Agenda Item 9

Three Rivers Domestic Violence Forum Minutes

18th January 2007

10am – Dickinson Room

Present:

Amanda Copstick – Chair of the Three Rivers DV Forum

Andy Stovold – Three Rivers District Council (Community Partnerships Unit)

Evelyn Glasgow – Three Rivers District Council (Minutes)

Natasha Macaskill – Three Rivers District Council (Estates Officer)

Clare Cray – Hertfordshire Constabulary

John Casstles – Watford Turnaround

Sandra Lewin – Hertfordshire Constabulary

Apologies:

Minutes from the last meeting and matters arising:

The minutes of the DV Forum of 19th October 2006 were agreed.

CountyUpdate:

Amanda told the meeting that she had attended the CountyDV forum. County advised that they are unable to attend each domestic violence forum in the County due to staff shortages.

Amanda further reported that the idea of a County DV Conference had been floated, with the possibility of Baroness Scotland as chair. It was suggested that this occur in Domestic Violence week.

Amanda also reported that County have funds to conduct research into DV in Hertfordshire. The research will be looking into DV websites, linking local DV forums and developing a DV strategy for the County. Amanda noted that the CountyDV website has been temporarily closed down.

Amanda went on to say that there was a £500,000.00 under spend from County’s ‘Innovations Fund’ for 2006-07. Amanda stated that County would be circulating information on how to bid for the funds and noted that applications for funding must contain an element of substance misuse.

Amanda agreed to circulate the points of the CountyDV forum.

Review of the Terms of Reference (ToR):

Andy noted that the ToR had not been revisited in some time and queried whether the terms were still appropriate.

  • It was agreed that point 2 of the ToRwas not practical and that this should be amended to an annual election of a chair.
  • It was agreed that the year of the Community Safety Strategy should be removed from point 3 of the ToR. It was also agreed that the word ‘developing’ should replace the word ‘implementing’.
  • On point 5 it was agreed that the words ‘establish a baseline’ should be replaced with ‘monitor figures’.
  • It was also agreed that point 7 should be amended to read ‘we will seek to reduce repeat victimisation’. It was queried whether point 8 was necessary however no firm decision was reached.
  • It was agreed that point 9 should be amended to read ‘we will increase awareness and training for members of the domestic violence forum’.
  • It was also agreed that point 10 should be amended to include the words ‘and their families’ following the word ‘victim’.
  • Furthermore it was agreed that point 11 should be changed to read ‘we will establish and share best practise’.
  • It was further agreed that point 14 and 15 should be removed from the ToR.
  • Finally it was agreed that the ToR should be amended to take account of current legislation and the Home Office definition of DV.

Domestic Violence Incidents and Crime Figures:

Chief Inspector Dave Moore provided the figures.

It was noted that targets to reduce violent crime in Three Rivers are not being met. It was acknowledged that one quarter of violent crime in Three Rivers is domestic violence related. In the case of non-crimes, domestic violence related incidents account for one half of figures. An example of a non-crime would be an argument within the home. Sandra added that the figures for non-crimes are always higher than the figures for crimes.

Andy noted that five wards stand out in the DV figures, namely, Rickmansworth, Maple Cross, Hayling, Northwick and Ashridge. It was agreed that this information should be highlighted to the Community Safety Board.

Lastly, it was noted that reported incidents of DV have fallen in Three Rivers between 2005-06 and 2006-07. This may be due to a number of factors including interventions, risk assessments and a lack of confidence in reporting.

Three Rivers Domestic Violence Action Plan Update:

Andy reported that the DV leaflet has been produced. Action: Andy to email members of the forum for details on how many leaflets they require and where they should be posted to.

Andy went on to show the forum the draft credit card sized DV leaflet. Action: Andy and Amanda to discuss which agency’s detailsneed to be put on the credit card.

Andy informed the group that a quote had been received for two half days of DV awareness training and suggested the training is organised for March. Action: Amanda to email details of training to members of the forum.

Regarding the schools education pack, it was agreed that there was no value in purchasing the ‘Westminster Pack’ if no-one would use it. It was noted that Children, Schools and Families (CSF) have not offered any DV training to teachers locally. It was noted that it is difficult for the DV forum to organise teacher training and agreed that this issue needs to be led by County. It was decided that if County lead on the issue, Three Rivers District Council will provide the funding. Sandra mentioned that she was meeting with the County lead for PHSE to discuss this issue further.

Any Other Business:

Sandra noted that a press release was going out on sexual assaults and rapes.

John noted that Watford Turnaround had applied for funding from the National Lottery. If their application was successful, it would secure funding for perpetrator work for the next five years.

It was noted that discussions over the governance of the Sunflower Project were still ongoing.

Amanda mentioned that she was writing a piece for Kevin Snow of the Council’s Communications Department.

Date of the next meeting:

19th April 2007 at 10am in the Dickinson Room.