serious cases that cause the highest level of threat and risk to individuals or communities. A joint North Yorkshire Police and City of York Council team make up the Community Safety Hub, working together to ensure that where enforcement action is required, it is dealt with effectively and efficiently through collaborative work. 

ii. The Community Safety Hub facilitate and coordinate multiagency problem solving to ensure that partners are engaged in a holistic approach to tackling antisocial behaviour, particularly where cases are complex and sometimes require a range of actions by partners to resolve them.

iii. Hate Crime is managed through the York Hate Crime Partnership which works to deliver their action plan, attached at Annex D. The Partnership includes organisations whose work supports those communities with protected characteristics under the Hate Crime legislation (Race, Religion, Disability, Sexual Orientation, Transgender Identity alongside representatives from City of York Council, North Yorkshire Police and the universities and colleges.  The group reports to the Safer York Partnership Board and the North Yorkshire Inclusive Communities Commissioning Group.

iv. The group receives updates from the police in relation to Hate Crime (actual crimes and incidents) enabling an intelligence led approach to its work. Achievements to date include:        

· The Partnership receives a regular update from North Yorkshire Police in respect of Hate Crime and Non-Crime Hate incidents that have occurred across the city (non-crime hate incidents are recorded by the police to collect information on ‘hate incidents’ that could escalate into more serious harm or indicate heightened community tensions, but which do not constitute a criminal offence). This information allows the group to take an intelligence-led approach to its work.

· North Yorkshire Police have delivered Hate Crime Awareness training sessions to a variety of organisations across the city.

· Increase in the number of Third-Party Hate Crime Reporting Centres across the city to include: York Racial Equality Network, York CVS, York CAB, University of York, Explore Libraries (city centre, Tang Hall and Acomb) and York Travellers Trust.

· Regular joint meetings established with York’s universities and colleges to share information on trends in student-reporting from their own in-house Report & Support type platforms.

· Coordination of work with Public Health in to include questions in the recent Healthy Child survey (secondary school survey only) of school children to capture the experiences of those with protected characteristics in respect of bullying and prejudice-based incidents.

· Work with All About Respect who create a safe space for student communities in York (18–25 year olds) to have an open and honest dialogue about healthy relationships.

· Work with York Disability Rights Forum who have recently commissioned students at the University of York to undertake research into the role Third Parties play in the reporting of disability Hate Crime.

· Raised awareness among partners of the work of Restorative Solutions in respect of Hate Crime and who also offer Hate Crime Awareness training as an out-of-court disposal for perpetrators as appropriate.

· Support and receive feedback from those who provide outreach work to receive feedback about the experiences of communities and identify any areas of emerging community tension.

· Development of acampaign to address alcohol related crime and disorder in York city centre, which includes a pattern of racial hate crime directed towards staff working in the night-time economy to be launched later in the Spring.

· Contribute to a programme of activities as part of annual Hate Crime Awareness Week.

v. The group supports the Anti Racism Strategy produced by Inclusive Equal Rights UK (IERUK) and contributes to delivery of the associated Anti-Racism Action Plan which was approved Executive in December 2023.

6. Serious Organised Crime including County Lines, Exploitation and Modern Slavery

i. Serious organised crime (SOC) whilst often associated with regional, national or international criminals, impacts significantly on local communities. Organised crime groups will deploy intimidation tactics, exploit individuals and use violence for unlawful gain. A Serious Organised Crime Board for York and North Yorkshire focuses on the National Serious Organised Crime Strategy and delivers across both Local Authority areas. It is supported by a multi-agency disruption panel which brings together intelligence from a range of partners to disrupt the most prolific groups operating locally.

ii. Locally, fortnightly early intervention and prevention meetings chaired by the Community Safety Hub and involving a range of CYC services, Fire and Rescue and the police allow for the discussion of cases where a multi-agency response is required or where partners can support intelligence gathering in relation to County Lines activity. This group also links through its membership to the Multiagency, Child Exploitation and Missing (MACEM) meetings.

iii. Clear, hold, build (CHB) is a framework for bringing the tackling of serious and organised crime threats into neighbourhood policing. It also involves partners and the community in delivering and sustaining reductions in serious organised crime and related crime.

iv. The core aim of CHB is to:

· Reclaim and rebuild communities persistently affected by organised criminal groups;

· Restore the relationship between residents, the police and statutory agencies.

v. The police cannot tackle serious and organised crime alone. It requires the local community, community organisations and statutory partners to work together. CHB helps to do this in a cohesive way.

vi. CHB is an operational framework designed to improve the local response to tackling one or a combination of serious and organised crime threats, including:

· Criminal networks (predominantly organised crime groups);

· Priority individuals;

· Vulnerabilities;

· Geographic hot spots of highest harm.

vii. CHB uses a place-based approach to understand the totality of serious and organised crime threats. It provides a model that forces can use to work in a more structured and coordinated way with partners. It ensures the community is involved in the response and has a say in the interventions that impact local areas. It ensures that the local response to serious and organised crime is sustainable and moves beyond conventional enforcement tactics.

viii. Clear Hold Build is being delivered in York through both strategic and operational groups. The official launch is planned to take place on 11 March 2024.

7. Serious Violence

i. The Serious Violence Duty has been in place since January 2023, introduced under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. The duty requires partners to work together to share information and collaborate on interventions to prevent and reduce serious violence within communities.

ii. A Serious Violence Duty Working Group has been established across York and North Yorkshire by the Office of the Police Fire and Crime Commissioner (OPFCC) involving all key partners in both Local Authority areas. The group has overseen the production of a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment, highlighting the key areas of concern, patterns and trends and the drafting of a Serious Violence Strategy to address them through a multiagency approach. Funding has been made available by the Home Office to support this work and as administered through the OPFCC through a bidding process to support projects aligned to the strategy.

Council Plan

8. The Community Safety Strategy links to the following priorities within the Council Plan 2023:

· Equalities and Human Rights: Working with all communities to ensure that residents, Businesses and visitors are able to feel safe within the City;

· Affordability: Working closely with the most disadvantaged to ensure that victims of crime and antisocial behaviour are supported and that a holistic approach to problem solving is delivered with education and early intervention at its heart;

· Health: Working in partnership to address health inequalities and ensure that communities and individuals are supported to address their health needs where it is impacted by crime and antisocial behaviour.

Implications

9. In producing this report, the following implications have been considered:

· Financial: Safer York Partnership receives a grant of £10,812.41 from the OPFCC;

· Human Resources (HR): No implications;

· Legal: Covered in the report;

· Procurement: No procurement implications;

· Health and Wellbeing: Public Health are a partner on the SYP Board;

· Environment and Climate action: Efforts should be made to ensure that ‘The Safer York Partnership Community Safety Strategy’ is delivered in a way that does not have a detrimental impact on the ambitions of the Climate Change Strategy;

· Affordability: Working closely with the most disadvantaged to ensure that victims of crime and antisocial behaviour are supported;

· Equalities and Human Rights: The Council has to take account of the Public Sector Equality Duty under Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 (to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other prohibited conduct; advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it and foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it, in the exercise of a public authority’s functions. The work outlined in this report demonstrates partnership working to address for example hate crime and other crimes against those with protected characteristics and seeks to protect Human Rights throughout.

· Data Protection and Privacy: Data protection impact assessments (DPIAs) are an essential part of our accountability obligations and is a legal requirement for any type of processing under UK GDPR. Failure to carry out a DPIA when required may leave the council open to enforcement action, including monetary penalties or fines. DPIAs helps us to assess and demonstrate how we comply with all of our data protection obligations. It does not have to eradicate all risks but should help to minimise and determine whether the level of risk is acceptable in the circumstances, considering the benefits of what the council wants to achieve. As there is no personal data, special categories of personal data or criminal offence data being processed to inform the decision in this report, there is no requirement to complete a DPIA. This is evidenced by completion of DPIA screening questions. However, there will need to be consideration and completion of DPIA(s) where required, for the delivery of the three year strategy once adopted;

· Communications: Contact: Head of Communications, Eddie Coates-Madden – SYP communications are managed by the City of York Council communications team but jointly with the appropriate partners in relation to the partnership’s work;

· Economy: Contact: Head of City Development, Kathryn Daly – No implications;

· Specialist Implications Officers: As appropriate.

Risk Management

10. There are no identified risks relevant to this report.

Conclusions

11. The Police and Justice Act 2006 introduced a clear role for Overview and Scrutiny Committees in overseeing the work of Community Safety Partnerships and their constituent partners. Under the council’s scrutiny arrangements bi-annual performance reports from Safer York Partnership are presented to the Scrutiny and Policy Committee.
Recommendations

12. Members are asked to:

· Note the information relating to delivery of the Community Safety Strategy.

Reason:

To update Members on the performance of the Safer York Partnership and facilitate contribution to development of future strategy.

Contact Details

Author: Jane Mowat Head of Community Safety Tel:  01904 55 5742 Jane.mowat@york.gov.uk	Chief Officer Responsible for the report: Neil Ferris Corporate Director of Place
	Report Approved	ü	Date		23 February 2024
Wards Affected:				All		ü
For further information please contact the author of the report

Background Papers

No background papers.

Annexes

Annex A: Safer York Partnership Terms of Reference

Annex B: Safer York Partnership Community Safety Strategy 2023-26

Annex C: York Domestic Abuse Local Partnership Plan

Annex D: York Hate Crime Partnership Plan

Abbreviations

CYC - City of York Council

NYP - North Yorkshire Police

BID - Business Improvement District

ASB - Anti-Social Behaviour

NEO - Neighbourhood Enforcement Officer 

NYCC - North Yorkshire County Council

PSPO - Public Space Protection Orders

OPFCC – Office of the Police Fire and Crime Commissioner

HVM - Hostile vehicle mitigation

CONTEST – Government response to Counter Terrorism

SAG – Safety Advisory Group

IDAS - Independent Domestic Abuse Service