Agenda item

Briefing Note of the Director of Public Health and Wellbeing  

The Committee considered a Briefing Note of the Director of Public Health and Wellbeing which provided an update on key developments, achievements, challenges and next steps in ongoing efforts to tackle serious violence in Coventry using a public health approach. Officers from West Midlands Police attend the meeting for consideration of this item.

The Briefing Note detailed the Committee’s consideration of this issue at their meeting in November 2023 (Minute 33/23 refers), which had highlighted the new Serious Violence Duty (SDV) imposed on local authorities and their partners to tackle serious violence collaboratively.  The Community Initiative to Reduce Violence (CIRV) was also introduced as an externally funded intervention targeting individuals aged fourteen or more, at risk of, or experiencing, violence. West Midlands Police has contributed a substantial resource in terms of personnel.

The Briefing Note indicated that since the initial report, progress has been made on implementing the Serious Violence Duty and CIRV, as well as undergoing a joint targeted area inspection. Key achievements in the following areas were detailed:-

·  Serious Violence Duty Implementation

·  Community Initiative to Reduce Violence (CIRV)

·  Significant Milestones:-

o  Joint Targeted Area Inspection (JTAI)  on the theme “Serious Youth Violence” was undertaken in March 2024 which lasted for a period of three weeks, with inspectors from Ofsted, Care Quality Commission. A copy of the letter of findings from the JTAI was appended to the report.

o  Next Steps-

§  Monitoring and Evaluation

§  Community Engagement

§  Policy and Advocacy

A comprehensive presentation at the meeting was provided by officers and representatives from West Midlands Police.

The Committee asked questions, sought assurances and made comments on a number of issues including:-

·  Engagement and partnership working with West Midlands Fire Service

·  The proposed launch of the “My Tomorrow”

·  Decisions regarding the deployment of Police Officers across the West Midlands and ensuring that Coventry gets the officers required

·  Details of the successful “Step Together” initiative and work being undertaken to secure future funding for this

·  The link between an increase in incidents of Domestic Violence during football tournaments and plans in place to deal with any such increase during the Euros 2024

·  The link between a perceived fear of crime during nighttime hours, particularly when street lights are dimmed/turned off. It was noted that high rates of crime are recorded during daytime hours.

·  Work undertaken to target street violence and the resulting reduction in these figures

·  A request for a comparison of crime rates in the City with comparable Cites and not just those in the West Midlands region. West Midlands Police indicated that they would provide this data to the Committee

·  Work undertaken with partners and how information is shared

·  The outcome of the JTAI and work being undertaken on the Action Plan to tackle those areas for development following the JTAI

·  The complex nature of Serious Violence crime and the need to ensure that there is adequate funding for early intervention and prevention

The Chair, on behalf of the Committee, thanked officers from West Midlands Police for all of their work in this regard and for their attendance at the meeting.

RESOLVED that the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee:-

1)  Note the progress detailed in the Briefing Note, including the letter of findings following the recent Joint Targeted Area Inspection

2)  Support advocacy for sustained funding and partnership working for existing initiatives to bolster violence reduction across the partnership

3)  Request that in future, when considering evaluation findings, a member of the Evaluation Team be invited to attend Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee for consideration of that item