Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Mimi Morris Cotterill. Finola O Driscoll attended to represent Public Health. 

Apologies were received from David Tait, David Dare, Vicky West, Lynnette Chamielec, Chris Line, Ken Loyal and Colin Brand. 

It was noted that Chief Inspector Ken Loyal would no longer be attending the Board. The Chairman motioned that Superintendent Luke Baldock should be appointed as joint Chairman of the Board alongside herself. It was also motioned that the Borough Fire Commander (Chris Line) be appointed as Vice Chairman. The Portfolio Holder for Public Protection and Enforcement seconded these motions and they were agreed by the Board.

There were no declarations of interest.

It was noted that the Chairman of the Safer Neighbourhood Board would be providing regular updates going forward.

RESOLVED that Superintendent Luke Baldock should be appointed as joint Chairman of the Board alongside the LBB Assistant Director for Public Protection and Enforcement and that Chris Line (LFB Borough Commander) be appointed as Vice Chairman.   

The minutes of the meeting that was held on 12^th January 2023 were agreed as a correct record.

It was noted that the police public attitude survey had been incorporated into the Priority 1 update.

With respect to the means by which the Public Protection and Enforcement Committee would scrutinise the police going forward, work had been progressing behind the scenes to formalise this and further details would be provided during the police update at the Public Protection and Enforcement PDS meeting on the 28th of June 2023.

It was noted that there was collective frustration across London with respect to MOPAC funding.

The Board noted that in line with the METs ‘Turnaround Plan,’ the police were  undergoing a significant re-vetting process to identify any undetected wrongdoing and  also reviewing vetting on entering the organisation. Details were being disseminated in public forums such as Safer Neighbourhood Board meetings to provide assurance to the public and to re-build confidence in the police.   

The Council had recruited a MARAC Co-ordinator. Unfortunately, the person recruited had been applying for other jobs and so would not be remaining in post. The recruitment process would therefore need to re-commence. In the interim, the duties would be undertaken as best as possible from LBB in house resourcing.

The Board was assured that matters concerning speeding and dangerous driving were being considered by the police and other Board members. Further updates regarding this matter would follow to explain what could and could not be done.

RESOLVED that the Matters Arising report be noted.

Trading Standards had been undertaking sweeps of businesses to see if they were selling vapes to young people. It was noted that illegal vapes had been seized and the Board were reminded of the harmful amount of lead in vapes that could adversely affect brain development. As it stood, vapes could be legally given to young people free of charge if classified as a gift. Central Government was setting up a task force to look into problems concerning vapes and £3m was being allocated for this.

It was noted that a major concern in secondary schools currently was vaping. Public Health had developed a video along with the Council to highlight the dangers of vapes. This video was aimed primarily at parents and carers. It was agreed that the link to the video would be shared with the Board. The dangers of nitrous oxide  usage was also discussed. The Chairman said that these discussions would have a bearing on what could be monitored in the new SBP Strategy.  Consideration would need to be applied as to how relevant data could be monitored. The Chairman felt it would be helpful if fresh cascading could be undertaken each quarter. 

There were issues with respect to VAWG that were currently flagged as ‘red’ that would need further investigation and addressing as appropriate. It was noted that the document referenced CCGs and that this information required refreshing as CCGs had been replaced by ICBs (Integrated Care Boards). 

Learning was progressing with respect to domestic homicide reviews and there were currently three in progress. The Government was looking at the Council’s current reporting model and the Council were awaiting new guidance regarding this. It was commented that it could take four to six months for the Council to submit a DHR to the Home Office and it could take up to 18 months for the Home Office to sign off a report. A view was expressed that learning could be lost during this time frame. The Head of Trading Standards and Commercial Regulation said that some learning would be acted upon immediately. It was however the case that action plans developed by the Council while waiting for the final Home Office sign off and recommendations would sometimes need to be modified if additional recommendations were agreed by the Home Office.

It was the general consensus that the Home Office guidance needed to be reviewed including whether or not cases of suicide should fall within the remit of a DHR. It was noted that with respect to Public Health, DHRs would be discussed within their internal committees and actions implemented as soon as possible. It was agreed that the Board should write to the Home Office expressing their concerns with respect to the DHR review process and that if other boards could also write in a similar manner, then the argument for review would be strengthened.

With respect to hate crime, the board noted that the community safety website had been updated and it was planned  ...  view the full minutes text for item 63.

An update was provided from the Safer Neighbourhood Board Chairman.

The public confidence in the police was something that needed to improve. It was planned to hold two major public events each year to disseminate information to the public and give them access to decision makers. The first event had taken place on May the 18th at the Warren, post Casey Review. The Met Police’s turnaround plan was presented by the Borough Commander. Vapes were also discussed at this meeting. It was very well attended with 91 attendees; key themes were anti-social behaviour and who the public could contact to express concerns.

It was noted that £20k had been received from MOPAC, to be used partly to  improve ward panel structure. Ideas were needed for small scale projects to fund. It was also noted that £19k had been secured for next year's projects and historical funding that had not been used had been requested. The next public meeting would be held on the 23rd of September at Bromley Civic Centre.

At the meeting in May, the public attitude survey for the Met was discussed and it was apparent that the public were frustrated at not seeing officers on the streets. It had been agreed previously that a contact list should be disseminated that could be used by the public. It was noted that MOPAC were introducing local policing scrutiny panels and also the London Policing Board, where volunteers were required to sit with the London Mayor.

The matter of youth engagement had been considered and it was agreed that a different panel was required to stimulate youth engagement.

The Home Office had opened a hotel in Orpington to house refugees. The police needed to consider how to manage this in terms of dealing with potential issues of racial bias and to prevent the exploitation of vulnerable people.

RESOLVED that the update from the Chairman of the Safer Neighbourhood Board be noted.

Partners noted that the VVAP had been updated and the revised version would be disseminated to the SBP during week commencing 5^th June. Responses from Partners to the revised document were required by June 30^th.

RESOLVED that the VVAP overview be noted. 

Partners noted that good progress was being made with the development of the Strategy which still needed to be finalised. There were now seven task and finish groups which included a steering group and a data group. It was hoped that a revised strategy would be ready by the end of the calendar year. This would give the Partnership some room for any final amendments before the target date for completion of April 1^st 2024.

It was suggested that after the Strategy was finalised it should be reviewed annually which would make the Strategy more realistic and reactive.

RESOLVED that the progress regarding the development of the Safer Bromley Strategy for 2024—2027 be noted.  

It was noted that the Shawcross Review had resulted in 23 recommendations. There would be an update regarding these at the next meeting. Prevent funding was being lost regionally. This would not affect Bromley, as Bromley had never received funding, but those boroughs that were in receipt of funding were likely to lose it. This could have the effect of increasing risk. The primary risk areas were now online and social media. There would now be a transition to a regional framework and Bromley would have access to a Regional Co-ordinator if required.

RESOLVED that the Prevent update be noted.         

This item provides a roundtable update from all partners on developments in relation to performance and emerging issues.

An update was provided by the Service Manager for Bromley Drug and Alcohol Service concerning an opioid reversal drug. The drug was called Naloxone.

(Note on Naloxone: Naloxone, sold under the brand name Narcan among others, is a medication used to reverse or reduce the effects of opioids. It is used to counter decreased breathing in opioid overdose. Effects begin within two minutes when given intravenously, and within five minutes when injected into a muscle. The medicine can also be administered by spraying it into a person's nose. Emergency medical services data from Massachusetts found that 93.5% of people given naloxone survived their overdose.)

The Bromley Drug and Alcohol Service Manager said that she had sourced some information from the Mayor of London’s website that indicated that the police were not trained in the use of the drug, but that supplies were normally kept in police custody suites. Bromley Drug and Alcohol Service had not supplied this medication to the police (as far as the Service Manager was aware) and so the Service Manager was unclear where the police supplies would have originated from (if they had stocks in their custody suites). It had to be noted that the shelf life of the drug was two years, so existing stocks may need replacing.

The Bromley Drug and Alcohol Service Manager explained that the drug would keep someone alive for about 20 minutes, which would hopefully be enough time for the person to receive life saving medical intervention. If the overdose was not opioid related, then administration of the drug would not have any adverse effects. 

The drug was also available in a nasal spray form called Nyxoid. The drug could not be provided to a stakeholder to provide to a service user, as the training would be diluted. Service users would need to approach BDAS directly.  Training could be provided on the use of the injection from the age of 14, and from 8 for the nasal spray. 

The Service Manager stated that the Mayor of London website recommended that the police stock a minimum of three injections for custody suites. She wanted to check if Bromley Police had supplies and also if they required training. The LBB Domestic Abuse Strategic Lead Officer, suggested that it would be helpful for the Service Manager from Bromley Drug and Alcohol Service to brief the ‘Operational Forum’ and she agreed to do so.

Superintendent Luke Baldock said that he would need to check the situation regarding police custody suites, as there was now a separate operational command for this area. The Service Manager for Bromley Drug and Alcohol Service agreed to provide the Board with a briefing concerning Naloxone, so that Board Members could use and disseminate this information as they deemed appropriate.  Mr Sibun said that he would be happy to work with health colleagues to disseminate the information into the health care system. Fiona O Driscoll said that she would also be happy to do like-wise for Public  ...  view the full minutes text for item 69.

The next meeting of the Safer Bromley Partnership Board will be on 21^st September 2023 at 10 am in Bromley Civic Centre.

All meetings start at 10.00am unless otherwise notified.

The next meeting was scheduled to take place on 21^st September.