Grants and Contracts
New Funding
The Ministry of Justice DA/SV fund and IDVA/ISVA fund provided extension funding to the value of £794k for 22/23 and just over £850k for years 2 and 3 for services to support victims and survivors of domestic / sexual violence across West Mercia. Applications received meant existing commissioned services were uplifted to create or retain 20 posts from counsellors to CYP workers to tackle tech-assisted exploitation abuse and risk management.
Putting Victims and Survivors First
Sexual Violence
WMRASAC
WMRASAC in partnership with AXIS are continuing to provide ISVA services across the region. Both have made efforts, with varying success, to improve multi-agency partnership working with statutory providers. The focus of this work has been to streamline referral pathways. Further development of training programmes has taken place to improve service to victims.
CSE
WMRSASC Branch CSE service
WMRSASC Branch CSE service received 28 new victim referrals to support services in Q2 of 22/23, as expected with the summer holiday months and school’s closure. A delay in receiving referrals via local authority panels has been noted due to congestion/demand upon early help etc and getting CYP’s through. Action has been raised and taken to improve this with each relevant authority. Of the 110 CYP’s currently in support, 89 have additional mental health needs and workers are holding increasing complex mental health needs of those who are struggling to receive statutory support. The average time in service for a Branch client Is just over a year. No referrals received for the Branch additional needs 18-25 cohort, this could be as a result of professionals not realising Branch can work with additional needs adults at risk of CSE, up to that age, or could get referred to other WMRSASC services (IE: ISVA if offences reported)
Purple Leaf
Purple Leaf (Early intervention and prevention CSE service) delivered 169 sessions across West Mercia (Telford exception) to 295 children and 10 teacher awareness sessions to 165 people. It should be noted that 6 weeks of Q2 were school holiday’s so this isn’t reflective of a typical quarter. Pornography continues to be a common issue, particularly within 1-2-1 sessions. iPads have now been purchased for 1-2-1 work so that outcomes can be completed by the CYP in session. The service is on target to achieve its annual targets in all three counties with demand for school sessions outweighing current capacity. This is a particular challenge within Shropshire where the 1:1 Purple Leaf 1:1 requests and demand from schools has generated a waiting list. Demand and resource will be monitored.
NHS England Regional Paediatric Sexual Assault Service (SAS)
NHS England Regional Paediatric Sexual Assault Service (SAS) the sexual assault health and forensic service supporting children and young people in the West Midlands has moved to a new location in Darlaston called ‘Willow Tree SARC’. As the previous site was in need of significant modernisation the move is an opportunity to provide a state of the art service designed with children and young people in mind. The design of the site has also incorporated the new accreditation standards for SARCs. A collaboration between NHS England and the Police and Crime Commissioner’s of West Mercia, West Midlands, Warwickshire and Staffordshire and providers Mountain Healthcare; this facility will provide a bespoke service to CYP victims of sexual assault and offer a route for positive police outcomes.
Domestic Abuse
West Mercia Women’s Aid (WMWA)
West Mercia Women’s Aid (WMWA) IDVA service enters the second quarter of its new three-year contract. Demand for the service continues to grow year on year with 492 total referrals (hospital data included) in Q2 2022/23 compared to 465 during the same period last year. Timely contact – when a referral is received and allocated on the same day – remains the greatest priority. This target is consistently met with 95.83% of victims/survivors contacted within 48 hours. 97.23% of victims/survivors have been contacted within 72 hours with rationale behind those that haven’t. Hospital based leads reported that staff shortages and sickness amongst the NHS has impacted. Staff are supplemented by agency staff who may not be aware of the HIDVA service, as a result, referrals have decreased slightly. HIDVA’s are compensating by creating short format training videos for hospital staff.
WMWA has also utilised funds from their reprofiled 21/22 budget to recruit for a Senior YPIDVA role to manage the new roles awarded earlier in the year.
YPIDVAs are working closely with Axis and WMRASAC so that any sexual element of abuse is addressed and supported appropriately. Of the 26 referrals they received in Q2, 17 young people have engaged in full support with only 1 declining service.
West Mercia Women’s Aid Children and Young People’s project: the CYP project continues to receive a high number of referrals in both Herefordshire and Worcestershire during Q2. The numbers reported are lower than in Q1, but the school holidays are an explanation for this, and numbers are still comparable with those of last year. The team have started to trial virtual delivery of the courses as they report a significant change in attitudes to face to face groups for 13+ since the pandemic where a preference is for online/virtual delivery. Safety remains at the core of delivery whilst finding more accessible means to deliver information and support. Waiting lists continue to remain high with demand outstripping resource.
DRIVE
Worcestershire and Herefordshire’s DRIVE contract has resolved staffing issues and increased quarterly referrals from 37 to 55 this quarter, exceeding their planned targets. New members of the team have settled in well. Cases worked with have had 55 victims/survivors and 109 CYP associated with them. Victims with physical disabilities and those who are males increased notably.
The OPCC has agreed to continue funding both DA support Officers into the next financial year.
Victim Advice Line & Victim Support
The Victim Advice Line (VAL) saw a drop in referrals from 4441 to 3834 during Q2. Whilst this is consistent with historical patterns operations have likely been impacted by IT related disruption experienced during the quarter. Two Victim Care Coordinators have been successfully recruited and inducted and are now fully operational. A dip sample of 300 victims showed a 98.7% satisfaction rate with the service. Recruitment and retention continue to impact provision.
Victim Support: 400 valid referrals were received by Victim Support in Quarter 2 this year, up slightly from the 388 received during Q2 last year, 425 last year. Case studies around a victim of romance fraud and the complexity / tailoring of support required to address the extreme short and long term impacts of such crime were highlighted this quarter, along with another which highlighted the impact the cost of living crisis can have on victims of lower level crime but which causes huge displacement or impact. Further work is required to get the new role of the Modern Slavery Human Trafficking Advocate fully embedded into Force Operations and to improve awareness and understanding of how to identify, support and refer victims. The worker can also support understanding of the NRM.
Victim Support’s Hate Crime engagement and awareness programme has undertaken extensive networking and promotional work with a myriad of events scheduled for Q3; including, Worcester Pride, Hate Crime Awareness Week. Analysis of hate crime reporting in Telford showed particularly low reporting standards for victims who were targeted because of their disability, sexual orientation or as a result of transphobia. Designated staff are connecting with these groups in their local community hotspots in order to raise awareness and offer a point of contact. An agreement is in place to deliver training to SNTs across the force as part of the hate crime webinar
RoadPeace
During Q2 RoadPeace’s Road Victim Care Coordinator (RVCC) has left and since been replaced. Contingency plans were in place to ensure the continued service to referrals and support to victims during the recruitment process. Two new investigation guides for bereaved families and those involved in serious collisions in West Mercia have been published. Demand for the service is high and on course to achieve double the annual target of 60 with 30 new referrals in Q2. Newly designed triage surveys were distributed to 12 victims this quarter,7 were completed and returned. Respondents found these surveys to be more accessible and gave excellent feedback. RoadPeace continues to develop partnerships with the Police, CPS and the NHS whilst exploring the possibility of collaboration with fellow service provider MORSE. As part of Road Safety Week, RoadPeace’s Road Victim Roundtable took place in Worcester during November. The event chaired and attended by the PCC and APCC was an opportunity for victims to talk about their experiences and listen to organisations who are working hard to curb harm on our roads in West Mercia.
Early Intervention and Prevention
The Children’s Society
The Children’s Society, with our funding, provide the CLIMB service which supports children and young people at risk of criminal exploitation. They are now in the third year of the contract and discussions are currently ongoing to discuss an extension (plus 1 year) Despite the impact of the pandemic on the first two years of CLIMB’s delivery and engagement they still managed to achieve their annual targets. Males aged between 14-17 continue to be their most typical demographic. Q2 saw 58 new CYP begin to successfully engage with the service, creating diversion pathways to a range of positive activity from sports, arts and music production. Four young people from the service steering group, visited Hindlip Hall and were welcomed guests on the PCC’s Safer West Mercia Podcast. They offered a candid insight into the risks and adversity faced by young people today. CLIMB is currently carrying three vacancies that they expect to fill next quarter which will further increase the quality and volume of service. The Children’s Society has developed and released its Exploitation Awareness Raising Toolkit for secondary schools which is already being employed by CLIMB. Targeted community work continues in Redditch focussed on improving the multi-agency approach to supporting the communities and the young people within them.
Steer Clear
The Children’s Society Steer Clear Link Worker pilot project continues to work closely with West Mercia Police’s intervention and diversionary program targeting anyone at risk of or on the periphery of knife related activity. West Mercia Police recently won the Howard League Community Award for Organisation of the Year in the Liaison and Diversion category for its Steer Clear Project.
Men and Masculinities
The Men and Masculinities programme has three groups running across Herefordshire and Worcestershire with Bromsgrove and Worcester groups now merging due to numbers. Herefordshire has seen an increase in referrals which will now mean demand for a second group. There will be capacity for a fourth group to run in Worcestershire once more referrals are received here. Training opportunities continue to be utilised to increase staff knowledge and awareness. Free training is also being offered to providers to establish more referrals for the programme by increasing awareness and leaflets are also being circulated through email and in workshops across the areas.
7 men have now successfully completed the programme with one man in particular highlighting the positive impact that Men and Masculinities has had on his life and has allowed him to have unsupervised contact with his daughter.
The Richmond Fellowship
The Richmond Fellowship: deliver My Time in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin which is also a Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Programme for those assessed a slow-medium risk. Three roles have been fulfilled and three more are in the process of recruitment.
Longlands Care Farm
Longlands care farm that provides alternative education for children excluded from school saw seven new students commencing, taking the total number of students to 28. Attendance of the service continues to be strong. A number of children registered for and achieved City & Guilds and AQA Unit Award qualifications as students of Longlands.
RABOs
All five Rural and Business Officers continue to carry out visits to both victims of crime and those who feel they would benefit from crime prevention advice in the rural and business communities. The majority of these visits involve the registering of SmartWater Kits as part of the We Don’t Buy Crime initiative. In North Worcester the RABO with support from other police officers attends the monthly agricultural sale at Stone to provide a visible presence and check for stolen goods property. This engagement is popular with attendees and has been cited as an effective deterrence. Furthermore, the team has launched Heritage Watch and supporting content to protect historical sites, monuments and artefacts of cultural importance from loss and damage across West Mercia. WhatsApp groups and Neighbourhood matters communication channels are proving very effective with stakeholder engagement, awareness and intelligence sharing.
Exploitation & Vulnerability Trainers
The operation of Exploitation & Vulnerability Trainers have reached 1883 people since April delivering 82 sessions to 71 organisations. During the school holiday downtime undergone CPD and product development/overhaul. One piece of work that is on going is the delivery of an in-depth safeguarding training programme to Hereford local authority covering level 2 & 3. This is to support them through current failure highlighted by their safeguarding review that has pushed them to emergency measures.
Building a More Secure West Mercia
Reduce Offending
Remember Veterans
Remember Veterans have successfully recruited a new Link Worker who is now in post and familiarising with partners.
Crimestoppers
Crimestoppers have spent £21,000 on a County Lines Campaign in collaboration with West Mercia, West Midlands, East Midlands, Warwickshire, Staffordshire. They also ran a Commonwealth Games radio campaign across the region. A review of this activity is planned for December however, initial data shows the number of crimes reported to Crimestoppers is up 17.6% from this time last year. Additionally, Crimestoppers have facilitated partnership working between West Mercia and West Midlands police focussed on tackling car crime. In particular Land/Range Rovers stolen from West Mercia and taken to ‘chop shops’ in West Midlands.
Willowdene
Two members of our commissioning team had the opportunity to visit Willowdene farm and met with some residents who were undertaking 12 weeks rehabilitation. Many of the women have been victims of crime – predominately domestic abuse and sexual violence – and also perpetrated crime. Their lives before Willowdene were chaotic and complex with adverse childhood trauma, and drug and alcohol abuse offering the only escape. Willowdene provides a safe refuge for these vulnerable women, a platform to transform their life, reconnect with family and stay out of the CJS. Our colleagues were left feeling inspired after listening to the anecdotal impact the rehabilitation is having, receiving qualifications for the first time and hope for their future.
West Mercia Youth Justice Service
West Mercia Youth Justice Service: The PCC supports the joint decision-making arrangements for out of court disposals (OoCDs) and the supporting intervention programmes for both formal and informal OoCDs including Outcome 22, voluntary programmes supporting cautions and youth justice service led community resolutions.
DIVERT
DIVERT Is an education programme that improves treatment pathways, diverts drug users frim long-term drug use and reduces drug-related crime. There were 154 referrals within West Mercia this quarter, an increase from Q1. Cranstoun – the service provider – are in the process of recruiting a dedicated OOCD Team. This team will specialise in the delivery of OOCD and the development of the programme content. This will ensure a more consistent approach to the online delivery. A exit questionnaire has been finalised this quarter, this more structured document will be in use for the next quarter.
The DIVERT team are also working with the PCC’s Commissioning Team to create an instructional video to advertise the programme to Officer’s and to help them understand the benefits of referring service users.
Road Safety
U17 Pathfinder programme
U17 Pathfinder programme is a volunteer run project designed to reduce the number of road traffic collisions, casualties and convictions amongst vulnerable novice drivers. During October the organisation launched their 2022 survey. They have also engaged with educational institutions to participate in research on driving while impaired through alcohol or drugs.
MORSE
MORSE have continued to offer a robust and tailored service to users over the quarter. By completing the “Goals for Driver Education” training, more staff are now able to deliver the Safer Driver Programme, increasing capacity and decreasing waiting times. Throughout the quarter MORSE have worked closely with both HWFS and SFRS prevention teams to deliver a number of events highlighting to young drivers the risks of the road. They have launched a new website with a centralised referral system allowing for higher quality triage and volumes, this ICT upgrade has been accompanied by a Referrals Coordinator Post who will be the link between all YSS referrals and our services.
Reassuring West Mercia
Fly-tipping
670 signs have been delivered to landowners across Herefordshire. The County Council attended the Rural Business Advice Day at Herefordshire racecourse where they engaged with landowners and farmers; handing out signs and giving gave advice about reporting fly tipping. A multi-agency operation with the Police and Animal Health Officers spoke to farmers with animal trailers providing information and handing out further signs.
Safer Streets 4
The progress of projects under Safer Streets 4 was delayed whilst an internal procurement review took place. This has been completed for all projects except the Train the Trainer education program and are thus moving forward. A part-time coordinator for Streetwatch is expected to be in post before Christmas. Following this appointment recruitment of the 500 Streetwatch volunteers is expected to begin. Consultation for implementing the Goodsam product has started. The Purple Leaf developed education programme has undertaken a new delivery programme following the aforementioned procurement delays; it is expected that training will start in December 2022. Finally, the VAWG Campaign Officer recruitment is underway with an expectation to be in post and operation in December 2022.
Neighbourhood Watch
Neighbourhood Watch Approved Schemes has increased by 14 since the last quarter. The continued transition from unapproved to approved schemes in West Mercia is being aided by numerous community and NHW meetings that have taken place over the quarter.
Severn Area Rescue Association
Severn Area Rescue Association have recently moved over onto digital radios allowing for clearer communications within the team and real time tracking of deployed teams. A new boat trailer is now in operation allowing the utilisation of different equipment in a water rescue setting. Water Safety educational visits were carried out in two schools through direct contact, with 15 days of water safety took place for the Young Citizen Challenge across Bromsgrove and Kidderminster schools. Further attendance at large public events such as the Stourport and Worcester Carnival alongside West Mercia Police and HWFRS has greatly promoted water safety and awareness.
Reforming West Mercia
Community Safety Partnership’s:
The five CSPs of West Mercia covering the 5 different Policing areas were awarded a combined total of £636,541 for 22/22. This is split by:
- Shropshire CSP = £98,441 (Have currently spent £50,200)
- Hereford CSP = £ 100,666 (Have currently spent £88,700)
- Telford CSP = £158,934 (Have currently spent £135, 640)
- South Worcester CSP = £139,250 (Have currently spent £139,250)
- North Worcester CSP = £139,250 (Have currently spent £101,789)
The CSPs fund a wide variety of projects that focus on community support, reducing offending, victim care and early intervention and prevention.
Other Commissioning Activities
Needs Assessment
The PCC has funded additional analytical and engagement resource to carry out a 3 year programme of upcoming and essential needs assessments that will inform future commissioning. The first to be completed will be the Victim’s Needs Assessment, which contains a wide consultation and engagement exercise. Survey development is currently underway and anticipated to be published Jan 2023, with final completion and results due May 2023. The OPCC Serious Violence Needs Assessment will be conducted concurrently and also includes a wide consultation and engagement exercise to ensure the voices of the communities are represented and heard.
Prevention Strategy
West Mercia Police and the OPCC have created a joint Prevention Strategy which maps out the priority areas for the next 3 years and adoption of a public health approach.
SARC
The SARC on West Road, Telford requires modernisation in order to meet future forensic accreditation standards. Our estates team has commissioned architects to undertake a feasibility and suitability assessment, hopefully kickstarting the improvement process.
Summary of 2022-23 PCC Funding Initiatives
Please follow the link below to obtain more information about all of the OPCC funded projects during 2022-23:
