Minutes of the Dorset Community Safety Partnership - 20 May 2022 (monthly meeting)

Attendance: Core membership 

Attendees

Support

Apologies were given by:

• Vanessa Read (Clinical Commissioning Group)
• Andrea Breen (Dorset Council)
• Toni Shepherd (Probation Services)
• Liz Plastow (Clinical Commissioning Group)
• Superintendent Richard Bell (Dorset Police)

In attendance were:

• Claire Shiels (Dorset Council Children's Services)
• Shaeda Alum (Dorset Council Children's Services)
• Detective Superintendent Andrew Dilworth (Dorset Police)

1. Welcome and introductions

1.1 Cllr Carr Jones welcomed everyone to the meeting.

2. Minutes of meeting held on 22nd December 2021 and matters arising

2.1 Andy Frost ran through the actions from the last meeting. The only outstanding action was for John Newcombe to find out if the Police’s Community Tension Profiles can be made available to Partnership Co-ordinating Groups (PCGs).

Action - John Newcombe

3. Forward plan

3.1 Andy Frost ran through the draft forward plan and asked for ideas on what partners wanted to include in monthly and quarterly meetings.

3..2 Quarterly meetings would remain more formal and deal with statutory functions such as agreeing the Partnership Strategic Assessment (PSA), Community Safety Plans etc.

3.3 It was agreed that the monthly meetings would include the following standing agenda items:

• Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs)
• Legislative and policy changes
• Funding opportunities

3.4 Local and strategic delivery would be looked at alternately. Monthly meetings would also be used to focus on spotlight items and issues such as serious sexual offences, modern slavery, rural crime etc.

4. Safeguarding Families Together

4.1 Shaeda Alum gave a presentation on the Safeguarding Families Together project being led by Children’s Services.

4.2 Members of the group made several comments and asked questions including about:

• Workforce pressures and the impact the project could have on these especially since providers were already struggling to recruit domestic abuse and mental health workers
• Current domestic abuse programmes that are over prescribed or not currently commissioned by the Council
• Links to other programmes and initiatives e.g. the new Police Safeguarding Hubs
• The needs assessment for the project, how many people would be helped / supported and the cost benefits

4.3 Shaeda and Claire Shiels explained it was not the intention to fund line by line services that are already operating in the domestic abuse, substance misuse and mental health sectors.

4.4 They were aware of the workforce pressures and emphasised the project was not looking to take staff from existing services.

4.5 Claire agreed to share with members of the group the report on the project that went to the Council’s Transformation Board and the needs assessment. The reports would help partners to better understand the details of the project and the cost benefits.

Action - Claire Shiels 

4.6 Claire and Shaeda would also provide regular updates on progress to the Community Safety Partnership.

5. Organised crime in Dorset

5.1 Detective Superintendent Andy Dilworth gave a presentation on organised crime in Dorset.

5.2 Members of the group asked several questions regarding the nature of crimes and links to the priorities of the Community Safety Partnership and its work programmes.

5.3 Questions were also asked about links to regional centres such as Bristol.

Future meeting dates are:

• 11am 28 June 2022 (quarterly meeting)
• 3pm 13 July 2022
• 11am 16 August 2022
• 10am 15 September 2022 (quarterly meeting)
• 3pm 19 October 2022
• 12pm 16 November 2022
• 10am 21 December 2022 (quarterly meeting)
• 10am 18 January 2023
• 10am 15 February 2023
• 10am 15 March 2023 (quarterly meeting)