Report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods).

This report provides an overview of progress made on developing Manchester’s approach to tackling serious violence.

The committee considered a report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods) which provided an overview of progress made in developing Manchester’s approach to tackling serious violence.

Key points and themes within the report included:

• Providing an introduction and background to the Serious Violence Strategy 2022-2023;
• The Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) Strategic Needs Assessment 2023;
• An overview of serious violence in Manchester;
• Hotspot areas;
• Links between serious violence and deprivation;
• Serious violence amongst and against young people;
• Interventions and early indications of impact and outcomes; and
• An overview of the Joint Targeted Area Inspection on serious youth violence, which was undertaken between September and October.

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

• Requesting clarification on which protected characteristics as listed under the Equality Act 2010 were likely to be disproportionately affected by serious violence, with figures and statistics;
• Requesting further information on the work of the Peace Together Alliance and SAFE taskforce;
• Noting the importance of early intervention and querying what work was being undertaken with those already involved in serious violence;
• Whether data on homicides within the city was based on a month-by-month comparison;
• Highlighting the important early intervention and prevention work being undertaken by voluntary groups in local communities;
• Responses to crime and serious violence in communities and in the media;
• Whether a communications plan was in place to reduce fear and to highlight work to reduce instances of serious violence;
• How GMP positively communicated updates on serious violence incidents;
• What early intervention and prevention work was being undertaken specifically with young people; and
• The importance of the role of housing providers in early intervention and prevention. 

The Statutory Deputy Leader acknowledged some serious incidents of violence in Manchester in recent months, particularly involving young people as both victims and perpetrators, and he emphasised that one instance of serious violence was one too many. He stated that it was important to intervene early and to provide hope, aspiration, and positive activities for young people. He also noted that the vast majority of young people in Manchester did not engage in violence and that the Serious Violence Strategy and the Community Safety Partnership would work to reduce violence in the city.

The Strategic Lead (Community Safety) explained that the report provided an update on progress with the delivery of the Serious Violence Strategy, including current performance and key statistics on serious violence in Manchester and detailed the significant investment which had been given to the work of the Community Safety Partnership and the Violence Reduction Unit from a range of funding sources. She also informed the committee that the Partnership’s response to serious youth violence was recently subject to a Joint Targeted Area Inspection (JTAI) and the outcome of this would be published on 30 November 2023 with a report to this committee in January 2024.

In response to members’ queries, the Strategic Lead (Community Safety) confirmed that she would share the additional information requested. Regarding ongoing work to support those already involved in serious violence, she explained that support and protection was a key element in the Serious Violence Strategy and that a range of interventions were available. Early intervention and prevention were a key focus as a result of feedback from communities, but it was important to work with those already in the criminal justice system or engaging in criminal activity. The Strategic Lead (Community Safety) stated that the Council worked closely with Youth Justice to enable support and collaborative working and there had been investment for the Another Chance and Shift schemes to continue offering avenues for support to young people involved in or influenced by crime.

In response to a query regarding data on homicides, the committee was informed that the data within the report referred to homicides, attempted murder, and section 18 offences (wounding or causing grievous bodily harm with intent), which were the offences that the term ‘serious violence’ covered. It was confirmed that there had been an annual reduction of 12%, which was welcomed.

The Statutory Deputy Leader acknowledged that the media did not always relay positive news stories of the work being undertaken to address serious violence. He stated that the Council communicated success with local community and voluntary groups and partners and helped to reassure residents.

In response to a query from the Chair, Supt Chris Downey of GMP acknowledged that fear of crime was often a driver of crime. He explained that the police used certain phrases, such as ‘isolated incident’ or ‘targeted attack’, in their communication to provide reassurance and clarity. He also informed the committee that meetings were convened between the police, other emergency services and partners including the Council which aimed to identify where communication should be directed and what actions needed to be taken following an incident. GMP would also email the Council’s Community Safety team to provide an overview of any incidents, which could then be shared with members and staff.

The Strategic Lead (Community Safety) reiterated feedback from residents which placed great importance on early intervention and prevention to reduce serious violence. The Serious Violence Manager advised the committee that there were designated officers within the GMP locality teams – North, South, and Central – who were responsible for identifying children and young people named as suspects in criminal acts which may not go through the full criminal justice process. These children and young people would then be screened with safeguarding, early help and children’s social care teams to understand if any additional support was required. It was also confirmed that housing providers were involved in this.

In closing the item, the Chair welcomed the work of the Council and local and voluntary organisations to make communities in Manchester safer.

Decision:

That the committee

1. notes the report;
2. requests clarification on which protected characteristics as listed under the Equality Act 2010 were likely to be disproportionately affected by serious violence, with figures and statistics;
3. requests further information on the work of the Peace Together Alliance and SAFE taskforce; and
4. requests further detail on ‘hotspot areas’ of serious violence in the city.