Community Engagement

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Community Engagement

• PC Zoë George
• Bradford District
• Community Relations Coordinator

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West Yorkshire Police Community Engagement Policy

• Current Policy and strategy is being refreshed
• Capture themes of engagement identified by
  McPherson, Ouseley and Dara Singh (Chair
  Commission on Integration and Cohesion)
• Speak to the 6 Diversity strands
• A toolkit for enhancing neighbourhood/Ward
  profiles

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Local Context - Bradford

• Post 1995 street disturbances community
  criticised Police for lack of engagement
• 1997 Inception of Minorities Police Liaison
  Committee
• 2000 LSP commission Ouseley to examine the
  divide across cultures, faith, socio-economic
• 2000 MPLC Connecting Communities fund
• 2001 Bradford Riots Ouseleys report released
• 2002 Community Cohesion Task Group established to
  examine cohesion, engagement and participation
• Delivery Plan in place March 2003

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Significant Priorities for Police

• Hate Crime
• Conflict Prevention Strategy
• Minority groups/Communities of Interest
• Recruitment of BME to WY Police
• Reduce Community Tensions

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Priority ? Hate Crime

• Bradford Hate Crime Alliance and Third Party
  Reporting centres
• Dedicated Hate Crime co-ordinators
• Repeat Victimisation intervention
• Hate Crime Scrutiny Panels Race and Homophobic
• Stop and Search

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Priority ? Minority groups/ COIs Appoint
dedicated officer Community Relations
Co-ordinator

• NRF Communities of Interest - over 30 separate
  COIs on Community Safety issues
• Lead on the Womens General Action Plan for the
  District
• Development and author of a local Protocol
  between Police and the Local Authority on
  Unauthorised Traveller Encampments and use of S61
  CJPOA
• Increased women membership on the MPLC
• Supporting partners - Diversity Exchange,
  Bradford Community Accord, co-ordinating Police
  input to community projects.

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Community Relations Coordinator

• Community Safety input to the Welcome to
  Bradford booklet for European Migrants to the
  District
• Co-ordinated an MPLC project exploring views of
  young people on Gang Culture and Gun Crime
• Work with WYP Diversity Training and Muslim Women
  from the communities to tailor specific training
  for Bradford North NPT officers
• Work with the WYPA and the Diversity Unit to
  identify and facilitate dialogue with COI groups
  and womens groups across the district.

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Priority ? Recruitment from BME Communities

• Uniformed Careers Consortium
• All uniformed services working together
• Connecting Communities Fund
• MPLC Radio programmes and active BME recruitment
  events
• Dedicated officer at Force level
• Police Inspector with port folio for BME
  recruitment

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Priority ? Reduce Community Tensions

• National Intelligence Model
• Collation of Community Intelligence
• Community Impact Assessments
• Police/Council Tension Monitoring meetings
• District Community Intervention Cell - Policy,
  Protocols and Best Practice considerations for
  engagement during critical incidents
• Localised Diversity Training with Community
  Contributors
• Weekly Bradford District Tension Indicator Report
  (BDTIR) to National Community Tension Team in
  London

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Successes

• Community Intervention and Engagement Strategies
  are transferable
• Race relations
• Criminal Investigations
• Major incidents, large scale evacuations
• Counter Terrorism related activity

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Lessons

• Effective marketing of Policing success stories
• Too much credence to self appointed community
  leaders
• Engage elected members throughout critical
  incidents
• Know the gatekeepers to communities

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Future Considerations

• More flexibility needed around mechanisms for
  consultation and dialogue
• Need for sustainable consultation and engagement
  activity with some COIs on specific issues
• Transparency around specific Policy Procedure and
  Practice i.e. Terrorism Act

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Thank you for listeningAny Questions?