Reporting back on progress

Interaction with policing theme

In our interaction with policing theme, we are working to ensure that:

Building trust between the police and the community

Reviewing current local stop and search monitoring arrangements to improve confidence in and understanding of the policing strategy - including police conduct.

Work has been started with extra monitoring and scrutiny groups being created both in Southwark and across wider London to monitor stop and search arrangements. The newly created Youth Independence Advisory Group (YIAG) have held several events with Metropolitan Police Officers to discuss 'stop and search' and the effect it has on young people across Southwark and London. 

The Youth Independent Advisory Group (YIAG) is funded by the Community Safety Team, via our Violence Reduction work, to provide challenge and counsel from young people across the borough. Following two recent successful online events around interaction with policing the YIAG continue to work on a co-produced community friendly stop and search guide.

Developing a collaborative approach and a mutual awareness of cultures between police and communities

Since September 2020 local voluntary organisations have been delivering cultural awareness training to new and existing recruits starting work in Southwark. The next stage will be to include officers that regularly visit Southwark to deliver specialist services.  

Looking at existing positive engagement models and what works well and to build on that model

In April 2021 an event was held for parents to ask about issues that may affect their children such as gangs and youth violence and county lines.

Encouraging the Independent Advisory Group to better reflect the diversity of our communities

Independent Advisory Groups (IAGs) are voluntary groups made up of members of the public that are independent of the police. These groups meet between four and six times a year, at various locations, to review and challenge policing practices constructively. IAG’s provide support and challenge to police when a critical incident takes place. Southwark has a well-established IAG, and recruitment happens regularly.

We have invited members of the community to attend a meeting with the MPS about the Police encounter panels that are being created in Southwark, which is aimed to give communities an opportunity to feedback on policing encounters, by watching Body Worn Video (BWV) footage and offering their views on what went well and what the Met could improve.

Forming a Youth Independent Advisory Group to work together with the police and other organisations to influence policy for people living in the borough

A Youth Independent Advisory Group (YIAG) has been formed with over 25 members aged 14+.

The Youth Independent Advisory Group (YIAG) is a group of young people, some of whom have experience of the criminal justice system, are victims of crime or come from areas where youth violence is a part of their lives. This group runs regular peer to peer sessions about relevant subjects such as knife crime, gangs, drugs and county lines. The YIAG also engage with the police on how they deal with young people and seek to improve community safety.

Ensuring that regular conversations and exchanges of ideas with young people, the police and councillors take place using online platforms, social media and face-to-face

The Youth Independent Advisory group have held three events with Police to talk about how young people and the Police can work together to better understand each other and the subjects that affect both parties such as 'stop and search'.

Involving young people with lived experience in Independent Advisory Groups where they can provide insight to improvements that can be made across both policing and wider community safety

Young people from the Independent Advisory Group are being asked to be involved in various projects across community safety linked to youth support after a critical incident, such as a knife crime incident and the need for more victim support youth advocates. Young people will also sit on staff interviews for posts affecting young people.

Police visibility and accessibility

Improving our communication strategy linked to Community Safety and Policing so that we report and celebrate good news stories as well as the negative ones

Our new dedicated officer will work together with residents to co-design and co-produce a new communications strategy to better inform and provide advice across Southwark. In particular to celebrate local charities that have been awarded monies to help tackle crime across the borough for the community by the community.   

Working co-productively and collaboratively with young people so that we learn from them and use the best methods of engaging them

This is a project being led by Young Advisors another youth-led group. The group sit within the council's community safety team and are a diverse group of 30 young, trained professionals aged 16 to 21. All sharing one aspiration - to create within their local community.

Organising two filmed and published ‘State of policing in the borough’ events a year about policing and community safety, where there are opportunities to ask questions of the Lead Member for Community Safety and Public Health and the Police Borough Commander.

Following the online events focused on young people, policing and community safety. From 2021 to 2022, we plan to hold borough-wide events themed around the state of policing, which will be shaped and directed through our residents including those who have been impacted. 

Developing more informal interaction and conversations and opportunities for the police Senior Leadership Team and local Neighbourhood Police using social media

A review has taken place of how local Neighbourhood Police teams are using social media and the guidance circulated. A dedicated communications officer is now in post to support the wider neighbourhood team’s messaging and to ensure consistency of approach.

In addition, the police Senior Leadership team are using social media to post short film clips that may be of particular interest to local communities. This is ongoing and will be developed within the wider review of the police communications strategy in supporting their engagement strategy. 

Reviewing communications channels with the Police Borough Commander to ensure that we are using existing communication opportunities such as Southwark Life, newsletters, and emails to Southwark Council staff and National Health Service staff so that we can raise awareness of police activities in the community

During our conversations with the community, it was highlighted that residents would like to be more aware of crime issues impacted on their families and the wider community. We agreed to run information sessions on key topics, the first of which has been delivered on gangs and county lines. 

From the discussions at these sessions along with the work on community engagement, we will test and develop new ways of improving communication with residents. 

Page last updated: 31 August 2022