Commission on Integration and Cohesion

Police and Criminal Justice System

Emerging themes

'Tensions can also be dependent upon on what is occurring nationally'

'Independent Advisory Group members advise us on the best means of communicating reassurance messages'

We need to tackle:

• Unequal access to services and information
• Individualistic, anti-social and nuisance behaviour by introducing local code of civic values
• Lack of ownership of cohesion by other local bodies
• Criminal activity by new settlers
• Fear and ignorance of difference of new settlers in established communities (white and BME alike)

and

• Cohesion can only be achieved if there are effective partnerships, which should include the local media
• Ongoing community reassurance is important even outside of acute tensions or crises

Your key messages

'Generally tensions are of a very low level. If we have any entrenched tension it would be between residents and the travelling community'

• Recognise uniqueness of cohesion in localities (rural, urban, coastal) and the complexity of challenges this poses for tackling crime and tension monitoring
• Dispersal, the nature of migration, and Traveller Communities mean that issues are sometimes hidden and hard to monitor/act on
• Confusion about roles of agencies (e.g. including their own and those of the Police) so ask for local and public bodies to work to increase understanding and clarity of those roles and services
• The need to mainstream cohesion into robust multi-agency strategies (e.g. Local Area Agreements, Crime & Disorder Reduction Partnerships, Community Strategies, Children and Young People's Services)
• On-going contact (e.g. outside of victim/reporting) with communities creates social trust when communities face crises
• Rapid responses can reduce the escalation of low level tensions

Some important challenges

'large and disparate geographic/economic/social area means that we may need to respond to differing tensions at the same time'

'Tensions can stem from historical sources but the most significant cause is negative media reporting'

'Cultural and religious needs can be considered at a corporate level'

• Leading by example - e.g. representative workforces
• Proactive relationships now strengthen community resilience and help tackle terrorism (as communities are more open)
• Government foreign policy sometimes triggers tension and discontent in certain communities
• New arrivals are the most common issue that police have to face across different geographical areas
• Nature of hate crimes is changing: not solely race and religion, but also LGBT and G&T victims (in rural and coastal areas)
• Strong messages about community action are sometimes interpreted by groups that it is acceptable for them to resort to self-policing, especially when they have low trust of police and other public bodies
• Training and development across the Police Service can ensure cultural awareness in Borough Commands
• Need for effective communication by police with other agencies, and with and across communities
• Proactive communication with established/host communities to explain changes to area, why new settlers are there, and what role they can play
• Resourcing gaps - especially when covering large spatial areas where communities are widely dispersed (e.g. Devon, Cumbria)