Community Safety and Crime and Disorder COVID-19  Response Cell

Purpose

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic there is an increased need to be able to dynamically assess, plan, coordinate and deploy resources on an intelligence led basis that will enable rapid response to escalating community safety risks/harm.

Already noted is the potential and actual evidence of risk escalation for children, young people and adults in the city as BAU service delivery in this area is compromised by the developing situation including the multiple impacts of lock downs and school closure

The Covid Response Cell will bring partners together and to operationalise decisions quickly during the COVID-19 outbreak and recovery is compromised.

Areas of risk include

• In increase in Anti-Social Behaviour and street crime/offending
• Management of non-compliance with government guidelines on social distancing
• An increase in serious violence and abuse/exploitation
• An increase in Domestic Violence and an inability to seek help
• Risks to from changes to the drug and alcohol treatment and harm reduction
• Changes in patterns of Drug Supply and related crime
• An increase in hate crime
• Increased risks of radicalisation and exploitation
• Increased risk of modern slavery and the inability of victims to seek help
• Safe management of the rough sleeping and homelessness community
• Safe offender Management and prison release during a period of lock down

Proposed solution

• Establish COVID-19 Community Safety Response Cell under Keeping Bristol Safe Partnership thereby ensuring close working with statutory and community partners
• The cell will:
  • Operate in place of the Keeping Bristol Safe Community Safety Delivery Group which will be temporarily stood down during the COVID-19 major incident – see Figure 1
  • Report to the partnership and to BCC Incident Management Coordination, becoming the Work Stream for Community Safety
  • Meet and review weekly to:
    • Ensure effective and coordinated deployment of resources initially focused on reducing risk and secondarily focused on effective longer term recovery
    • Benefit from intel, info sharing and modelling available through the Insight Hub and supported by PH analyst thereby enabling targeting of responses to emerging trends and pressures
  • The Cell will be commanded by , Gary Davies, HOS Early Intervention and Targeted Support supported by Clare Sims, Safer City Manager and Andy Bennet, Avon and Somerset Police
  • Additional support will be provided by Joh Smith (recently CEO OPCC ) on a voluntary basis.

In scope

• All functions and services in scope which fall within the scope of the Keeping Communities Safe Delivery Groupincluding Hate crime and tension Monitoring, Prevent  (Building the Bridge)and Channel,   BCC Cross Council  Community Safety Strategy,  Domestic Abuse, Reducing Reoffending and Prison Gateway (Clare Simms/ Marilyn Harrison), Anti-Social Behaviour, housing and homelessness community safety issues , Drug and Alcohol treatment  (Paul Moores) and drug supply (Police)
• Children and Families and commissioned services that contribute to the delivery of contextual and complex safeguarding: alongside Safer Options (serious youth violence and child criminal exploitation/contextual safeguarding), Youth Offending Team, Strengthening Families and Families in Focus (targeted and edge of care/custody services), Targeted Youth and Youth Housing and Support provision
• Insight and Intelligence including shared Children and Families Business Intel Team and  public health

Out of scope

Commissioning arrangements will remain in Public Health – Domestic Violence, Drug and Alcohol services but will contribute to the delivery of CS response and be part of the response cell.

Other commissioned and directly provided children and family services.

Implementation of the arrangements will

• Enable PH to release key staff to focus on the Covid-19 pandemic and the local and regional response to it. This will enhance PH’s capacity to respond to this major incident, protect the public and recover from it.
• Provide a coordinated place based approach working with key partners across the council and the city.
• Improve coordination of and response to new and emerging as well as known and escalating risks
• Take effect Wednesday 1^st April
• Be reviewed to assess impact and inform future arrangements at the appropriate stage in recovery.

Budget and resourcing

All operational budgets and staffing resource will be aligned.

Additional operational costs arising from the situation eg increased capacity in DA services will be met through COVID response funding/PH funding