Government news and campaigns 

Right Care, Right Person  

The NHS, police and government have committed to a new approach to ensure those requiring urgent mental health support receive timely care from the most appropriate agency. Patients experiencing a mental health crisis will be treated by the most appropriate agency, rather than police officers, helping free up police time and ensuring care is provided by someone with the most relevant skills and experience. 
 
Local health partners and police forces in England will work together on joint plans to implement the new approach, working towards ending the inappropriate involvement of police where no crime is being committed or there is no threat to safety. Where police officers do take a person in a mental health crisis to a health setting under the Mental Health Act, this agreement emphasises the need for local partners to work towards handovers happening within one hour. These plans and timelines for implementation will reflect the needs of local communities, as well as the capacity of local police and mental health services, and any additional resources required. 
 
Read more on Right Care, Right Person in the news story and policy paper. 

Funding boost for specialist victim support services 

On Tuesday, the government announced up to £8.3 million of funding has been granted to 55 organisations providing support to victims of abuse, including counselling, training and community outreach. 
 
More victims of crimes including domestic abuse, rape and other sexual offences will benefit from support designed to best meet their individual needs. There is more information, including a list of recipient frontline and specialist support projects, here. 
 
CONTEST Relaunch 
 
The government has launched CONTEST 2023, a refreshed approach to the evolving and enduring threat from terrorism and to safeguard the public. For over twenty years, the CONTEST strategy has sought to reduce the risk of terrorism in the UK and to its interests overseas. CONTEST 2023 sets out the UK’s bolstered approach to a domestic terrorist risk that is once again rising and becoming increasingly less predictable. The updated strategy also addresses a persistent and evolving overseas threat from Islamist groups, and exploitation of technology by terrorists. 
 
The strategy will continue to counter the threat at every stage across Prevent, Pursue, Protect, and Prepare – from protecting against and mitigating the impact of terrorist attacks, to stopping people from becoming terrorists by curtailing radicalising influences.  

Read more on the CONTEST relaunch here. To read the Home Secretary’s speech from the relaunch event, please click here. 
 
Occupation Shortage List  
 
The government has announced an expansion of theShortage Occupation List which is an official list of skilled occupations or professions where there is shortage of skilled labour force within the domestic UK market. The list will be expanding to include bricklayers and masons, roofers, roof-tilers/slaters, carpenters, joiners and plasterers.  

Read more on this here. 
 
National Security Bill becomes law 
 
The National Security Bill became law on July 11^th. This new act brings together vital new measures to protect the British public, modernise counter-espionage laws and address the evolving threat to our national security. With this new legislation, the UK is now a harder target for those states who seek to conduct hostile acts against the UK, which espionage, foreign interference (including in our political system), sabotage, and acts that endanger life, such as assassination. Read more on the National Security Bill here. 
 
Operation Soteria 
 
Operation Soteria is a unique police and Crown Prosecution Service programme to develop new operating models for the investigation and prosecution of rape in England and Wales by June 2023. The policing model is being developed by a team of experts funded by the Home Office (£6.65 million from 2021 to 2023). 
 
It is a collaborative programme bringing together police forces with academics and policy leads to use evidence and new insight to enable forces to transform their response to rape and serious sexual offences. Read more about Operation Soteria here.  
 
Antisocial Behaviour  
 
Following the next steps in delivering the Prime Minister’s action plan to crack down on antisocial behaviour, there will be more visible policing and swifter consequences for ASB. Communities across England and Wales will see more police patrolling antisocial behaviour hotspots and perpetrators will face tougher, swifter consequences. 
 
16 police force areas, including Cleveland, Derbyshire and Northumbria, will be launching either ‘hotspot’ policing initiatives or ‘immediate justice’ schemes. These will see offenders of antisocial behaviour made to repair damage they’ve caused to the community.  
 
Read more on the antisocial behaviour action plan and hotspot policing here. 
 
Stakeholder news and campaigns  
 
Crimestoppers: County Lines  
 
Crimestoppers launched a new campaign last week to combat the exploitation of children and vulnerable people by criminal gangs through County Lines. 
 
Their campaign covers signs to spot and what to do if you have information about possible County Lines activity. The Children’s Commissioner for England believes that at least 27,000 children are County Lines gang members, with 4,000 in London alone. For individuals with information about County Lines activity, Crimestoppers offers a reminder that informants remain 100% anonymous. 
 
For more information or to report information about possible County Lines activity, please refer to the Crimestoppers briefing pack. 
 
Crimestoppers: Step Up. Stay Safe.  
 
Working with Peoplesafe, Crimestoppers is running a ‘Step Up. Stay Safe.’ campaign, which calls on employers to protect their people. This campaign is dedicated to raising the bar on personal safety in, and outside of, the workplace, striving to make the world feel a safer place for everyone. ‘Step Up. Stay Safe.’ seeks to: 

·       Raise awareness of personal safety tips 

·       Improve employee skills for being able to prepare for, and respond to, personal safety risks 

·       Reduce the level of personal safety concerns experienced by employees on a weekly basis 

·       Encourage open conversations about safety and remind employees to follow safety policies and procedures 

·       Increase awareness of personal safety technology 

·       Support and endorse ‘Everyone has the right to go home safe after a day’s work’ 

Read more about the ‘Step Up. Stay Safe’ campaign here. 

The Internet Watch Foundation 

The Internet Watch Foundation have developed guidance to share information and support available on the issue of sextortion, which is when someone uses private and intimate content, such as photos or videos, to blackmail and manipulate others. Please promote the resource on your channels; the IWF have shared suggested messaging for those of you who work directly with young people, or parents/carers. 
 

Young People: 

Have you or another young person ever faced the upsetting experience of sextortion? Sextortion is when someone uses private and intimate content, such as photos or videos, to blackmail and manipulate others. It’s terrible and no one should have to go through it alone. Find out more from iwf.org.uk/sextortion  

If you or a friend have been a victim of sextortion, please remember that you are not alone. There is help and support available for you. Reach out to a trusted adult, parent or teacher to talk about what happened. They are here to listen, understand, and provide guidance. 

 Find more help here.  
 
Parents/carers: 

Calling all parents! We know how much you care about your children’s safety, both offline and online. We need to shed light on a serious issue that every parent should be aware of – online sextortion – something our team are seeing a lot more of recently. Sextortion occurs when someone manipulates and coerces young individuals into sharing intimate content and then uses it to blackmail or exploit them. Support and guidance available here 
 
Parents – we need to talk about a concerning issue – online sextortion. It involves manipulative individuals preying on young people, coercing them into sharing intimate images or videos and then using it to blackmail or exploit them. We always need to remind children that it’s not their fault and that there is support available. More advice is available here. 
 
Upcoming campaigns 

If your organisation has any upcoming surveys or campaigns that you would like us to highlight in our newsletter, please get in touch with the External Affairs team at [email protected] 
 
Campaign Materials  

The government is running several campaigns for vulnerable audiences. We would be grateful if you could share campaign materials and messaging on your channels, and with your networks.   

·       ENOUGH. aims to challenge perpetrators and raise awareness of what we can all do to safely call out abuse. Please find attached a partner pack which includes more information on the campaign, and materials which you can share on your channels.  

·       Stop Abuse Together aims to empower parents and carers to take steps to help keep the children in their life safe. All children have a right to be safe from sexual abuse, and we all have a role to play in keeping them safe. Let’s #StopAbuseTogether  

·       Parentwise is designed to build parents and carers’ understanding of the range of harms their child could be exposed to. It includes a partner pack to help them spot the signs that something could be wrong and empower them to act if they are worried.