Information Sharing to Tackle Violence in knife crime / violence

The decision seeks approval to commit £316,000.00 in total over the next two years (2017-19). The work set out in sections 2-6 is an extension of the most successful elements of the Information Sharing Programme to Tackle Violence (ISTV) programme previously funded by the Home Office. The ISTV programme falls under the delivery of reducing knife crime as set out in the Knife Crime Decision (separate Decision) and the Knife Crime Strategy, 2017. The overall outcome of the programme is to reduce violence in the capital through the use of data sharing which will support MOPAC, MPS and Community Safety Partners to better inform partnership response and interventions.

The detailed financial (funded through MOPAC’s funds) approval required is set out in the Recommendation section below and in Section 7.

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is asked to:

• Approve the allocation of £316,000 of MOPAC’s budget over two years (2017/18 and, 2018/19) to fund the London ISTV Programme as set out below:

• Approve £80,000.00 of funding for SafeStats, GLA to collate, cleanse and process the data collected by 29 Emergency Departments and upload it onto the SafeStats portal for access by Community Safety Partners and ED Analysts. The cleanse and collate function was previously facilitated by North East London, Commissioning Support Unit (NEL CSU) however; there have been some issues during the latter part of programme regarding their delivery. Without a dedicated member of staff to work on the programme it is envisioned that these will persist.

• Approve £10,000.00 of funding for the delivery of internal and external training

• Approve £42,000.00 to fund a Part-time Programme Manager

• Approve £174,000.00 of funding for two community based Analysts facilitating pan-London roles

• Approve £10,000.00 of funding to expand ISTV to Urgent Care and Walk-in Centres and

• Delegate responsibility for the finalisation of planning and contractual/grant arrangements related to the work described in sections 2 to 6, including relevant terms and the signing of agreements, to the Chief Executive (CE).

1. Introduction and background

1.1. This Decision seeks approval for two years additional funding to focus on the prevalence of knife crime and violence as per our commitments in the Police and Crime Plan (PCP).

1.2. The objective of the London ISTV Programme is to reduce the number of victims by reducing violent crime by improving public safety through the use of an effective and innovative data sharing and analysis methodology.

1.3. Under this programme, hospital emergency departments (EDs) share with the police the data on admissions due to violence. This helps to build a better picture of the level, nature and locations of violent incidents in the city, as only 1 in 4 victim of violence who attends an ED also reports to police.

1.4. ISTV forms one part of a suite of MOPAC responses to help reduce the number of victims of knife crime and violence within the capital.

1.5. Further to two years of successful delivery of the ISTV programme funded through the Home Office Innovation Fund to the value of £1,948, 419, this decision seeks approval to commit £316,000 over the next two years to ensure the excellent outcomes produced to date are sustained. For example, at the commencement of the programme only 4 EDs were sharing ISTV data. The figure currently stands at all 29 EDs agreeing to share the data and 26 sharing consistently due to the leadership of MOPAC. This success has never been achieved before in London.

1.6. A pan London approach has strengthened our ability to obtain, optimise, analyse and share anonymised ED data in London.

1.7. As an outcome of the successful delivery two-years programme delivery we have developed consistent, robust data capture and sharing to inform real change, leading to a partnership response to crime in our capital through:

1.7.1 Sharing anonymous data pertaining to where, when and what violent crimes have been committed to better inform partnership response and intervention.

1.7.2 Improving the general understanding of the use of weapons in violent crime to help inform the Home Office Ending Gang and Youth Violence agenda.

1.7.3 Assisting in providing the most appropriate enforcement response to serious violence including knife and gun enabled violence.

1.7.4 The ISTV will also be standing agenda at MPS SLT meetings (Crime fighters and Gang fighters) to ensure borough compliance. Trident will collate returns from boroughs on 20th of each month which will be fed back internally, but also to Emergency Departments.

1.7.5 Working with the MPS Trident team to strengthen the identification of young people who are at risk of serious violence (both perpetrators and victims) and reviewing the MPS Gangs Matrix system to ensure gangs are consistently mapped.

1.6. This paper outlines our ambitions and seeks approval to commit expenditure in line with the programme of work detailed below.

2. Role of SafeStats

2.1. To achieve a consistent and efficient approach, SafeStats acts as a single repository for data from all 28 Emergency Departments; ensuring information is collated centrally and can be shared with all boroughs. This is critical to understanding violence in London, as EDs possess assault data across London, and not restricted to the Borough in which they are located.

2.2. Safestats will combine, merge, cleanse, geocode and quality assure data from London EDs. This will provide data that the police and CSPs can use for crime mapping, and intelligence analysis, in line with the National Intelligence Model and SARA (Scanning, Analysis, Response and Assessment) methodology to prevent crime and reduce the impact of crime on EDs.

2.3. A Pan London process will strengthen our ability to obtain, optimise, analyse and share anonymised ED data in London. Building on the existing SafeStats data hub also minimises the financial overheads by providing a robust platform that can accommodate and promote the sharing and analysis of data to support crime pattern analysis.

2.4. SafeStats brings together data from a wide range of agencies into the one place and makes that data useful for all the CSP's, local councils and other relevant partnerships in London. The use of SafeStats also provides the ISTV programme with access to the following innovative software:

• Geocoding ED incident location data, which transforms free-text location description, records into geographical information system (GIS) data, ready and versatile for crime pattern analysis. Users include, the MPS Analysts, Islington, Lambeth, Southwark and Hackney Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs)

• Hot blocking, a crime mapping method with which the SafeStats geocoding method has been custom developed for.

2.5. Approve the allocation of £80,000.00 grant funding for two years (2017/18 and 2018/19).

3. Part-time Programme Manager – 2 days a week

3.1. The role of the Project Manager is to support the operational delivery of the programme.

3.2. This post was previously appointed through Reed Employment Agency, however to reduce costs/overheads it is suggested that we recruit to the post of P/T Programme Manager. The Programme Manager requires a unique set of skills and understanding of ISTV, the model and functionality and particular skills around developing and maintaining relationships – particularly with health and criminal justice partners.

3.3. Approve the allocation of £42,000.00 grant funding for two years (2017/18 and 2018/19).

4. Training and Events

4.1. The success of the programme has been based on developing and maintaining relationships. Over the past 2 years we have engaged with over 430 stakeholders, held over 20 information, training and hub days which has contributed to the success of the programme to date. The future success of the programme relies on maintaining relationships with all partners. Feedback from the last Summit and Conference confirmed that training provided both internally and externally – in EDs to groups of staff - and support received through the programme was extremely valuable, particularly given the high levels of staff in EDs. The Home Office who previously funded the programme highly commended the training and array of engagement activities facilitated over the past two years.

4.2. The funding requested will provide dedicated training and support to EDs, CSPs and wider partners across the next 2 years. It will pay for the maintenance and updates of the ISTV interactive Receptionist training toolkit, which has been accessed and used by over 160 staff.

4.3. One summit for practitioners and a conference for all partners are planned, to demonstrate the continued development of this work, with a focus on data linked to knife crime and the use of data from Walk-in and Urgent Care centres.

4.4. Approve the allocation of £10,000.

5. Community Based Analysts –pan-London delivery

5.1. The Community Based Analysts will be responsible for analysing Emergency Department data pan-London although based in Islington and Hackney, to generate a pan-London picture of violence, comparing ED analysis with existing data sets in order to articulate any differences and trends.

5.2 Analytical products produced by the analyst will have local impact, informing policing or licensing issues. Capturing this impact will be evidence based and is part of the role.

5.3 The analyst will be expected to produce case studies for important milestones such as the Conference, Summits and providing training and support on how to utilise the data in all training sessions. Community Analysts will work closely with Trident Gang Fighters, in addition, to supporting MOPACs key deliverables/commitments linked to reducing knife crime and violence outlined in the PCP.

5.4 Approve the allocation of £87,000.00 for the Community Based Analyst function.

6. Expansion of ISTV to Urgent Care and Walk-in Centres

6.1. There are over 80 GP led, Walk-in Centres and Urgent Care Centres in London which accounts to a widely untapped number of health provisions/services who collect data and yet because a number of these are privately owned, this information remains largely unused.

6.2. Experience over the last two years has informed us that a significant amount of individuals injured through domestic violence and knife crime incidents related to serious youth violence and/or gangs use these services as a preferred treatment option – shying away from conventional EDs, which is why it is important to ensure UCC/Walk-in centres are included and have a central role in this delivery.

6.3. The work involved in engaging with UCC and Walk-in Centres replicates the early engagement with EDs at the start of the ISTV journey. In essence, it will involve building relationships – developing trust and rapport - obtaining buy-in and demonstrating the value of what’s in it for them.

6.4. This work will involve networking; training, development days and the development of case studies specifically designed and developed using data from closely aligned geographical areas and their own.

6.5. Approve the allocation of £10,000.00 for ISTV to be expanded to Urgent Care and Walk-in Centres.

7. Financial Comments

7.1. This decision seeks approval to commit £316,000.00 in total over the next two years for planned delivery set out in sections 2 to 6.

7.2 The £316,000 has been incorporated in MOPAC’s 2017/18 Approved Budgets and future budget plans as part of the New Priorities initiatives. The project will be funded from MOPAC’s funds.

8. Legal Comments

8.1. MOPAC’s general powers are set out in the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 (the 2011 Act). Section 3(6) of the 2011 Act provides that MOPAC must “secure the maintenance of the metropolitan police service and secure that the metropolitan police service is efficient and effective.” Under Schedule 3, paragraph 7 MOPAC has wide incidental powers to “do anything which is calculated to facilitate, or is conducive or incidental to, the exercise of the functions of the Office.” Paragraph 7(2) (a) provides that this includes entering into contracts and other agreements.

8.2. Section 143 (1) (b) of the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides an express power for MOPAC, as a local policing body, to provide or commission services “intended by the local policing body to help victims or witnesses of, or other persons affected by, offences and anti-social behaviour.” Section 143(3) specifically allows MOPAC to make grants in connection with such arrangements and any grant may be made subject to any conditions that MOPAC thinks appropriate.

8.3. The powers in section 143 were given to MOPAC following the Government’s response to the consultation Getting it Right for Victims and Witnesses (2 July 2012) in which it set out a package of reforms to the way in which support services for victims of crime are to be provided. Section 143 creates a clear statutory basis for the proposals set out in this decision form in respect of the work with MTCs to support young victims of crime.

8.4. MOPAC’s general powers are set out in the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 (the 2011 Act). Section 3(6) of the 2011 Act provides that MOPAC must “secure the maintenance of the metropolitan police service and secure that the metropolitan police service is efficient and effective.” Under Schedule 3, paragraph 7 MOPAC has wide incidental powers to “do anything which is calculated to facilitate, or is conducive or incidental to, the exercise of the functions of the Office.” Paragraph 7(2) (a) provides that this includes entering into contracts and other agreements.

8.5. Section 143 (1) (b) of the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides an express power for MOPAC, as a local policing body, to provide or commission services “intended by the local policing body to help victims or witnesses of, or other persons affected by, offences and anti-social behaviour.” Section 143(3) specifically allows MOPAC to make grants in connection with such arrangements and any grant may be made subject to any conditions that MOPAC thinks appropriate.

8.6. Under MOPAC’s Scheme of Delegation, approval of the strategy for the award of individual grants and the award of all individual grants (for crime reduction or other purposes) is a matter generally reserved to the DMPC (paragraph 5.6). The release of funding in accordance with the proposals set out in this decision form is accordingly to be approved by the DMPC. The delegation of responsibility for the finalisation of planning and contractual/grant arrangements, including relevant terms and the signing of agreements, to the Chief Executive is in accordance with the general power of delegation in paragraph 1.7.

9. Equality Comments

9.1. MOPAC is required to comply with the public sector equality duty set out in section 149(1) of the Equality Act 2010. This requires MOPAC to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations by reference to people with protected characteristics. The protected characteristics are: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

9.2. This programme of work and MOPAC’s wider work programme focussed on providing effective support for victims will generate additional information and data that will further inform the development and delivery of services to address the range of victim needs across London.

9.3. The ISTV work programme will support the provision of services and interventions for all victims, but particularly those of more serious crimes, vulnerable and repeat victims, and particular sections of the community who are over-represented amongst victims of knife crime.

10. Background/supporting papers

10.1 None