Update on Joint Engagement Meetings (JEMs)

12/10
7 May 2010
MPA briefing paper 12/2010

Author: MPA

This briefing paper has been prepared to inform members and staff. It is not a committee report and no decisions are required.

Summary

This paper provides an update on Joint Engagement Meetings (JEMs). This joint problem solving process involves the police, local councils and other partner agencies at the borough level.

JEMs were held with all 32 London boroughs between October 2008 and February 2010. The first round of JEMs focused on serious youth violence, however those boroughs that did not see this as a local priority issue were offered the opportunity to instead focus discussion on anti social behaviour, disorder and other drivers of public confidence.

The next round, planned to commence in June 2010, will review the first round and extend the discussion to all violence.

Joint Engagement Meetings (JEMs) are a mechanism to facilitate borough level joint problem solving work between the police, the Local Authorities and other pan London partners, in order to explore local crime and community safety issues. They are key in supporting achievement of the Met Partners work strand of Met Forward, as they are the MPA’s main tool in driving partnership and are the starting point in developing joint strategies in areas of shared concern.

JEMs are not intended to hold boroughs to account for performance or replace existing tasking and deployment processes within boroughs. Rather they are intended to focus on developing new solutions to problems, to sit alongside and support existing mechanisms, such as Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs), and to bring together London-wide partners at a borough level.

A full report reviewing JEMs to date which details achievements has been written for Strategic & Operational Policing Committee and is available on the MPA website.

Proposals for 2010/11

The next round of JEMs is planned to commence in June 2010 with eight JEMs currently being scheduled for June and July 2010.

This new round of JEMs will both review the progress made by the borough since the first JEM against the agreed action plan and explore an extension to violence across all age groups, with a focus on most serious violence and assault with injury. The slide pack will be tailored to the key violence issues on each borough, focussing on those that are a priority to that specific area. Depending on this, the discussion may include alcohol related violence and response to the night time economy, domestic violence, hate crime, and youth related violence.

Pan London partners attending JEMs to date have included TfL, BTP, LCJP and YJB. For the next round, it is intended to extend the invitation to probation, prisons, health and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to bring more varied data, viewpoints, and opportunities to problem solve. Success in achieving continued engagement with any pan London partner will rely on ensuring they are fully brought into the discussion during the meeting and that there are clear beneficial outcomes for them. This is being progressed through current meetings with partners.

Whilst there has been some valuable output and follow up work from the JEMs, there is scope for improving the follow up process. A more comprehensive record of the current borough activity will be made, both for the purpose of review at subsequent meetings and also to enable recurring themes and issues to be identified across boroughs. New actions and potential good practice will be recorded also.

Pan London themes and issues will be considered by MPA officers in the London context and acted upon to support boroughs. Opportunities to add value through our pan London perspective will be sought, where possible linking the work of JEMs to other problem solving and improvement work, such as that of the proposed MPA led London Crime Reduction Board.

MPA Link members and officers involved with the boroughs will encourage further discussion at CDRP meetings. Ad hoc MPA member performance packs will contain details and action updates from JEMs as appropriate.

A spreadsheet of potential good practice and contacts is being developed to allow quick time sharing of practices that are working well locally. This will signpost boroughs to ideas for ways to tackle local problems and will be launched with the new round of JEMs in June.

Partners will be kept up to date on JEMs work through a quarterly email bulletin and MPA members via the new member intranet site that is currently being developed.

Output from JEMs, particularly pan London issues and themes, will continue to be raised at appropriate forums and boards. For example, discussions are already underway to ensure that the JEMs process is joined up with the new Violence and London Crime Reduction boards.

There is an opportunity to link up the JEMs process with the Safer London Problem Oriented Partnerships Awards, of which the MPA are a key sponsor. These awards recognise the achievements of partnership projects between the police, local communities and other partners, that are responsive to local needs, are people focused and address the causes of crime, not just the consequences, to reduce crime and disorder. JEMs could be used to reinforce that work, provide details of the awards process and encourage partnerships to submit entries.

We continue to seek feedback on the JEMs process and have found the suggestions of partners useful when reviewing the process. Feedback will be requested at all meetings in the next round. It is also intended to develop new ways to better seek feedback and engage boroughs, for example through MPA link members and Engagement and Partnerships Unit officers.

A separate programme of JEMs, focussing on the Prevent strand of Contest, will be considered later in the year, following an assessment of current Prevent work.

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