Report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods) and Chair of Community Safety Partnership, Manchester City Council.

This report provides an update on the implementation of the Community Safety Strategy 2022-25. It also provides information requested by Members at the Communities and Equalities Scrutiny Committee meeting on 6 September 2022.

The committee considered a report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods) and Chair of the Community Safety Partnership which provided an update on the implementation of the Community Safety Strategy 2022-25.

Key points and themes within the report included:

• Providing an introduction and background to Community Safety Partnerships and the Community Safety Strategy 2022-25;
• Tackling neighbourhood crime and antisocial behaviour, particularly in student neighbourhoods;
• Safety of women and girls;
• Keeping children and young people safe;
• Early intervention and prevention, including trauma responsive interventions;
• Tackling serious harm and violence, including modern slavery and the RADEQUAL community campaign;
• The initiatives funded for 2023/24;
• Tackling drug and alcohol driven crime;
• Work to change offender behaviour; and
• The work and aims of the Community Safety Partnership’s Achieving Race Equality Task and Finish Group.

Key points and queries that arose from the committee’s discussion included:

• What work was being undertaken to strengthen cohesion in communities where tensions may be rising as a result of conflict in the Middle East;
• Noting the work of RADEQUAL and the influence that disinformation (false information deliberately spread to deceive people)could have on young people;
• Expressing disappointment in the way that changes to Greater Manchester Police’s (GMP) Student Safe operation were communicated to members;
• Expressing concern over staff turnover within GMP’s Neighbourhood Policing teams;
• The membership of the Safety of Women and Girls Steering Group and how members were appointed;
• What work was being done, beside nighttime patrols in the city centre, to ensure the safety of women in the nighttime economy and to implement Unite the Union’s ‘Get Me Home Safely’ campaign;
• What work the Council’s Youth, Play and Participation service were undertaking in south Manchester to dissuade young people from engaging in violence;
• Noting that 90% of people managed by Probation in Manchester were in settled accommodation following release from prison between January and March 2023, and querying what happened to the remaining 10%;
• How Greater Manchester’s performance in placing prison-leavers in settled accommodation after their release compared to other areas in England;
• Requesting further clarification on the unmet need within CAS3;
• Noting the seriousness of modern slavery and exploitation through international sponsorship schemes;
• The capacity to house all prison-leavers in Manchester;
• Whether accommodation for prison-leavers was in one locality or spread across the city;
• What was being done to address reoffending amongst young people; and
• Whether earlier intervention was required to address youth crime.

The Strategic Lead (Community Safety) explained the key priorities of the Community Safety Partnership, including keeping children and young people safe, early intervention and prevention, addressing drug- and alcohol-related harms and cross-cutting themes such as addressing disproportionality in services.

The Assistant Chief Officer of GM Probation Service provided an overview of the service and reiterated the benefits of working closely with Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), as part of unification between the National Probation Service and Community Rehabilitation Companies in 2021, in establishing a local service and enabling local commissioning. He acknowledged that three probationary units within Greater Manchester had been assessed as ‘requiring improvement’ by HM Inspectorate but advised members that the service’s level of integration had been highlighted as an example of good practice.

The Strategic Lead for CAS3, GM Probation Service, explained that this accommodation was funded by the Ministry of Justice and was available to prison leavers. This was undertaken through commissioning with GMCA and there were 159 beds across Greater Manchester, with 54 beds in Manchester. She explained that the service worked closely with the Council, who had identified a provider for accommodation and support services. Members were informed that there was a process involved to approve addresses and locations of this accommodation and that the individuals placed in accommodation also required approval by the Probation Service, GMCA and GMP.

She further stated that 513 prison leavers had been accommodated in Manchester since June 2021. The accommodation was transitional and available for 84 nights, during which the Probation Service worked to identify move-on accommodation in collaboration with the Council and support providers, On the Out. 

In response to members’ queries, the Strategic Lead (Community Safety) acknowledged that the conflict in the Middle East was concerning for some communities and explained that Operation Wildflower was underway through the Community Safety Partnership to work with GMP to understand tensions and identify areas for response. She stated that there was also a significant amount of work underway to raise awareness of and address hate crime.

The committee was also advised that work was ongoing in schools to safeguard children and young people who may be troubled by conflict in the Middle East.

The Strategic Lead (Community Safety) recognised that changes to GMP’s Student Safe operation were not communicated in the best way, and this had been fed back to GMP. She advised that the Council’s Neighbourhood teams were working closely with GMP to understand the changes and the rationale behind them, to continue the partnership work of this operation within Neighbourhood teams and to ensure that any future changes to safety operations were communicated more appropriately.

The Superintendent, GMP, confirmed that he would relay this feedback to colleagues and stated that Student Safe was an expensive operation. He advised that GMP was enhancing its Neighbourhood Policing teams across North, Central and South Manchester to continue delivering these services at a lower cost.

In response to a member’s concern over staff turnover in Neighbourhood Policing teams, the Statutory Deputy Leader advised that this would be best directed to senior officers within GMP.

The Strategic Lead (Community Safety) explained that the Safety of Women and Girls Steering Group included a range of partners and was chaired by the Deputy Leader of the Council, Councillor Joanna Midgley.

With regards to the work being done to ensure the safety of women in the nighttime economy, members were informed of the Good Night Out Guide, premises being accredited in the safety of women and girls and a range of other options were being discussed by the Safety of Women and Girls Steering Group.

The Parks Lead explained that Leeds City Council had recently undertaken research into the safety of women and girls in parks with their partners and highlighted three key areas for green and open space providers to focus on to improve senses of safety and security within these spaces. This included the availability and visibility of staff and clear entrance points and inclusion of women and girls in decision-making. She stated that a brief audit had been undertaken as a result of this research which found that many of these findings were already in place in Manchester’s parks.

She also highlighted the work taking place on intersectionality around women and girls, including supporting partners to host the Black Girls Hike nature festival in Platt Fields and the Adventure Festivals, which gave women and girls the opportunity to participate in events that they were typically underrepresented in.

In response to a question regarding work in South Manchester to discourage young people from engaging in serious violence, the Strategic Lead (Community Safety) explained that support was targeted to challenging areas where crime and antisocial behaviour was high. She stated that work to develop an early intervention and prevention offer across North, South and Central Manchester was underway and expertise from STEER had recently been implemented in the south of the city. Funding for the wider youth offer was also available.

The Strategic Lead for CAS3, GM Probation Service, explained that the national target for people managed by Probation to be in settled accommodation following release from prison was 90% and that a trigger plan would be implemented where this figure reduced to 80%. She explained that Greater Manchester was high performing in national figures, although there was evidence of a decline which she attributed to the current climate. She stated that the Probation Service met with ‘negatives’ – those not placed in settled accommodation upon release – on a monthly basis and further explained that those deemed ‘neutral’ could be being housed in other establishments such as Home Office accommodation.

In response to queries from the Chair, the Strategic Lead for CAS3, GM Probation Service, clarified that there were currently 54 bedspaces in Manchester which were spread across the city. She reiterated that this accommodation was only available for 84 nights and that work to identify move-on accommodation would be undertaken during this time. This could include trying to reintegrate a prison-leaver with family or identifying priority need for housing through the Council. She further stated that funding was available to the Council through the government’s accommodation for ex-offenders’ scheme which linked to the development of CAS3 and provided rent, a deposit and incentive to landlords to agree a tenancy with a someone who had left prison in the previous 12 months.

The Strategic Lead (Community Safety) explained that there were many youth providers in Manchester which provided a range of support and safeguarding measures for children. It was acknowledged that by engaging with youth services and participating in the activities they organise, children and young people would be less likely to take part in antisocial behaviour and crime as they would not be on the streets. She also acknowledged that support and trust took time to develop between young people and providers including the Council and where necessary, information was shared between partners to ensure appropriate support was provided.

In response to a query regarding whether earlier intervention was required to address children becoming involved in crime at a younger age, the Strategic Lead (Community Safety) endorsed this and explained that pre-natal support was already in place in some circumstances to ensure that families had the support in place for children to grow up happily and healthily.

In closing the item, the Chair thanked officers and guests for their attendance and commended the many organisations working together in Manchester to tackle the most challenging issues and to achieve better outcomes for residents. 

Decision:

That the committee

1. notes the report;
2. expresses concern over staff turnover within GMP’s Neighbourhood Policing teams and asks that this is addressed in the Crime and Policing item at January’s meeting;
3. requests further information on where accommodation for prison-leavers is located in Manchester;
4. requests that the next update on the Community Safety Partnership include detail on outcomes, deliverability of priorities and objectives and how this could be monitored going forward.