Prevent secrecy feeds suspicion

I gave my two minute presentation on Prevent at Scrutiny Committee  earlier this week but not until the lead person on Prevent, Kibibi Octave link person had  given a Powerpoint Presentation and lead member for Stronger communities Cllr Tom Miller had put forward his views.

I had enough time to  ask 9 questions from my list  LINK pointing out that secrecy rules means that none of them could be answered and thus proper scrutiny and transparency was not possible.  I suggested this reinforced suspicion and lack of confidence in the Prevent Strategy.  Octave and Miller admitted this was a problem. In the discussion the former said that there was ‘interest' in the strategy from Brent Muslim groups rather than they ‘bought into’ the strategy. Groups wanted to do things their way rather than be directly aligned with the strategy. Playing Devil's advocate Miller said that if the referral figures were to be published for each borough extremist groups could then focus on the weaker areas.

Muslim groups wanted to do things their way rather than be directly aligned with the strategy.  Responding to a question from a councillor Kibibi Octave said that they'd had less success speaking to Muslim women. I pointed out that a well established Muslim women's group, group An-Nisa had asked for dialogue with the Council - so far unsuccessfully.

Cllr Miller said he had a critical approach to the Prevent duty and was sensitive to the concerns of the Muslim community. He said that the duty was mandatory but he tried to follow key principles that centred on safeguarding victims from grooming etc.  During the discussion there was much emphasis on  avoiding crass referrals and a claim that better training had reduced the number of these. Kibibi Octave said that across London there had been a reduced number of referrals from the education sector in the last year.

Cllr Miller sets out Brent Council's gang strategy ahead of Tuesday's meeting

Ahead of Tuesday's 'It's time to talk about gangs' at the Roundwood Centre (5.30-8.30pm) LINK I though it worth blogging this question and response on gangs from the next Council Meeting agenda LINK:

Question from Cllr J Mitchell Murray to Cllr Miller, Lead Member for Stronger Communities:

Can the Cabinet Member explain: what is being done in Brent to protect children and young people from being drawn into or exploited by gangs; what we are doing to better understand what draws young people towards gangs; what can be done to help those who want to escape; and, what more we can do to pursue, catch and prosecute those who are wilfully engaged in gang-related crime? 

Response: 

Based on the Metropolitan Polices gangs matrix there are currently 21 gangs in Brent. Gangs and gang related offending continues to remain a concern and a priority for Brent, with links between Child Sexual Exploitation and County Lines emerging. There are estimated to be over 1,000 individuals involved with gang criminality in Brent, whilst the current Metropolitan Police Gangs matrix for Brent has 282 identified gang members. The Brent gangs’ cohort is over 90% male, 80% black, and has an average age of 24 years old. The long standing gang issues in Brent have created a cohort which is older than most London boroughs. Currently only 6% of the cohort are 17 years old or under, compared to the London average of 20%. 

The current rise in knife injury victims (under 25 year’s old - non domestic abuse), with 16 year old victims and 23 year old victims overrepresented, suggests gangs are a continuing issue in Brent’s youth population. The figures contradict the below average number of youths on the gangs matrix. Multi agency Work is currently being developed to better identify our youth gang associates, including our enhanced partnership intelligence meetings and focused deterrence forums. Police operations continue to enforce ongoing gang activity, with Dedicated Ward Officers still very much having focus on any gang hotspot areas and targeted intelligence gathering to aid enforcement. Other partners also feed into this intelligence gathering exercise. 

Such partnership interventions are coordinated by the council Community Protection service, to focus on certain gang hotspot areas, as well as certain gang associates including Young People on the fringes of gang activity in terms of preventative and deterrent interventions; as well as any possible links to child exploitation. All partnership interventions link in with missing and child sexual exploitation panels to ensure all intelligence links to create a clear valid picture of the issues we face. 

Unfortunately there has not been the same amount of resources made available across London to aid this prevention work as previous years have seen, therefore the partnership have been working with what resources they have to make the biggest difference possible. Our focused work is largely set by progressive analytical capabilities through detailed analytical work to ensure wider focused work, via our Focused Gang Deterrent Group meetings and the fortnightly partnership gang intelligence meetings. All partners feed into this analysis, including Police, children’s services, Youth offending, family solutions, specialist CSE workers and voluntary sector organisations. 

The community protection service commission external voluntary sector organisations to complete gang mentoring schemes, and many referrals for this mentoring come from Brent Social workers, Police Safer School Officers and other education placements. We advocate, through our partnership forums, that information sharing is key to help prevent gang recruitment, as well as ensuring we make an offer of support and exit options for anyone wishing to exit gang life. We have also utilised some MOPAC grant funding to fund a specialist gang mentor within the Youth Offending Service to offer more immediate focused support for those young people a little more entrenched in offending and gang life. In the first six months of 2015/16, 31 young people assessed as being significantly less gang affected after engaging with this specific intervention. 

Other interventions which we offer to young people identified as having possible gang affiliation include mentoring through sports interventions and music programmes, all of which are commissioned by the council with resources available. The Safer Neighbourhood Board have also commissioned some specific mentoring and education programmes to aid better awareness of gang issues in Brent for individuals in our PRUs. Police are key to these interventions and forums and information sharing between all statutory and non-statutory partners to ensure focused intervention takes place for any young person identified or refereed. 

Moving forward, we know that we need to continue our focused work, and especially more so on identifying young people associated with gang activity. Current partnership structures will aid this and although we don’t currently have a deployable resource available for emergency cases or enough resource to tackle the current scale of the issue we fact, thankfully the MOPAC London Crime Prevention Fund reallocated funds for Brent 2017-2019 projects, which resulted in a slight uplift of allocated funds. In December 2016 we put a proposal forward requesting to utilise some of these additional funds to help us better respond to our gang issue in Brent. 

The proposal included two gang mentors, one mentor will be a specialist young person’s mentor. Each mentor will support 20-30 gang affected people in Brent through targeted referral routes, as well as linking in with the wider partnership offender management programme proposed which will commission further sports mentoring and housing support. A third gang mentor will also be located within the Civic Centre with specialist onsite support for Youth Offending Service, Children’s Social Care including Early Help. As part of this new approach, we hope these posts will better align itself with those teams supporting Brent’s wider gang nominals, and work across all age groups in order to secure the best possible outcomes for young people. The programme will also provide a minimum of five education projects throughout the year in targeted schools, totalling to 10 as well as look to provide peer training for those who have engaged significantly. 

Aims for the new proposed programmes include:

1. Target number of referrals per quarter (specific number set for each programme). 2. 70% of those referrals that engaged will take positive action to address primary pathway/need.
3. 15% reduction in re-offending committed by the cohort in 6 months following engagement with programme, in comparison to offending rate 6 months prior to the programme.
4. 70% of those referrals that engaged will significantly be less gang affected (Gang programmes)
5. 70% Improved understanding and awareness of the impact of gangs and gang offending (education sessions). 

We also see the huge importance of involving our communities to help tackle these community based issues facing our young people of Brent. Last year we had a community led conference to ensure we involved as many partners from all sectors, as well as community members, as possible. We have seen however that community members including young people are sometimes reluctant to come forward and speak out against gangs. 

We have scheduled a further community event with our Partnership colleagues in January 2017  Janiary 17th Roundwood Centre) as a follow up platform, namely the ‘It’s Time to Talk about Gangs’ event. The event will take the form of 'Question Time' where all members of Brent's community are invited to come along and take part in a panel discussion followed by workshops to develop real, community-led solutions to the issues raised. 

Brent Youth Offending Service (YOS) also provides a range of specific support and interventions which I have provided some examples of below: 

• The Youth Support Programme is a Brent Youth Offending Service intervention programme that works with gang affected young people. Since its establishment in 2013 the 1.0 FTE Youth Support Worker has supported young people to exit gangs, develop greater empathy, access mentoring provision and diversionary activities, and obtain formally accredited achievements. Twenty one gang affected young people were referred to the programme from the Youth Offending Service, and a further 15 accessed services from multi-agency panels and the community between July and September 2016. In the first six months of 2015/16, 31 young people were assessed as being significantly less gang affected.
• Young people subject to court orders supervised by the YOS, who have been assessed using the YOS statutory Asset Plus assessment as being at risk of gang affectedness, are offered support and advice during supervision sessions, and are where appropriate required to attend interventions that will help them to desist from gang related activities. This includes attending the YOS delivered Weapons Awareness group work programme.
• Young people are also referred to other statutory and community services including Family Solutions, Plias mentoring, business mentoring, Safer London Pan London Gangs Provision, and the St. Giles Trust.
• As a regular contributor, Brent YOS shares and acts upon information gathered at the Brent Gangs Intelligence Hub. This includes the provision of information such as Court Order details and conditions, compliance, and gang associations.

Cllr Miller meets with Borough Commander on alleged Islamophobic attack

Cllr Tom Miller, Brent's lead cabinet member for Stronger Communities has released the following statement on the alleged Islamophobic attack reported in the Kilburn Times:

I recently received an allegation about some racially/religiously aggravated criminal damage to a car. There was a further complaint that police were not taking the initial complaint about this matter with seriousness. I can't give full details of the complainant or the investigation taking place, but I would point out that victims of crime deserve to be listened to and this is no exception.

I take these matters very seriously indeed. As well as making clear that we will not tolerate criminal damage, I also want to emphasise that we take racist elements to crimes very seriously and it is important that action is taken. My immediate response has been to raise the incident with the Borough Commander, who assures me that an investigation into the incident is ongoing, and that the victim will be informed of how it progresses. I will continue to monitor this situation with the police as this goes forward.

Tom Miller to succeed Michael Pavey as lead for Stronger Communities

I understand that Cllr Tom Miller is to succeed Michael Pavey as Lead Member for Stronger Communities.

The post covers two major controversial issues among others - Libraries, including Council relationships with volunteer libraries and the Prevent Strategy.

Pavey resigned over policy differences with Brent Council leader Muhammed Butt  over how the Council should deal with government cuts.

Miller is a councillor for Willesden Green and this is his first Cabinet post. I understand that his appointment was acceptable to both factions within the Labour Group on Brent Council and avoided a push for a potentially acrimonious election.

He himself is no stranger to controversy becoming a target of right-wing commentators LINK but he has carved out for himself a role as a 'thinker' of the Left as illustrated by this article which may or may not give us a clue to his approach to his new role in terms of ethics LINK

Miller, who in 2014 defeated Graham Durham for the Brent Central CLP Trade Union Liaison post attended the Grunwick Exhibition opening. He was a supporter of the campaign to save the Queensbury pub in Willesden Green from development. He is a former member of the Brent Scrutiny Committee.

Miller blogs, not very frequently, HERE.

Twitter: @TomMillerUK 

New line up on Brent Council Scrutiny Committee

Reliable sources tell me that the Brent Labour Group AGM today elected a new Scrutiny Committee with Cllr Dan Filson as chair. He is joined by Cllr Tom Miller, Cllr Sam Stopp, Cllr Matt Kelcher, Cllr Shama Tatler and Cllr Harbi Farah.

The election involved Labour backbenchers and excluded Cabinet members. [added for clarity at request of those concerned- MF].

The single Scrutiny Committee had come under fire for its lack of bite and failure to interrogate lead members and officers sufficiently rigorously.

Dan Filson has a a reputation for independence and is known to actually read council documentation, a rare attribute amongst Brent councillors. He comes over as a cross between Monsieur Hulot and Victor Meldrew but has a sharp edge.

Whether the younger members will exhibit a similar streak of independence and be prepared to challenge the Cabinet remains to be seen.

On Twitter Matt Kelcher said, 'Looking forward to my chance to serve my Borough in a new capacity, I hope to be an effective and constructive voice.'

However, on Facebook, LINK Michael Calderbank wrote 'New Brent Council Scrutiny Committee elected - and full of inexperienced young councillors who will have an eye on leadership patronage'.

Dawnites strengthen position in Brent Central CLP

Michael Calderbank

Supporters of Dawn Butler, made an almost clean sweep in elections to Brent Central Constituency Labour Party  General Committee last night.

Michael Calderbank, who was banned by Brent officers from the local election count in May, becomes Secretary. Terry Hoad was elected Chair but Cllr Janice Long survived as Vice Chair and Membership Secretary. Ivor Etienne was elected Vice Chair, Campaigns.

Cllr Ketan Sheth, former chair of Brent Planning Committee had already resigned. Karin Barrett, a powerful figure in Brent Central did not stand again  and Graham Barrett was ruled out for Treasurer by the GC gender balance rule.

Cllr Tom Miller defeated Graham Durham for the Trade Union Liaison post. Araz Moiz is the new Treasurer.

I understand that former councillor James Powney, who has been very concerned about leaks from the Labour Party to Wembley Matters, was rather perplexed by the rules, but all was sorted out eventually.

Former councillor Jim Moher, who recently had a  run in with the news editor of the Kilburn Times, will be Dawn Butler's election agent for the 2015 General Election.

More democracy 'wherever practicable' suggests new Labour councillor

As the Labour Group meets this morning there are signs of some disquiet over the changes in Scrutiny. However, concentrating minds even more in the context of concentrating power, is the proposed amendment to Labour Party Standing Orders which would abolish annual elections. This would leave Muhammed Butt in the leadership position until the next local election,

In a Twitter exchange with former councillor James Powney, newly elected councillor Tom Miller asks, "What stake for backbenchers, one might ask?'

Powney replied that it was open to the Labour Group to defer the decision.

Tom Miller responded, 'One for closed doors I am sure, but I know which way I fall on democracy issues - more of it whenever practicable...'

Let's hope the rest of the Labout Group agree with Cllr Miller today - not just on annual elections but Scrutiny. Perhaps he might even suggest that abolition of the whip would go some way to provide more democracy 'whenever practicable'.

Labour's council candidates for 2014 revealed

I've had quite a few people, from all local political parties, chasing me for news of the Labour nominations for the 2014 Brent Council elections. Below is the information I have been able to glean so far. I am not sure of the Brondesbury Park group as I understood Labour was delaying selection in the hope of getting a female candidate - the three names I have are all male.

Any additional information for the 'thrid candidates' or corrections welcome.
                           

Ward	Candidates for Local Elections 2014
Alperton	James Allie, Bhagwanji Chohan, Mili Patel
Barn Hill	Shafique Choudhury, Sarah Marquis, Michael Pavey
Brondesbury Park	Terry Hoad, Michael Adeyeye,  David Lister
Dollis Hill	Parvez Ahmed, Arshad Mahmood, (third to be confirmed)
Dudden Hill	Aslam Choudry, Krupesh Hirani, Janice Long
Fryent	George Crane, Ruth Moher, Shama Tatler.
Harlesden	Aisha Eniola, Lloyd McLeish, Bobby Thomas
Kensal Green	Dan Filson, Claudia Hector, Matt Kelcher
Kenton	Nadhim Ahmed, Syed Alam, (third to be confirmed)
Kilburn	Rita Conneely, John Duffy, Tayo Oladapo
Mapesbury Northwick Park	Lia Colacicco, Mustafa Field,  Ahmad Shazad,
	Margaret McLennan,  Joshua Murray,  Keith Perrin
Preston	Matt Bradley, Pat Harrison, Jean Hossain
Queen's Park	James Denselow, Neil Nerva, Ellie Southwood
Queensbury	Sandra Kabir, Kana Naheerathan, Ramesh Patel
Stonebridge	Ernest Ezeajughi, Cheryl Henry, Zaffar Van Kalwala
Sudbury	Abdi Aden, Mary Daly, Aisha Hoda Benn
Tokyngton	Muhammed Butt, Orleen Hylton, Ketan Sheth
Welsh Harp	Amer Agha, Harbi Farah, Roxanne Mashari
Wembley Central	Wilhelmina Mitchell Murray, Krupa Sheth, Sam Stopp
Willesden Green	Bernard Collier, Lesley Jones, Tom Miller.

Some of the newcomers are worth checking out. Tom Miller (Willesden Green) has attracted controversy for his involvement with Labour List and association with Derek Draper who along with Damian McBride worked on plans to smear Opposition MPs under the last Labour Government. More on this website which compares him to The Office's Gareth. LINK

Sam Stopp has set up his own website which is notable for the fact that he refers to himself as Sam throughout LINK, The earth-shaking headlines include 'Sam Attends Full Council Meeting' - he sat in the public gallery! His key priority is rubbish - caused by his Labour colleagues cuts to street sweeping!